St. Joseph Shows Us the Most Important Work of All
Everything’s pointing to St. Joseph. My wife Ellen reminded me that she got me Fr. Calloway’s book, Consecration to St. Joseph, as a gift last Father’s Day and that I should read it (sometime soon). My confessor recommended cultivating a deeper devotion to the Head of the Holy Family. My social media feed informed me that all of March, not just a single day, is dedicated to the foster father of Jesus. Maybe God’s trying to tell me something!
Whether we struggle with employment or purity or fear of death, grapple with family troubles or deep spiritual warfare, St. Joseph is a powerful intercessor. He who is called “Glory of family life” and “Terror of demons” lived a life of humility, obedience, and relative silence. He is the archetype of the righteous man, a faithful spouse and devoted father.
We celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on March 19. But we also celebrate the memorial of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1. By doing this, the Church shows us something significant about who Joseph was to the Holy Family, and who spouses are called to be in their own families.
Just as there is a hierarchy of goods that we experience in life (my possessions are good, my family members are even better, and God is best of all), there is a hierarchy to the Church’s celebration. The memorial honoring Joseph as a laborer is not as high (not as important) as a solemnity. A solemnity is the highest rank of a feast in the Church’s calendar. Meanwhile, March 19, which celebrates Joseph’s role as a husband and family man, is observed as a solemnity! The Church is telling us that family life upstages work life.
I had lunch with a friend a few weeks ago, and he expressed the opinion that the time and effort put in by a parent at home is more valuable than the time put in at a job. He’s absolutely right! We Christians understand that the family is where our vocations become real, where love becomes incarnate in presence and action.
The call to self-emptying love isn’t meant to be directed only toward kids but is firstly directed to one’s spouse. The Solemnity of St. Joseph reflects this. The first duty of Joseph is to be the husband of Mary. Secondly, he serves as a father.
St. John Henry Newman wrote, “God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another.” He knew he had a mission, a special God-given work, to accomplish. So do we. Our spouse and children are never a distraction from this work; they are the primary work. They are also the source of our deepest sorrows and highest joys. They are everything!
Being there for our loved ones might not always be easy. Love requires sacrifice, but we can’t give that love if we don’t commune with God, who is Love.
Joseph offers us a blueprint for the interior life which begets tangible love, and he does so without saying a word. Bl. Stefan Wyszyński wrote that “silence and quietness are the essential conditions of fruitfulness in every type of work...When the saints start to speak less...when they fall deeply in love with silence, they listen ever more intently to what the Spirit of God says.”
Sounds like St. Joseph! Scripture reveals to us this saint’s loving, obedient actions, but never offers a direct quote from the man. He is a lover of silence. In that silence, he listens to his conscience and to angels, and he sees clearly what he must do.
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