The fatherhood of St. Joseph is one of the most interesting aspects of his life I like to meditate on in prayer. Like last weeks article, the gaze of the father upon a son, shows a deep devotion and love that expands the heart of both parent and child. As part of Worldwide Marriage Encounter I remember one presentation that struck me deeply. The couple presenting talked about their relationship with their children and how we often talk mostly about what we want them to do in life and not who we want them to be. This came back to me once more in a reflection by Archbishop M. de Langalerie, a 19th century French bishop from his book “The Month of St. Joseph” which I am praying with during the month of March. He writes, “Christian parents, such should be your spirit, “Here we have no lasting city” (Hebrews 13:14). Your children are given you more for the purpose of fitting them for heaven than of qualifying them for earthly positions.” (p 32)
This is a reminder of what we desire for children and what the “duty” of the parents are both father and mother. If we believe that each child is created in the image and likeness of God, then we desire each child to be a saint, to strive for holiness and to be at peace with God and our fellow sisters and brothers in our life. This is not only what St. Joseph strove for but also what he lived as he worked, supported and cared for the child Jesus within the Holy Family.

What do we hope for our children? And more broadly: what do we hope for all people?
Pope St. John Paul II shares with us from “Redemptoris Custos” this thought, “What is crucially important here is the sanctification of daily life, a sanctification which each person must acquire according to his or her own state, and one which can be promoted according to a model accessible to all people: “St. Joseph is the model of those humble ones that Christianity raises up to great destinies;…he is the proof that in order to be a good and genuine follower of Christ, there is no need of great things-it is enough to have the common, simple and human virtues, but they need to be true and authentic.”(#24)
The Catholic Church understands and honors the labor we do and calls it necessary and important in the life of each person. Yet in the same way, our daily work does not define us nor limit us in the service of God’s blessing and grace. As St. Joseph labored and showed the child Jesus the dignity of work, he “at the workbench where he plied his trade together with Jesus, Joseph brought human work closer to the mystery of the Redemption.” (#22)

St. Joseph not only shows the dignity and honor in work as a father, husband and man but unites it with the Divine in doing the work not for his satisfaction but for the glory and blessing of God in caring for the family. As parents preparing children for the eternal, each family is called to be a domestic church fostering holiness and leading children to a path of recognizing not just the dignity of work but also in an important and vital way how our work brings blessings to others when we see God in our daily tasks. Each parent wants their children to be successful, but so also each parent would desire their child live a life of holiness in the blessing of others.
This desire for holiness should be marked but our lives too in the example of the call to holiness over and over again.
It begins with recognizing how God loves us and draws forth blessings from both the exciting and mundane of life when we choose to seek Him rather than the quick bite of pleasure or the momentary tickle of delight. Deep and abiding happiness and holiness comes from the call to be of service to another…a spouse, a child, a parent, a friend and an enemy. (St. Joseph) “was inspired by his love for his family, for Jesus and Mary, and frequently by love for his fellow men and by his noble desire to be to service to them and assist them.” (p 112 Fr. Maurice Meschler from “The Truth About St. Joseph)
God Bless
Fr. Mark

Gracias a su banco de trabajo sobre el que ejercía su profesión con Jesús, José acercó el trabajo humano al misterio de la redención. (#22)

«San José es el modelo de los humildes, que el cristianismo eleva a grandes destinos; san José es la prueba de que para ser buenos y auténticos seguidores de Cristo no se necesitan “grandes cosas”, sino que se requieren solamente las virtudes comunes, humanas, sencillas, pero verdaderas y auténticas» (#24).