St. Bernard: Saint Joseph

“THERE is no doubt then that this Joseph, to whom the mother of the Saviour was espoused, was a man good and preeminently faithful. A prudent and faithful servant he was, I say, whom the Lord placed beside Mary to be her protector, and nourisher of His human body, and the single and most trusty assistant on earth in His great design.”

~St. Bernard of Clairvaux: Sermon 2 in Vigil. Nativ. Domini, 16.

St. Joseph with the child Jesus, by Guido Reni.
Oil on canvas, c. 1635; The Hermitage at St. Petersburg, Russia.