St Joseph: Holiness and Simplicity

On May 1, we celebrated the feast of St. Joseph, the Worker. He has been described as a saint who "knows how to roll up his sleeves and put in a hard day's work." St Joseph reminds us that we should give dignity and respect to our work and that the fruits of our labours which we offer to God are corresponding to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. It is a good time for us to live out this dignity of work by following the example of SI. Joseph. We should redouble our attentiveness to the work and commitments, which are already laid before us. 

We have discovered about St Joseph's life of simplicity where he didn't take no attention of his own glory but seek God's glory alone. He didn't go around Nazareth working miracles rather, he lived his holiness wrapped in simplicity. God draws us to Himself through the ordinary means of simply fulfilling our tasks. 

Joseph was a great man. Right from the beginning, he was with his family, Jesus and Mary. His holiness and simplicity came through Jesus and Mary by serving and receiving from them. 

We know Joseph's family is not a normal family like ours. There is a special grace about this Holy Family. If we compare our families to the Holy Family, we will probably be discouraged because we are not able to live our lives like them. Nevertheless, they are intimately close to us and help us to draw closer to God. 

My dear parishioners, we are coming to the end of the novena and feast of St Joseph which reflected on the theme: "Jesus, the Heart of the Family." Despite the heavy rain almost every evening, I have noticed how devoted you are to St Joseph as you have been making yourselves present in Church, participating in the prayers and listening to the inspiring preaching by the celebrants during the Novena days. In our Eucharistic encounter with Christ, we receive Jesus' grace and His love. The little refreshments prepared by the various zones and the daily fellowship have strengthened our unity within our parish community. Thank you for being a devoted servant of God. 

How are we going to make our devotion to St Joseph and our focus of the year on family to be devoted servants of God? 

Here, we need to ask ourselves as individuals and families - Is there a need to forgive our spouse and children? Is there love that needs rekindling in our homes? Is there gratitude missing in my home and community? As members of family and community, we cannot grow in holiness and simplicity without the example of Mary, Joseph and Jesus and those around us especially our parents and children. 

Though we have come to the end of this feast of St Joseph, it is not the end of our focus on strengthening our faith and family commitments but it is a good opportunity to examine our closest relationships with Joseph, Mary and Jesus leading the way by example and family prayers.