Saint Joseph the Incognito Royal (March 19, 2026)

Welcome to The Daily Catholic Deep Dive, the daily show that connects the dots between the Bible, the Catechism, and the Catholic life.

Ever wonder what the hidden connection is between today's Old and New Testament readings? Or how the central theme of The Bible in a Year aligns with The Catechism in a Year? We even look at how the daily Rosary meditation and the Saint of the Day tie it all together.

Every day, we take the massive amount of spiritual content you love—from Fr. Mike Schmitz to the Daily Rosary, Mass readings, and Sunday homilies—and weave them into a single, witty, and insightful conversation.

Do you feel lost after listening to all these daily podcasts? Join our AI hosts as they find the "Golden Thread" that ties them all together. It’s the ultimate daily synthesis for the busy Catholic soul.

Today’s Sources:

• Daily Bible Reading - March 19, 2026 | USCCB (Reading 1: 2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29; Reading 2: Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22; Gospel: Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a or Luke 2:41-51a)

• Day 78: The Song of Moses — The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) (Numbers 33, Deuteronomy 32, Psalm 118)

• Day 78: Signs of the Kingdom — The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) (Paragraphs 547–553)

• If You're Doing This, It's Not Love (w/ Fr. Mike Schmitz)

• March 19, 2026 | Catholic Daily Reflections | Formed

• The Great Fast| Day 26

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Daily Catholic Deep Dive. We're here to connect the dots between the Bible, the Catechism, and your daily life. Every day we go over the daily mass readings, Father Mike Schmidt's Bible in a year, and Catechism in a year, plus other popular Catholic podcasts and videos released today we find interesting. If you feel a bit overwhelmed by all the daily Catholic listening, don't worry. We are here to find that one golden thread that ties it all together. Let's dive in. Today is Thursday, March 19th, 2026.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Yeah, and we have um a really great menu for you today. We're looking at the Solemnity of St. Joseph, so we've got those daily mass readings. Plus, it's day 78 of both Bible in a year and catechism in a year.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Right. And we're also pulling in some uh daily reflections from Dr. Tim Gray and St. Michael's Abbey, right? Oh, and there's that brand new video from Father Mike, too.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Exactly. And you know, today we're looking at how a hidden king, an ancient song about rebellion, and well, a really radical new definition of love all point to one incredible virtue.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

I love that. Let's uh let's start with that hidden king. So looking at today's first reading from 2 Samuel chapter 7, specifically verses 4 through 5a, 12 through 14a, and 16, God makes this massive promise to David.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Aaron Powell He promises an eternal kingdom.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Yeah, exactly. An eternal kingdom. And then we jump to the gospel today from Matthew chapter 1, verses 16, 18 through 21, and 24a, and we meet Saint Joseph.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

The carpenter.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Right, the humble carpenter. But if you read his lineage, Joseph is basically an incognito royal. I mean, legally speaking, he should be the one sitting on the throne of Israel.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Aaron Powell It's fascinating. And Dr. Tim Gray actually points out this uh this brilliant historical rhyme here.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Aaron Ross Powell Oh, really? Like what?

SPEAKER_01 1:40

Well, so in the Old Testament, you have the original Joseph, right? He saved his people from famine in Egypt because God spoke to him through dreams. Aaron Powell Oh, wow. Right. Yeah. And now we have this New Testament, Joseph. He also receives a dream from an angel, but his mission is to save the true King, Jesus, from King Herod.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Aaron Powell, which is such a crazy contrast, you know? Because Herod is like the ultimate worldly king, just hoarding power and using violence.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Exactly. Whereas Joseph uses his royal legal authority solely to protect the vulnerable.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Okay, let's unpack this though, because I want to push back a bit on that idea of God's protection. Especially when we look at day 78 of Bible in a year.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Oh, right, the reading from Deuteronomy?

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Yeah, Deuteronomy chapter 32, The Song of Moses. It is this incredibly harsh, poetic warning about Israel's constant rebellion, you know, their obsession with false idols.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

It's pretty intense.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

It really is. And it makes you wonder if God loves his people so deeply, why does he let them hit rock bottom? Like why let them suffer the brutal consequences of those choices instead of just fixing it for them?

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Well, because I mean, shielding them from reality wouldn't actually be mercy. By letting them experience the consequences of that rebellion, God allows them to see the absolute emptiness of those false idols.

SPEAKER_00 2:54

So it's a painful lesson, but a necessary one.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Exactly. The pain kind of reveals that anything other than God is just a dead end. They repeatedly rejected his leadership, and that dynamic of rebellion is exactly why Jesus eventually had to arrive to establish a completely new kind of authority.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

Right. Which perfectly brings us to day 78 of Catechism in a year. Jesus establishes the kingdom's true lasting authority. And uh he hands the keys to Peter.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

It's a total contrast to Israel's rebellion.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Yeah, and going back to Saint Joseph, he really models that perfect, faithful submission to this new kingdom. I think the reflection from St. Michael's Abbey called it his holy simplicity.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

Yeah, holy simplicity. Which basically means purity of obedience. I mean, an angel tells him to take a pregnant Mary as his wife, and he just wakes up and does it.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

But you know, simplicity makes it sound easy.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

And waking up and taking a pregnant woman as your wife when the child is in yours is, well, it's anything but simple.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 3:52

I mean, legally he had the right to have her stoned. So choosing her dignity over his own reputation is an agonizingly difficult choice.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

It is intensely difficult. And I think that's why simplicity here doesn't mean, you know, a lack of difficulty. It means a total lack of drama or hesitation.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Aaron Powell He didn't weigh his PR options, he just acted.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

Exactly. He obeyed God without making it about himself.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Aaron Powell And that lack of hesitation. Uh that actually illustrates the point Father Mike makes in his new video perfectly.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

The one about love.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

Yeah. He argues that the opposite of love isn't hate, it's actually use or indifference.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

Right. He defines true love, specifically the virtue of chastity, as a quickness to affirm the dignity of the other person.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

That is profound. And when you lay that definition over Joseph's life, I mean he is the ultimate living example of chastity.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

He really is.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

He refused to use Mary to maintain his own social standing, and he refused to just be indifferent to her mysterious pregnancy by, you know, quietly casting her aside.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

Yeah, he engaged with the whole situation through this lens of profound respect. He acted quickly to affirm her dignity, even when it completely derailed his own life's plan.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

It's the ultimate contrast. A worldly king uses people to maintain his comfort, but our incognito royal sacrifices his comfort to protect others.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

So the challenge for you listening today is to look at your own life. When you're faced with massive disruptions or sudden changes of plan, how do you react?

SPEAKER_01 5:18

Right. Can you avoid those traps of using or ignoring the people in your path?

SPEAKER_00 5:23

Exactly. The next time your life gets completely derailed, consider acting like an incognito royal. Treat the unexpected not as an inconvenience, but as a quiet invitation to serve the true king.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Yeah, practice that holy simplicity by quickly affirming the dignity of everyone you meet.

SPEAKER_00 5:41

That's our deep dive for today. We hope this helped you see the big picture. If you enjoyed this content, please remember to subscribe to the show or support our mission through the link in the description. God bless.