Homily: May 1 - Saint Joseph the Worker - Dwelling in the presence of Divine Mystery

St. 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

There is very little about the life of Joseph in Scripture but still, we know that he was the chaste husband of Mary, the foster father of Jesus, a carpenter and  a man who was not wealthy. We also know that he came from the royal lineage of King David.

The Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker was instituted in 1955 by Pope Pius XII to be celebrated on May 1 as a sort of alternative to the Communist May Day marches.  The Church wanted to proclaim that Human Labor is transformed into a very good and holy thing, when it is offered to God.

Saint Paul says, “whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”.  

In Saint Joseph, we a man who did do everything in the name of the Lord, who put Christ at the center of his life, who served him, who served the holy family through his protection and work.

Pius XII raised up for us the wonderful example of Saint Joseph, to remind the world that human labor can serve God, point to God, reflect God’s own creating hand.  Work is not about just making a name for ourselves.  I think of Psalm 127, which states unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.  In other words, when our work or any of our endeavors are merely self-serving, we are wasting our time.

How do we keep God at the center of our work and endeavors?  Archbishop Fulton Sheen recommended turning to God at the beginning and completion of each task and offering it up for love of him, and pausing frequently throughout the course of our work, asking ourselves why we are doing it, and whether its purpose is holy.  “Joseph reveals to us the secret of a humanity which dwells in the presence of mystery and is open to that mystery at every moment of everyday life (Pope Benedict XVI).”

Saint Joseph cooperated with the great events God was accomplishing in the world, but he did so through simple work.

Through the Intercession of Saint Joseph, the Worker, may all our work and endeavors this day and always work be a means of sanctification and a way of animating earthly realities with the Spirit of Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.