March 19, 2014

St. Joseph and the Italian Feast Day #BeshBox

Happy St. Joseph’s Day!

Today is the feast day of St. Joseph. Actually, it is called a Solemnity by the Church, which puts it on par with all the great feast days of the Church, including Christmas. St. Joseph must be somebody pretty special, huh?

Yes, he is! He is known by many titles, but he was simply the foster father of Jesus… the Guardian of the Redeemer. And he was a just man.

One of my favorite titles of St. Joseph is “Terror of Demons.” As a man of humility who was so close to Jesus and Mary, I imagine that the demons are very frightened of him, indeed!

But the thing that I think of most when I think of St. Joseph is JOY. Joseph must have lived a life of joy, despite the sufferings that went along with being the man responsible for protecting Jesus and his Blessed Mother… and the sufferings that went along with simply living in under Roman rule in Palestine 2000 years ago. Joseph is a man of joy who enjoyed the intimate companionship of Jesus and Mary. They lived family life together, which – believe it or not – included family meals!

St. Joseph Altars and the Italian Feast Day #BeshBox

I mentioned the other day (jokingly) that some people around here think that St. Joseph is Italian. He’s not, of course. But the Italians have a very strong devotion to St. Joseph. Here in south Louisiana that devotion takes the form of St. Joseph Altars on his feast day, March 19.

Back in December, I wrote about a new venture of Chef John Besh that I am very impressed with. It’s called the Besh Box. Essentially, it is a subscription-based, hand-picked gourmet cooking kit. The kit is shipped directly to foodies and home cooks across the country, and each kit contains a selection of Chef Besh’s favorite recipes, specialty ingredients, kitchen tools, suggested drink pairings and music to help enhance the experience of cooking.

I’m a fan of the #BeshBox. And when you see what’s inside, I’m sure you’ll be a fan too.

“Unboxing” the Besh Box!

I thought I would do something a bit different today. Usually, I remain in the realm of written words and audio media, like radio and podcasts. But today I thought I would experiment with video. I’m not a master at it, by any means. But it was fun.

Take a look at me unboxing the Besh Box in the video below and let me know what you think. The first half of the video is really just an audio introduction. In the second half, I dive into the Besh Box and show you all the goodies inside. Check it out!

At the moment the video is still processing, but it will be available at the link below:

Get to Know St. Joseph Better!

I have written a lot about St. Joseph (and about St. Joseph Altars) over the years.

You can find out more about St. Joseph and his altars (and the foods on those altars!) by clicking on the links below:

What about You?

Ever been to a St. Joseph Altar? Is there a similar devotion close to where you live? I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment below, or connect with me on Facebook and Twitter!