Saint Joseph’s life could be read in the light of certain “yeses” that marked its principal moments.
“In every circumstance of his life, Joseph was able to pronounce 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 asks himself 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 loves deeply, 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 it always conceals a message. We must discover it.

“Yes” in faith
In a dream, the angel explains to Joseph what is happening and also indicates the task entrusted to him. Obedient to the word of God, he gives 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 his dream, word for word, with a faith and trust that are enchanting. Not because Joseph lacks character, but because he places his entire 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, in 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 envisioned together with Mary can continue so that the dream may become reality; that Child already present in Mary’s womb asks to be welcomed, loved, and raised, because he is a life that 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 through 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 task 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 a family’s practical life; 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 express 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 entrustment to his providence. 
His silence is a form of obedience, especially since the facts then confirm that Saint Joseph is always the one who carries out not his own will, but that of the Father. 
It is facts that speak: concrete actions, taking responsibility in the various moments life presents, often unexpectedly and far from our expectations. 
Of Saint Joseph we know little about his life and nothing about 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 and foremost is 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, and 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 the person and mission of Jesus directly 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 the conditions needed for them to be fully realized.