In many countries, May 1 marks Labor Day, which is a holiday for most, such as here in the Philippines. For Catholics, however, this day is more importantly a day to commemorate Saint Joseph as a Worker. It is one of the two Feast Days that the Catholic Church celebrates in honor of Saint Joseph. The other is his Feast as the Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is on March 19th. It was in 1955 that Pope Pius XII proclaimed May 1st as his Feast for being Patron Saint of workers around the world. Saint Joseph, who made a decent living as a humble carpenter, is an exemplary model to all of us on how Christ may be glorified through our works. He is also a reminder that the value of the work we do should always uplift the dignity of the worker and never become an instrument of immorality or abuse.
When we hear that it is the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, our most immediate reflection will probably be about job or employment or career. That is true especially because he worked diligently on his craft. But his sainthood was much more than the secular work. The more important aspect in the life of Saint Joseph is the example of spiritual work he had shown throughout his life. The many challenges he faced, we continue to face today; and to a great extent, we can look up to this Saint and “work” on those life challenges the way he did.
Physical Challenges
The vocation of Marriage starts with the union of husband and wife and goes beyond it. Marriage bears fruits, which are children brought forth into this world. And it’s never easy to nurture the marriage itself and the children at the same time. It is first and foremost physically challenging for any married couple. This is particularly true for a father, who, as the head of the family, takes under his wing every work it needs for his family to be stable. It takes actual work- physical work, day-to-day efforts and tireless repetition of tasks to carry on with raising one’s family. And these physical challenges that continue to burden many people were all too familiar to Saint Joseph himself as he became the foster-father of Jesus. He treated the Blessed Mother as a responsible husband and the Divine Child like a true biological father would – with all of his love and self-sacrifice. Saint Joseph toiled and provided them with all their physical needs like food, clothing, and a home. He was physically there for Mary- offering her his loving presence and constant support in parenthood. And he was physically there for Jesus as well- guiding Him in His steps, sharing with Him life stories, teaching Him not only carpentry but the value and dignity of work, praying with Him everyday and leading Him to a righteous upbringing.
This saintly man had always risen up to the physical challenge of God’s calling. Right from the start of the life of Jesus, even when He was still in Mary’s womb, Saint Joseph was His mighty protector. Twice, upon the inspiration of an Angel in his dream, he set out to protect the Holy Family, on the lonely road to Bethlehem and in their perilous flight to Egypt. (See previous post: The Sleeping Saint Joseph) That journey to Egypt was around 300 miles, and took about 30 days amidst the desert. With the safety of the Blessed Mother and the Holy Child on his back, he walked and treaded dirty, muddy, rough and unknown roads. Then, in the wintertime in Egypt, the Holy Family had to live in the snow, heavy rains and winds. It is even wondered where they had slept some nights as they traveled and hid from Herod. What a physical test and bodily exertion it must have been for Joseph! But we know for sure that in every effort he took, Saint Joseph relied deeply on God for strength, perseverance and endurance. Through the manly qualities of Saint Joseph that God blessed him with, the Holy Family was able to go through those tough physical times.
Thus, for all of us, who grow weary trying to keep up with the physical demands of taking care of your relationships and raising your families, especially for fathers and mothers out there, ask for help from Saint Joseph. He knows what it means to toil, to exert, to be there for someone and to give. He is a wonderful example of how we must face all the physical trials as part of God’s plan for us. When things get challenging, do you get disheartened and just walk away? Or do you stand firm in your faith, work harder, and give it all your heart and strength to see it through? Like Saint Joseph did, you must work on intensifying your determination, courage, and fortitude during harder life challenges, so that at the end of your life, you wouldn’t have any regrets, because you can say that you have given it all you’ve got to follow God’s will.
Emotional Challenges
While physical challenges are somewhat associated mostly to bodily pains, emotional challenges can be much more hurtful at times. A lot of people seem strong enough for physical trials but their inner strength fades away when emotional problems come along. Saint Joseph also had to face many painful challenges emotionally as he took full responsibility for his wife Mary and his foster-Son Jesus.
Joseph was a simple and humble man, as we all know. Imagine what he must have felt when he found out that the lady he was betrothed to was carrying a child not of his own. It was quite possibly an emotional moment for him when he learned of this, just like any normal person would feel. But Joseph did not react like any ordinary man. Saint Joseph remained in virtue. As many scholars pointed out, he did not go around to speak of this shocking matter to anyone nor spread gossip about the Blessed Virgin Mary. He remained calm, gentle and noble. He initially decided to divorce her, as prescribed by their laws, but he wanted to do so quietly and in secret, true to his tender nature. Like guys without virtues would, he could have just run away and leave. Instead, Saint Joseph chose to stay, out of obedience to God and his love for Mary. He chose to accept the challenge and faced it with all his trust in Him. No matter how hurt he probably was of the situation, preserving Mary’s honor and reputation was still his utmost goal. This is an admirable example of how we must all try to face a difficult situation, no matter how emotional we are. Saint Joseph shows us that when we experience emotional challenges in our lives, we should not react with panic, rush in decision, discern with anger, or even throw tantrums. Without calmness, our decisions and choices are going to be clouded.
We have knowledge of how the story above went on for Saint Joseph, how it all became well, how the Angel revealed to him God’s Divine plan, and how God smoothened out what was seemingly a really bad situation for him. That’s all because Joseph trusted in God and not on himself. Likewise, this teaches us about keeping calm and trusting in God, when things are emotionally rough and we feel that there’s too much pain. That’s when we must look up to God and ask for guidance and clarity. For if we rely on our feelings and emotions too much, we might lose control, lose sight of what’s truly important in our lives, not know the rightful and just action to take, and end up hurting others as well. Like Saint Joseph, we must work on letting go of pride, anger, or arrogance in facing emotional challenges but allow love, humility, and trust in God to take over our thoughts and actions.
Although the Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Joseph are to each other Most Chaste spouses, their marriage remains a sacred contract before God. And we know that marriage between husband and wife always comes with real emotional challenges. Anyone who thinks that it’s all romance or thinks that he or she can be in a relationship, get married and stay married with all the romantic feelings and shared fantastic experiences without facing some tough problems or big issues is not being realistic. Having said that, we know that as Saint Joseph took Mary for his wife, he gave himself completely to her not only to endure the physical challenges but the emotional trials as well. As Mary’s husband, Saint Joseph was a loyal and faithful companion in their journey amidst poverty and pain. He truly loved Mary next to God and the Child Jesus. He respected her, suffered for her, supported her, and bore his crosses for her. Mary, for her part, answered Joseph’s love with confidence, submitting to his guidance and leadership, as a devoted wife.
Married couples can all learn from Saint Joseph on how to work on the emotional challenges of being a husband or wife and strive to be a good one in the eyes of God. Joseph endured the pains in as much as he relished the holy pleasures of married life. This is where a lot of married people struggle today- they live for the joys but they leave when there’s suffering. Non-married people who feel they are called to marriage can also learn from Saint Joseph by forming themselves in his virtues today. If we really want to enter a lifetime vocation such as marriage, then we must have the readiness and maturity to take on the emotional challenges that married life will surely throw at us. Let us start by praying to God, through Saint Joseph’s intercession, to reveal to us our emotional weaknesses and ask for help to amend them.
Financial Challenges
Saint Joseph was a poor man. He came from the royal line of the last descendants of David, but because it was the plan of God that His Son would suffer as a human like the majority of people in the world, which is the poor, God intended it that Saint Joseph was not financially rich. Jesus came to the world not for pleasures and trophies, but to save the world by suffering and the Cross.
The Holy Family lived in Egypt for seven years, until all the enemies were removed. But being poor strangers in an unknown place, life was really hard for them. Landolph of Saxony wrote that the family faced so much poverty, that there were times Our Blessed Mother couldn’t give any crust of bread to her hungry Child. When they moved to Nazareth, Joseph, for years, provided for Mary and Jesus through manual labor as a carpenter.
In a reflection written by Saint Alphonsus Mary de’ Liguori, he said that the Holy Family living in poverty should be a consolation to the poor:
“The thought of Jesus and Mary wandering as fugitives through a strange land teaches us that we must also live as pilgrims here below, detached from the material things that the world offers, and which we soon leave to enter eternity. It also teaches us to embrace crosses, for we cannot live in this world without them.”
Many times we love to live for fun and pleasures. We get blinded by all the luxurious things that the world offers and wish there’s some way we can obtain them for ourselves. As the world gets deeper into modernity, the standards for what’s pleasurable get higher too. Now there are fast foods and restaurants everywhere that it just feels good to eat. Cinemas and bars feel like a fun escape from reality. Traveling has become a thing for the rich and even the not-so-rich want it. People are always tempted to show off whatever they have in the social media, while making other feel envious or sorry for themselves. The result overall is that we’re getting farther away from holiness. We think we’re doing ‘alright’ when we’re not. These pleasures or the desire for them can cloud your mind and pull you away from realizing what’s really important in your life- God, your family and your loved ones. We can be somehow okay moneywise, be able to eat-this-buy-that, but still become spiritually poor. And that is the harder kind of financial challenge to have.
Saint Joseph, he didn’t have the money to enjoy cool things for himself back then or to shower his family with awesome gifts. But he got to offer so much more than the physical riches could afford. He gave so much love, devotion, loyalty, and gift of self to his wife and the foster Child. Can you do the same for your loved ones? This is both an inspiration and a challenge for us to work on. We know that amidst poverty and lack, we can beg God for His mercy and graces to fill us with our needs and supplement us according to His providence. But at the same time, Our Lord is asking us if we are more concerned about being rich rather than enriching ourselves and our loved ones spiritually.
Spiritual Challenges
Saint Joseph willingly participated indirectly in the mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ when he accepted God’s will of the perpetual virginity of Mary. Not only he honored the virginity of Mary before their married life, but even throughout their virginal marriage. Saint Joseph and Mary entrusted each other’s virginity mutually – that is, they protected each other’s virtue of chastity. Any man, without a deeply strong spirit rooted in God, would fail in that. But Saint Joseph prevailed over temptation and sin, remaining chaste and pure in heart, mind, and body.
If we were Saint Joseph, we’d most likely question God, feel confused or even run away from Him once a mystery such as the Incarnation would be revealed to us. The same is true with the many challenges in life that happen to us without just causes or any explicable reasons. Oftentimes we find the will of God as unfathomable. But Saint Joseph displayed the perfect surrender to God’s will. He faced this whole spiritual challenge to his faith and obedience with calmness, humility and holiness.
Saint Joseph sacrificially and joyfully collaborated with God’s plan of Incarnation, set from all eternity, to send God the Son to become Man, live among us, and redeem us all. Whatever you are going through in life right now, no matter how painful it is, let us be like Saint Joseph and work willingly to participate in the plan of God. Let us become instruments of God’s creation, love and harmony and not a means of destruction, animosity and division.
In all the sacrifices that Saint Joseph endured for his family, he did it selflessly without motive of self-interest. He knew there was no material gain whatsoever for him and he wasn’t after that at all. He took care of the family with so much love and devotion and offered it as a service to God. That’s how our spiritual life as Catholics should be. We perform our holy obligations by going to Mass and saying daily prayers. And we also do good works and charity to other people like the poor and the sick. But we must do these all for the love of God, and not because of any expected gains in return. Through the life of Saint Joseph, we should know that the greatest reward of our work on earth is becoming one of God’s faithful servants.
Despite all the hardness of a sanctified life, Saint Joseph chose that path to holiness and imitated Jesus. By his imitation of Him, his life was consecrated to Him – He offered his daily work, his virtues, his sufferings, and all of his life to Him. After Mary, he is the holiest of the Saints. As Catholics, even we are hurting, we must offer all the work we do, big or small, to God and always choose to stay with Jesus, as we work on our path to holiness, amidst the challenges and tribulations. Otherwise, we will get spiritually lost and go astray. By giving our whole being to God, we share in accomplishing His holy work on our souls.
Remember to always make Saint Joseph your model in life, your personal guide, and your father. Under his care, Jesus the Redeemer was prepared as a child to an adult in the home he built in Nazareth. Saint Joseph was very special because he’s the most important man in the life of Christ. He deserves our love, gratitude, devotion, and veneration for he surpasses the rank and honor of all the Saints and Angels in Heaven, next to Mary. We pray to Saint Joseph to be able to serve and love Jesus and Mary faithfully and sincerely with all our hearts like he did. As we ask Saint Joseph to intercede for us, may he help us reach the highest level of holiness that God intends for us. God desires to save our souls, to let us live in Heaven with all the Saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary and praise Him forever.
Many Catholics underestimate Saint Joseph. To this day, he is somehow less popular than other Saints. He is the 2nd highest Saint, but we usually forget to ask for his intercession in prayer. I grew up not really minding him. But as a young woman now, in the recent years, I’ve been asking for Saint Joseph for his help in finding me a spouse. When I read more about him, he has become one of my most favorite Saints ever. For many things, I’ve been praying to him daily. I also pray that Saint Joseph gives guidance in my discernment for marriage. Recently, I’ve done self-assessment, and been working harder to become a better person and a future wife, as I pray to Saint Joseph. To my future husband, he might read this one day, in God’s will, and I pray that right now he’s at work… working on himself each day to be more like Saint Joseph.
Please include me in your prayers, especially if you’re a devotee of Saint Joseph like me, as I myself face some life challenges. Your prayers are much needed and appreciated. Thank you all.
St. Joseph, pray for us!
Mama Mary, pray for us!
Amen.
She graduated cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas, the country's Pontifical and Catholic university, with an AB in Legal Management and minor units in Theology.
As an unmarried woman, prayer holds a central place in her daily life, with a focus on the Rosary and the Divine Office. Embodying her faith, she emphasizes the growth of her inner spiritual life, guided by the wisdom of Carmelite spirituality.
God manifested to her in a unique and radical manner, which made her know Who He truly is and led her to total surrender of her life to Him.
She has studied the Bible with her family, developing a particular fondness for the Old Testament.
Her adorable and intelligent toy poodle is a delightful companion in her daily life, bringing warmth and joy to her home.
Her hobbies include reading about everything, learning Japanese and German, listening to music and playing the flute.
In her leisure time, she enjoys gaming on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and OS, and collecting things related to PlayStation and Nintendo.
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