01/05/2022
MAY 01, 2022βToday is supposedly the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, but since it falls on a Sunday, this celebration gives way to the Third Sunday of Easter. This feast is one of the two major liturgical celebrations in honor of the Lord's foster father, the other being the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary (March 19).
Today we commend all workingmen and women to the patronage of St. Joseph. We look up to him, especially today, as a model for all those who labor. From his examples of unwavering faith, uprightness, integrity, and courage, among others, we hope to imitate the great dignity he himself carried as a laborer like us.
As Catholic Social Teachings (CST) eloquently argue, there is dignity in labor. This dignity must be kept where it is already enshrined and honored, and it must be found or introduced where it is lacking or missing. Since work is a gift from God, we must try to pursue it daily with a sense of gratitude, holiness, and mission. As Christians, we are called to be 'other Christs' in our places of work. Our contribution, first and foremost, is to incarnate Christ in the performance of our duties--to perform in an upright, competent, honorable, trustworthy, and responsible way the role that has been given us. Though we might not yet see the whole picture, we trust God that our honest work helps in building, brick by brick, His kingdom on earth.
We must also ask St. Joseph's intercession for those who despair due to unemployment. It is a heavy burden for us to see our loved ones suffer because of our inability to capably support them financially. God understands this; He understands even our material needs. We also pray for those who suffer in their places of work, for various reasons: accidents, abuses, lack of charitable environment, employers who do not treat their employees with the dignity they deserve, or those who have been victims of unfair practices, gossip, or injustice.
We must also remember those workers who struggle to personally attend to or look after their families as they work. This includes those who, due to the lack of enough opportunities in their areas, have to leave their families behind to pursue employment elsewhere.
There is God-given dignity in human labor and we must strive to keep it daily. In raising Jesus under the guidance of St. Joseph the Worker, God has sanctified human labor. In decreeing that His only begotten Son should be raised by a carpenter, God has raised the dignity of the workingman. Let us strive daily to glorify the Lord in the honesty, competence, and integrity of our labor. One day, we shall put down our tools and rest our hands and feet, for on that glorious day, the bricks that make up the kingdom of heaven will have been in place and complete.
Our Lord truly risen, grant that we may share in your glory!
St Joseph the Worker, pray for us!
Β© [email protected]