Wednesday May 1, 2019
Feast of St Joseph the Worker
Acts 5:17-26
Jn: 3: 16-21
 
 
The heart of the Father who formed the heart of Jesus...
 
He who placed a Fathers Heart in good Saint Joseph. Jesus obeyed Joseph. And if we look at the story of St Joseph, we know God can in fact change hearts! He changed the Heart of Joseph. Joseph was faithful in quick obedience to God the Father. Often, we don't contemplate enough the real sufferings of St Joseph. To be obedient one must be willing to suffer. 
 
The flight to Egypt with Mary and child. The loss of Jesus in Jerusalem. You see, to be faithful to the grace God has in store for us, we must be willing to suffer. We know the Holy family was poor and poverty allows us to experience suffering. However, poverty can also draw families closer together! We all must be poor before the Lord! Poverty often allows for our dependence on God. 
 
Yet as we celebrate the feast of St Joseph the Worker, we know the dignity of labor and the poverty, both personal and societal, can be overcome through the value of meaningful work of self and of others. This vision has certainly been a part of the Church's social teaching in which we are called to defend the dignity of the human person and the value of labor! 
 
Happy feast of St Joseph the worker.
St Joseph, Pray for Us.
 
Fr. Jeff  †