SAINT Joseph is one of the most beloved saints. Being designated as Patron Saint of Workers is a unique tribute to a virtuous man and foster father of the Lord Jesus on Earth, and patron of the Universal Church.
Called righteous by Saint Matthew the Evangelist, Saint Joseph is one with a faultless moral conduct. His divine goodness places him in harmonious relationship with God and man. Although a descendant of King David, he ennobled work by practicing his trade with fervor, became an exemplar of how to work devotedly to Jesus, who never detested to be called “the son of a carpenter.”
Spiritual dimension of work
To pledge loyalty to the Social Program of the Church, the Catholic Association of Italian Workers gathered at the Saint Peter’s Square on May 1, 1955, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the society. Pope Pius XII assured them and the workers of the world that they have a “shepherd, a defender and a father.” He expressed his hopes that work should not only emphasize the dignity of labor but also nurture its spiritual dimension.
He instituted the liturgical feast of Saint Joseph the Worker on May 1. Vatican II documents on the Church in the Modern World states: “Where men and women, in the course of gaining a livelihood for themselves and their families, offer appropriate service to society, they can be confident that their personal efforts promote the work of the Creator, confer benefits on their fellowmen, and help to realize God’s plan in history.”
In 1889 Vincenzo Gioacchino Pecci, who became Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903), proposed to workers to make Saint Joseph their patron and model of proletarians, workers and underprivileged. Aware of the needs of the times, he issued Renum Novarum, an Encyclical on Labor, on May 15, 1891. Considered as the foundation of modern Catholic teaching, the encyclical included the rights and duties of both capital and labor.
According to Stephen Beale, a Catholic journalist, Rerum Novarum is one of the seven Papal Encyclicals that changed the world. While it repudiates radical socialism and unrestrained capitalism, it defends the right to private property, and maintains the right of labor to form unions. Regarded as the first of the Catholic Church’s modern social canon, it is a critical reflection on the social issues of modern life.
The former Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista de la Chiesa was elected as Pope Benedic XV (1922-1939) on September 3, 1914, less than a month after World War I. Besides his efforts for peace and democracy, he encouraged workers to “follow Saint Joseph as their special guide and honor him as their heavenly patron,” while helping prisoners of war. Wikipedia noted that as Patron of the Work of Prisoners, he spent 82 million lires, which is currently equivalent to $8 billion.
Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, who later became Pope Pius XI, (1922-1939), issued the Encyclical on Reconstruction of Moral Order. With the Church as guide and teacher, he emphasized the importance of Christian reform on morals for the common good. He categorically expressed his stand against the tenets of socialism and false teachings on human liberty.
In his Encyclical, Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II, elucidating the importance of work to human dignity and spirituality, said: “Work is not only good in the sense that it is something to enjoy; it is also good in the sense of being something worthy…. Work is a good thing for man—a good thing for humanity—because through work not only transforms nature, adapting it to his own needs, but he also achieves fulfillment as a human being and, indeed, becomes more a human being.”
Work sanctifies
“The Lord God then took man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it” (Genesis 2:15).
Since holiness is what one does to sanctify the self, then, work, too, is sanctifying the heart, the mind or actions. It is through work that one actualizes the blessings that come from God. But the fullness of one’s effort is what makes the worker holy. Any work, be it building a cathedral or closing the doors of a monastery, the Christian is called upon to do his best, make full use of his talents for God’s glory—“to build the Body of Christ.”
Addressing the Christians in Thessalonica, Saint Paul gave a warning to those who refuse to work: “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat” (2 Thessalonians, 3:10).
That work is love made visible to exemplify the spirit of Christ who did all things to perfection, the Office of the Readings on Saint Joseph’s feast day contains excerpts from Vatican II documents on the Church in the modern world: “Where men and women, in the course of gaining a livelihood for themselves and their families offer appropriate service to society, they can be confident, that their personal efforts promote the work of the Creator, confer benefits on their fellowmen, and help to realize God’s plan in history.”
Saint Joseph has two feast days on the liturgical calendar. The first is March 19—Joseph, the Husband of Mary. The second is May 1—Joseph, the Worker, Catholicnewsagency.com said.
• Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris College in Calauan, Laguna.
Image credits: Catholictradition.org