Behold a faithful and prudent servant, whom the Lord has set over His household. (Magnificat antiphon)
The instinct of Mother Church to go to Joseph is an incredible insight: the one who looked after, formed and cherished the Son of God also looks after us, the adopted children of God. Experience from childhood when the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth lived a life that I would characterize as centered on S the example of Saint Jospeh certainly demonstrated to me that a life as a Catholic is somewhat deficient with an acknowledgement, no, a reliance upon the foster Father of the Savior. At Notre Dame High School (W. Haven, CT) the Brothers of Holy Cross taught me to have a very simple reliance on Saint Joseph. There was a constant reminder of their beatus’ picture in the main office, that of Blessed Brother André, who had an infectious devotion to Saint Joseph (but one that didn’t eclipse his following Jesus) that manifested itself in fidelity and then the building of Montreal‘s Saint Joseph‘s Oratory. Blessed Brother André said once: “When you invoke Saint Joseph, you don’t have to speak much. You know your Father in heaven knows what you need; well, so does His friend Saint Joseph. Tell him, ‘If you were in my place, Saint Joseph, what would you do? Well, pray for this in my behalf.'”
Later in life, the famed emeritus archabbot of Saint Meinrad Archabbey, Lambert, told me that his own religious life and service as a priest would have been less than adequate without his devotion to Saint Joseph. He seemed always to say: Go to Jospeh. In fact, he attributes the flowering of the archabbey and seminary to the intercession of Saint Joseph. This also became true for me in that I attribute meaningful for myself and my father through the intercession of Joseph.
The March 2009 issue of Touchstone magazine published an article by Joseph R. Fornieri entitled, “The Good Father.” A worthwhile look at Joseph’s place in Christianity.
At last night’s Vespers Cameron the Pope delivered a homily speaking of Saint Joseph as a man fully alive and someone who lived the gift of fatherhood fully. Two lines stand out for me: “Joseph teaches us that it is possible to love without possessing,” and “The life of Saint Joseph, lived in obedience to God’s word, is an eloquent sign for all the disciples of Jesus who seek the unity of the Church.”
What would a friendship, a family, a parish community, a Benedictine abbey, indeed the world be like if we actually loved the other person without possessing him or her and if we followed (a truer meaning of the word ‘obedience’) the Word of God? Would our happiness explode? Would we live without counting the cost? Would we loose anything of value of ourselves?
The Catholic Information Service has a wonderful booklet on Saint Joseph. I recommend getting it. Email cis@kofc.org or call 203.752.4267.
The instinct of