Since March 19, the day on which Saint Joseph is traditionally celebrated, coincided this year with the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the feast of Jesus’ father was moved to March 20. Let us discover him as one who always knew how to respond to God’s will.
Saint Joseph’s life can be viewed in the light of several “yeses” that marked its key moments.
“In every circumstance of his life, Joseph knew how to utter his ‘fiat,’ like Mary at the Annunciation and Jesus in Gethsemane” (Pope Francis, Patris corde).

“Yes” to accepting reality 
Faced with Mary’s pregnancy, Joseph adopts an attitude of reflection. He cannot change the reality he has encountered, but he wonders how to face it. At first, he would like to withdraw respectfully from a story greater than himself, without oppressing with his presence the young woman he deeply loves, or the mysterious child she is expecting.
Sometimes it is not easy to accept the reality of people and situations; at such moments, we have many questions within us. 
Saint Joseph suggests that we take time and begin to work out within ourselves a possible interpretation of reality, because a message is always hidden within it. We must discover it.

“Yes” in faith
The angel explains to Joseph in a dream what is happening and also tells him the task entrusted to him. Obedient to God’s word, he entrusts his life to a plan that transcends him, accepting the command to take Mary into his home. Joseph’s obedience is perfect. He puts into practice what the angel tells him in the dream, word for word, with a faith and trust that inspire wonder. Not because Joseph lacks character, but because he places his whole life in the Lord’s hands, stakes everything, and through this obedience confirms his choice, even though it is tremendously difficult and painful!
Accepting that we are unable to understand and allowing ourselves to be enlightened is a great act of humility. Not only that: Joseph accepts that God should intervene in his and Mary’s lives and, with faith, says “yes” to the Lord.

“Yes” to life
When Joseph takes Mary into his home, a new life begins for him, with entirely unexpected prospects and the discovery of a deeper meaning to his being a husband and father. The life dreamed of and planned together with Mary can continue so that the dream may become reality; the Child already present in Mary’s womb asks to be welcomed, loved, and raised, because he is a life who asks for a father and a mother. Thus he remains beside his wife as a faithful husband, and beside that child as a positive and responsible father figure. The assumption of this responsibility is expressed by the fact that Joseph - according to the angelic command - gives the name Jesus to the son born of Mary. Giving the name means that he confers on that child his social identity and that, precisely for this reason, Jesus can be recognized as the true descendant of David, as required by the nature of the awaited Messiah.

“Yes” to service 
Saint Joseph fully carries out his role as father and husband by making his life a service. In the service of Jesus and Mary, he puts his professional skills to work to earn each day what is needed for the practical life of a family; he serves by “protecting” and “defending” his treasures, putting security and peace of mind at risk; he serves because he does not reject the hardships this entails. Joseph is a true head of the household who does not want to be the holder of power, but to help the members of the family entrusted to him fulfill their vocation.
Saint Joseph is the one who, together with Mary and Jesus, forms a family through his presence, affection, and his being a husband and father attentive to their needs.

“Yes” to silence
His is a silence permeated by contemplation of the mystery of God, in an attitude of complete openness to the divine will. In other words, Saint Joseph’s silence does not reveal an inner emptiness, but, on the contrary, the fullness of faith he carries in his heart, which guides every thought and action. It is a silence through which Joseph, in unison with Mary, safeguards the word of God, known through the Holy Scriptures, continually comparing it with the events of Jesus’ life; a silence woven from constant prayer, adoration of the Lord’s will, and unreserved trust in his providence. 
His silence is a form of obedience, especially since events confirm that Saint Joseph is always the one who fulfills not his own will, but that of the Father. 
It is deeds that speak: concrete actions, taking responsibility in the various situations life presents, often suddenly and far from our expectations. 
Of Saint Joseph we know little of his life and nothing of his death; this too belongs to his silence.

“Yes” to discipleship 
Joseph accepts the words of the twelve-year-old Jesus, found in the temple. First comes the will of God. He knows that this Son has a Father by whom he was sent and whom Jesus obeys completely. To be a disciple is to meditate on this truth in one’s heart, to contemplate this Son who grows in “grace” before God and humanity, to know that he is the Word to be heard and lived. Thus, while Joseph teaches Jesus the humble craft of carpentry, Joseph contemplates the Son of God in the humility of the Incarnation

“Yes” to one’s vocation 
All these “yeses” can be summed up in one: Joseph fully fulfills his vocation as husband, father, and guardian of the Lord. Joseph “was called by God to serve directly the person and mission of Jesus through the exercise of his fatherhood: in this very way he cooperates, in the fullness of time, in the great mystery of Redemption and is truly a minister of salvation” (Pope Francis, Patris corde).

Joseph’s story teaches us that to the extent that we know how to say “yes” to the Lord, we say “yes” to our own lives, placing them in a position to be fully realized.