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Year 2021 has seen an extraordinary spotlight cast on St. Joseph as it is the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s declaration of St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. Consecrating the Year 2021 to Saint Joseph (Ite Ad Joseph — ‘Go To Joseph’), Pope Francis spoke of “Saint Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows.”
Year 2021 has seen an extraordinary spotlight cast on St. Joseph as it is the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s declaration of St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. Consecrating the Year 2021 to Saint Joseph (Ite Ad Joseph — ‘Go To Joseph’), Pope Francis spoke of “Saint Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows.”
For all of us in the HCFM PrayFest community, St. Joseph emerges as an exemplar of ‘a just man’ in this time of adversity and challenge. He is the earthly representative of the Heavenly Father for us and a model to imitate in our quest for holiness. Through the St. Joseph posts in our PrayFest community learn that “Joseph is also a father in obedience to God: with his ‘fiat’ he protects Mary and Jesus and teaches his Son to “do the will of the Father.”
“ho tou tektōnos huios? — Is not this the carpenter's son?”
This is the question in the Gospel of Mathew that is asked of Jesus when he preaches to the multitude. The word ‘tektōnos’ refers to a craftsman of wood and stone, who was the builder of the day. The word Tektōn (τέκτων) is derived from the PIE root *tetḱ, which means "to carve, to chisel, to mold." St. Joseph, the Guardian of our Redeemer was a sought-after craftsman of Nazareth. Indeed, St. Joseph the Worker carved, chiseled and molded our Lord Jesus Christ as he prepared himself for ministry.
In a recent inspiring PrayFest post, we learned that work is ordained by God and is a holy duty for all of us. St. Joseph worked with his hands and taught the child Jesus his craft of carpentry. As the Head of the Holy Family, St. Joseph teaches us that working silently for Jesus and Mary is the highest calling of every man. We should learn from our humble model, St. Joseph, to have no greater happiness than to work, and to work well as an act of sacrificial love.
The book Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father by Father Donald H. Calloway, MIC is the pre-eminent text for us to understand the role of St. Joseph in our world today: “St. Joseph wants you to be docile to the direction of the Holy Spirit so that you can be led in the ways of holiness. What is holiness, anyway? Holiness is living in intimate, loving communion with God. More specifically, holiness is observing the two great commandments of love of God and neighbor, avoiding sin, leading a life of virtue and abiding in sanctifying grace. None of this is possible without the Holy Spirit in your life. To be holy, you need to imitate St. Joseph”
So to close, in the words of Pope Francis: “St Joseph … “has helped us see more clearly the importance of “ordinary” people who, though far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day. In this, they resemble Saint Joseph, ‘the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence,’ who nonetheless played ‘an incomparable role in the history of salvation.’
Which is why we at HCFM PrayFest community say, Ite Ad Joseph!
Which is why we at HCFM PrayFest community say, Ite Ad Joseph!
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