A lecturer in a seminary asked his students to write a brief
essay on this topic: ‘What relic of which saint would you like to have, if you
were to be granted your wish and why?’ One student had written this: “I would
like to have in a vial some drops of the sweat of Saint Joseph. Reason: Because
his sweat would symbolise honest, humble, honourable work. It is because it was
by the sweat of his brow that he was able to feed the Son of God, His Mother
and himself.”
The
Church celebrates two feasts in honour of St. Joseph. His official feast day is
March 19; whereas May 1 is the celebration of him as patron saint of the
universal Church, social justice and of honest, faithful and dedicated work
doing God's will as husband to Mary, foster father of Jesus and as a carpenter
– in order to provide for his family.
Everything
we know about Joseph comes from Scripture. He was not rich; but despite his
humble work as a carpenter he came from royal lineage, a descendant of King
David himself. Joseph was compassionate and a caring man – always ready to
protect those he loved from outside harm and disgrace - Mary and Jesus. Joseph
was a man of faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him without question, and
without knowing the outcome. He took Mary as his wife under unusual
circumstances; he took his new family and fled to Egypt at the bidding of an
angel, without knowing why or asking questions.
We
know that Joseph loved Jesus – he regarded him, cared for him and respected him
as his own son – as any good foster-father would. Joseph probably died before
Jesus' public ministry – in the company of Jesus and Mary – and is therefore
known as the patron of a happy death!
The
verse from 1 Cor 10:31: ‘... whatever you do, do it for the love of God’,
reflects greatly the spirit of St Joseph. Joseph did everything he did because
he loved God first; and those God put with him in life, second, to prove that
love.
Feast of St. Joseph the Worker
 |
| Pope Pius XII instituted the liturgical feast of May 1, in honour of Saint Joseph the Worker to coincide with Labour Day |
On
May 1, 1955, Pope Pius XII granted a public audience to the Catholic
Association of Italian Workers, whose members had gathered in Saint Peter’s
Square to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their society. They were solemnly
renewing, in common, their promise of loyalty to the social doctrine of the
Church, and it was on that day that the Pope instituted the liturgical feast of
May 1, in honour of Saint Joseph the Worker to coincide with Labour Day. He
assured his audience and the working people of the world: “You have beside you
a shepherd, a defender and a father” in Saint Joseph, the carpenter whom God in
His providence chose to be the virginal father of Jesus and the head of the
Holy Family. He is silent but has excellent hearing, and his intercession is
very powerful over the Heart of the Saviour (from Heavenly Friends: a Saint
for each Day, by Rosalie Marie Levy, Saint Paul Editions: Boston, 1958).
We
should understand the significance of celebrating the feast of St. Joseph the
Worker on May 1. He has been described as a saint who “knows how to roll up his
sleeves and put in a hard day’s work.” In other words, we can describe him as a
man who “turun padang dan kerja” (got down into the fields and worked). St.
Joseph also reminds us that we should give dignity and respect to our own work
and that the fruits of our labours which we offer to God are corresponding to
the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. This has been beautifully described in the
Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern
World,“Through labour offered to God man is associated with the redemptive work
of Jesus Christ, Who conferred an eminent dignity on labour when at Nazareth He
worked with His own hands,” (Gaudium et Spes, no 67).
By
commemorating the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, the Church offers us the
example of St. Joseph, the carpenter from Nazareth, who was a model worker,
keeping up his family and developing his profession. This is the normal way to
live in this world of ours; by earning one's own bread by the sweat of one's
brow. Human rights tell us that each one of us has a right to a decent and
well- remunerated job. This is how we fulfill our duties and are paid the
salary we deserve. The Church prays for the working world, so that every worker
may fulfill his/her duties and live with dignity.
This
feast is not only a mere celebration for labourers as workers because the
intention of the Church in instituting this feast is for the workers and people
in general to see work in the context of relationship, more specifically around
the basic unit of society. This is to show also that the Church recognises the
basic rights of labourers.
Therefore,
the Church invites us to appreciate labour and work in terms of the following
values:
Vocation: Through labour and work, we give meaning to our existence. We realise
that we are not just here to waste time and to occupy space. We have a unique
role to play; we have contributions to make in our world.
Stewardship: Through labour and work, we show the highest accountability for all the
talents and abilities that nature and education endowed on us.
Service: Through our labour and work, we employ our talents and abilities not
only to make a living but to meet the needs of others.
Five Lessons from St. Joseph
St.
Joseph the Worker is the patron saint for labourers precisely because in that
they are affirmed in their dignity as working persons, they are also reminded
to be faithful in their responsibilities not only to society in general but
above all to their respective families and especially to God that they worship
and believe.
There are five lessons that all of us who are ‘labourers’ can
learn from St. Joseph:
Saint Joseph was OBEDIENT. Joseph was obedient to God’s Will throughout
his life. Joseph listened to the angel of the Lord explain the virgin birth in
a dream and then took Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:20- 24). He was obedient when
he led his family to Egypt to escape Herod’s infanticide in Bethlehem (Matthew
2:13-15). Joseph obeyed the angel’s later commands to return to Israel (Matthew
2:19-20) and settle in Nazareth with Mary and Jesus (Matthew 2:22-23). How
often does our pride and willfulness get in the way of our obedience to God?
Saint Joseph was SELFLESS. In the limited knowledge we have about
Joseph, we see a man who only thought of serving Mary and Jesus, never himself.
What many may see as sacrifices on his part, were actually acts of selfless
love. His devotion to his family is a model for fathers today who may be
allowing disordered attachments to the things of this world distort their focus
and hinder their vocations.
Saint Joseph LED BY EXAMPLE. None of his words are written in Scripture,
but we can clearly see by his actions that he was a just, loving and faithful
man. We often think that we primarily influence others by what we say, when so
often we are watched for our actions. Every recorded decision and action made
by this great saint is the standard for men to follow today.
Saint Joseph was a WORKER. He was a simple craftsman who served his neighbours
through his handiwork. He taught his foster son Jesus the value of hard work.
It is likely that the humility Joseph exhibited in recorded Scripture spilled
over into the simple approach he took to his work and providing for the Holy
Family. We can all learn a great lesson from St. Joseph, who is also the patron
saint of workers, on the value of our daily work and how it should exist to
glorify God, support our families and contribute to society.
Saint Joseph was a LEADER. But, not in the way we may view leadership
today. He led as a loving husband when he improvised to find a stable for Mary
to give birth to Jesus, after being turned away from the Bethlehem inn. He led
as a man of faith when he obeyed God in all things, took the pregnant Mary as
his wife and later brought the Holy Family safely to Egypt. He led as the
family provider by working long hours in his workshop to make sure they had
enough to eat and a roof over their heads. He led as a teacher by teaching
Jesus his trade and how to live and work as a man.
Learning from the Spirituality of St. Joseph
When
reflecting on St. Joseph as a worker, a carpenter, what comes to our mind? As a
general rule, we associate the word ‘worker’ with the words ‘career’ or
‘employment’. This association relates to our secular work. But what about our
spiritual work?
Through
St. Joseph, a great model for all Christians, we see a love for both, his
worldly and spiritual labour. St. Joseph was an artistic carpenter who loved to
transform a piece of wood by creating useful objects. In his mind, he surely
perceived that the wood that came from the trees was a God given gift. As
Christian carvers of wood do, St. Joseph must have surely spent endless hours
in prayer to the Lord God so that he might be inspired as to the potential end
result of each piece of wood that was processed through the labour of his
hands.
Let
us always look up to St. Joseph as one of our patron saints. As the Patron of
Workers, for those of us who work, St. Joseph is the model that we should
imitate to ensure that the grace of God shall continue to flow upon us and
flourish richly through us.
The church of St Joseph, Sentul, Kuala Lumpur was built in 1908
as a symbol of dignity to the workers of the Railway Central Workshop. I have a
personal devotion to St. Joseph and I am inviting the faithful to visit the
shrine of St. Joseph situated next to the parochial house.
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