Thoughts to Live by | Memorial of St Joseph the Worker

by Cardinal Orlando Beltran Quevedo, O.M.I, Archbishop-Emeritus of Cotabato

Readings for the Memorial:

Gen. 1:26-2:3 or Col. 3: 14-15, 17, 23-24

Ps. 90:2, 3-4, 12-13, 14, 16

Mt. 13:54-58.

Some Notes on St. Joseph the Worker -

1. St. Joseph has two feast days: March 19, Joseph the husband of Mary; and May 1, St. Joseph the Worker. Devotion to St. Joseph as a worker goes back to the Middle Ages, when Catholic theologians and writers began to emphasize his humility and hard work in the carpentry trade. Pope Leo XIII made the connection between St. Joseph and the dignity of work when his 1891 encyclical, "Rerum Novarum," challenged injustices to laborers, such as unjust wages and degrading working conditions.

2. The feast was solemnly instituted by Pope Pius XII on 1 May 1955. It responded to the "May Day" celebrations for workers organized by the Communists. More importantly, Pope Pius XII wanted "the humble worker of Nazareth, who personifies before God and the Church the dignity of human labor, to be especially venerated by workers throughout the world." He wanted to reaffirm that work has a sacred root and find its purest expression in St. Joseph. His feast is an occasion for us to remember that all human work is a vocation and collaboration in the divine work.

3. There is little we know about the life of St Joseph. Still, we know that he was the chaste husband of Mary, the foster father of Jesus, a carpenter, and a man who was not wealthy, even though he came from the royal lineage of King David. He was a compassionate man, obedient to the will of God. He loved Mary and Jesus, protected them, and provided for them. Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus' public life, at his death or resurrection, many historians believe that Joseph probably died before Jesus entered public ministry.

4. St. Joseph represents the dignity of daily work: he built, he repaired, worked in silence. He offered each day as an act of love to God. Silently, St. Joseph sanctified his life and home through constant, humble and obedient work. As St. Pope John Paul II said, "Work was for St. Joseph an expression of love, with which he exercised his mission in the service of Jesus and Mary" (Redemptoris Custos). In him shine the virtues that every Christian worker is called to imitate: humility, fidelity, patience, justice. He treated everyone with fairness and honesty.

5. The social doctrine of the Church teaches us that human work possesses an inalienable dignity. Work should not enslave or dehumamize, but should make man perfect in his vocation as a child of God. The Church has firmly defended workers' rights, proclaiming that work has both an economic and spiritual dimension. Beginning in the Book of Genesis, the dignity of human work has long been celebrated as a participation in the creative work of God (Gen. 2:15). St. Joseph has shown us, work is a way to holiness.

6. 1st Reading, Gen. 1:26-2:4, The Story of Creation. With his Creation of the universe in 6 days, and his rest on the 7th day, God shows us his own divine work. The 6th day of the Creation story has verses directly related to the vocation of human work. "God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them: be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all living things that crawl on the earth" (vv. 27-28; see also v. 26). "God looked at everything he had made and found it very good" (v. 31). It is our task to "have dominion," i.e., to promote the rule of God over the universe. He gives sexuality to human beings to continue in existence through generation and to take possesssion of the whole universe.

7. Resp. Ps. 90:2, 3-4, 12-13, 14, 16 -- A Prayer of Moses. "Before the mountains were born, the earth and the whole world brought forth, from eternity to eternity you are God" (v. 2). "You turn humanity back into dust, saying, 'Return, you children of Adam!' A thousand years in your eyes are merely a day gone by" (vv. 3-4). "Teach us to count our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Relent, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants. Fill us at daybreak with your mercy, that all our days we may sing for joy" (vv. 12-14). "Show your deeds to your servants, your glory to their children" (v. 16). The Psalm contrasts God's eternity with the brevity of human life and invokes God's compassion and mercy.

8. Gospel, Mt. 13:54-58 -- The Rejection at Nazareth. Arriving at Nazareth, his native place, after his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus astounds the people in the synagogue with his teaching. They are also skeptical. "Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Jude? Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all?" (vv. 54-56; the semitic words for brothers or sisters may also mean relatives). And they took offense at him." But Jesus said, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place" (v. 57). "And he did not work many mighty deeds there, because of their lack of faith" (v. 58).

9. Lk. 4:16-30 supplies more details. Joseph is named as the father of Jesus. Jesus is rejected because his recall of Old Testament miracles for non-Jews angered his Jewish hearers. They dragged Jesus out of the synagogue to throw him off a hill. But he simply walks away unharmed.

   
   

10. Prayer -- O God, Creator of all things, you laid down for the human race the law of work. Graciously grant that by the example of St. Joseph and under his patronage, we may complete the works you set us to do and attain the rewards you promise, through Christ your Son our Lord. Amen (Collect for St. Joseph the Worker)

    
    

Prayers, Easter blessings and wishes, Alleluiah! Alleluiah!!!