Archbishop Jose Gomez, of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, recently sent out several tweets as the Catholic Church celebrated the feast day of St. Joseph, who was Jesus' earthly father. In them, he called on Catholics to emulate the way Joseph lived.

"Like St. Joseph, we need to make our lives a life of service, living our ordinary lives all for Christ," Gomez tweeted on March 19. "No matter where we are in life, our lives have divine importance and we are part of God's beautiful plan for the world." 

St. Joseph was a carpenter and was engaged to Mary at the time that she became pregnant with Jesus, a report on Catholic.org said. Even though Joseph knew the baby wasn't his, he knew that Mary could be stoned to death for adultery if he didn't intervene. He decided to send her quietly away, but an angel came to him and told him that he and Mary should wed because the child she was carrying in her womb was the son of God. Joseph took the angel's message to heart and married Mary. 

"St. Joseph worked, raised his family and worshipped God," Gomez tweeted. "He led a totally ordinary life. But because he loved God and tried to serve him, his ordinary life became extraordinary. He played his part in God's plan of salvation."

Joseph later protected his infant son from King Herod. An angel again visited him, warning him that the king was planning an act of violence, a report on Britannica.com said. Joseph took his family to Egypt, where they waited until the danger had passed, at which time they returned to Nazareth. 

Joseph is not mentioned in the Gospel accounts of the Crucifixion, thus it is believed that he died before that time. 

"In the Gospels, St. Joseph never speaks a word," Gomez tweeted. "He is a man of faith who listens and trusts in what God tells him to do. We need to have that same spirit—making time for silence, opening our hearts and listening to God, and then doing what he tells us!" 

Joseph; the patron saint of the Universal Church, unborn children, fathers, workers, travelers, immigrants and happy deaths; is honored on two separate feast days each year: March 19 marks the Solemnity of Joseph, and May 1 is the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, a release on OfficeHolidays.com said.