Dear St. Joseph, is there anyone in the life of Jesus who is a greater unsung hero than you? Is there a saint who has done more for Jesus, yet about whom we know less?
You were the one who put your head down and kept working, kept doing the will of God, no matter how much you had to lose, no matter how demanding, no matter how completely the will of God went against your own will – your will and the wills of those around you.
We never hear of you questioning, resenting, lamenting, or even feeling sorry for yourself. When you left Nazareth, gloriously constrained with that holiest of burdens, the Son of God and his Mother, you never once turned back, never once wondered when, or if, you would see your home and family again.
Could I do what you did? Could I give so completely, so humbly, of myself? Could I be so kind, so generous, so uncomplaining?
Help me, Saint of all Workers, to evince in my life the humility that you demonstrated in yours. Teach me to follow God relentlessly, no matter where God may lead me.
Inculcate in me your humble nature that I may never put myself before others or before God’s will. Help me to develop within myself just a fraction of your courage, compassion, strength, and perseverance. Amen.
Source: People of the Nativity: Living the Christmas Story Then and Now, pp. 66-67, slightly adapted.
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