How St. Joseph Increased Our Faith and Our Family
Saint Joseph, the Dreamer
Several years ago, on March 19, Saint Joseph appeared in my dreams and imparted to me that I would have another child. Let me tell you why his visitation was so incredible in many ways.
First, Saint Joseph is known as the Man of Dreams himself - he received four divine messages through his dreams to help him provide for and protect his family as husband to Mary and father to Jesus.
So Saint Joseph, the Blessed Dreamer himself, appearing to me in my dreams, with messages about the future of my own family, was definitely very moving.
(You can read more about St. Joseph’s dreams in the Gospel of Matthew: Mt 2:12,22; Mt 1:20-25; Mt 2:13-14; Mt 19-21).
Second, Saint Joseph appeared to me in my dreams on the Solemnity of Saint Joseph - March 19.
How providential!
Last, my husband and I at that time were absolutely in no financial position to have another child.
So when I told my husband about my dream, he scoffed and protested at the idea.
He insisted that we couldn’t afford another baby.
We were barely making ends meet with our first son, who was then only a year and a half.
After praying about it however, we eventually decided that it was best we follow God’s plan.
Though we didn’t feel monetarily ready, we trusted that there was a reason why God moved us to having one more child.
We thought - better to align our desires with God’s desires, rather than trying to make plans against His will.
My husband and I thankfully conceived soon after we decided to try for a second child.
The Role of SJP2
All throughout my second pregnancy, my divine dreams continued.
This time though, it was Pope John Paul II (now deservingly called St. John Paul the Great) who appeared in my dreams several times.
There weren’t any direct messages from the Pope however.
No forecast into what was to happen or directions on what we should do in my family.
I just knew that he appeared repeatedly in my dreams, leaving me a sense of peace every time.
The only way I knew how to respond to Pope John Paul’s visitation was to be with him too.
I felt very drawn to his spirit. I watched movies and read books about him to feel closer to him.
The documentary about Pope John Paul’s last days, was especially profound, heart-opening, and heart-breaking. I recommend every Catholic should watch this special film (and get your tissues ready).
By the end of my pregnancy, my devotion to Saint Joseph and my closeness to Pope John Paul was deeper than ever.
It wasn’t until the day I actually gave birth to my second son that I realized Pope John Paul’s placement in all of this.
You see, our second son, was born on Divine Mercy Sunday. Amazingly, it was in fact Pope John Paul who established Divine Mercy Sunday!
Pope John Paul appeared to me in my dreams as a preface to my second son being born on this special feast day - Divine Sunday, which he founded in our Catholic Church!
Here’s an excerpt about Pope John Paul’s declaration of Divine Mercy Sunday from divinemercy.org:
When St. Pope John Paul canonized Sr. Faustina (making her St. Faustina), he also, on the same day, surprised the entire world by establishing Divine Mercy Sunday (the feast day associated with the message) as a feast day for the entire Church. The feast day falls on the Second Sunday of the Easter season. On that day, John Paul II declared, "This is the happiest day of my life."
The holiness and fortune of our second son’s birth was felt from day one.
Making Sense of it All
In trying to understand the spiritual meaning of my pregnancy, I gathered then that there was indeed a spiritual significance to why we were moved to have a second child - starting with St. Joseph foretelling us that we would have another child, and punctuated by Pope John Paul continuously appearing to me in my dreams all throughout my pregnancy, and in the end, welcoming our second child on Divine Mercy Sunday.
From the very beginning, Paxon (whose name is derived from Pax which means “peace” in Latin), always had spiritual significance attached to him.
It was clear that God was trying to reach our hearts, through our child.
God’s longing for us is truly astonishing.
Our Dedication to St. Joseph
Today, on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, in the Year of St. Joseph, our family dedicates this blog and the opening of our studio in honor of St. Joseph, who continues to guide us and bless us to be closer to God.
Thank you St. Joseph for inspiring us to follow and trust God’s holy will and divine plan.
May we be just like you, with complete faithfulness in Him.
