St. Joseph of Arimathea and St. Nicodemus

Picture: Monastery of St. Joseph of Arimathea and St. Nicodemus

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Joseph of Arimathea and St. Nicodemus. The actions that were done by these two influential Jewish leaders give a very true and clear insight into the charismatic power of Jesus and his many teachings. It also shows the risks that could be involved in following him.

During his life, St. Joseph was a very well respected, wealthy civic leader who was able to become a disciple of Jesus. After the death of Jesus, St. Joseph was able to obtain Jesus’ body from Pilate, he had wrapped it in fine linen and buried it. For these exact reasons, St. Joseph is actually considered the patron saint of funeral directors and pallbearers. The courage that St. Joseph showed when asking Pilate for Jesus’ body is unbelievable. Jesus was a condemned criminal who had been publicly executed. According to some legends, St. Joseph was also punished and imprisoned for such a bold act.

St. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and, like St. Joseph, he was a very important first-century Jew. We know from John’s Gospel that St. Nicodemus had gone to visit Jesus during the night in secret so that he could have the opportunity to better understand his teachings about the kingdom. Later on, St. Nicodemus had spoke up for Jesus during the time of his arrest and he had also assisted in Jesus’ burial.

St. Joseph and St. Nicodemus are the patron Saints of pallbearers and funeral directors.

Prayer to St. Joseph and St. Nicodemus:

St. Joseph and St. Nicodemus, during your lives you stood up for Jesus even when it was hard or difficult to do. We pray that you may please be with us during our lives and help us to be able to deepen our intimacy with Christ even if we may get put down or made fun of for doing so.

Amen

St. Joseph of Arimathea St. Nicodemus pray for us

St. Joseph pray for us

May we continue to strengthen our journey to sainthood and keep others in our prayers.

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Works cited

Information (read from, not taken):

Franciscan media. “Saints Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. ”Saints Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus | Franciscan Media. Accessed August 31, 2021.

Images:

Saints Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. August 31, 2021. St. Joseph of Arimathea and St. Nicodemus - Google Search.