A Child's Devotion to St. Joseph

Our middle son, Konstantin, has a strong devotion to St. Joseph.  This began as a small child.  When we met him in an orphanage in Kazakhstan at the age of 4, he had the name Konstantin which is the Russian form of Constantine.  We decided we would keep his birth name but chose a middle name for him.  The name my husband and I chose was Joseph (husband of Mary).  His sister who we also adopted we gave the middle name of Marie after the Blessed Mother.  

From a young age we shared with Konstantin the life of St. Joseph.  As early as we can remember he has always loved St. Joseph.  He even asked recently if when he is older could he choose St. Joseph as his Confirmation name even though his middle name is already Joseph.  Like St. Joseph, Konstantin has a love of working with his hands especially with wood.  He very much wanted to learn the skill of carpentry.  We hoped and prayed that we might meet someone to help mentor Konstantin with such a skill.  Last year something beautiful happened. We met a wonderful man who was a carpenter.  He providentially came to our home to meet the family of a priest that was visiting.  At the end of the lunch Konstantin looked at me and said he thought this was the man who might help him learn carpentry.  Indeed the match seemed Divinely ordained.  A wonderful friendship began and on the first day of the carpentry lesson we happened to be by the car of Konstantin's friend and mentor. His license plate read: St. Joe.  We were all surprised by such a signal grace.  One of the projects the two of them made together was a wooden tool box.  Today with the wonderful snow that fell this week Konstantin made a St. Joseph statue out of snow.  He even put his new tool belt on him.  March 19th is the Feast of St. Joseph.  Tonight I asked Konstantin why he likes St. Joseph so much. He said, "I like St Joseph because he protected the holy family and because I want to become a carpenter and he is the patron saint of carpenters." Seeing Konstantin leaning against his St. Joseph, one can see the beauty of a child's devotion to a Saint that has been asked to protect not only children but also families and even the Church.

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How to Start a Children's Rosary
"What Do You Think About When You Say the Rosary?"
Resources to Start a Children's Rosary