 St. Joseph the Worker
Name: St. Joseph the Worker
Date: 1 May
On May 1, 1955, Pope Pius XII granted a public audience to the Catholic Association of ItalianWorkers, whose members had gathered in Saint Peter’s Square to celebrate the tenth anniversaryof their society. They were solemnly renewing, in common, their promise of loyalty to the socialdoctrine of the Church, and it was on that day that the Pope instituted the liturgical feast of May1st, in honor of Saint Joseph the Worker. He assured his audience and the working people of theworld: “You have beside you a shepherd, a defender and a father” in Saint Joseph, the carpenterwhom God in His providence chose to be the virginal father of Jesus and the head of the HolyFamily. He is silent but has excellent hearing, and his intercession is very powerful over the Heartof the Saviour. We can conclude from the role for which Saint Joseph was chosen and named by Heaven that hewas a man of tried virtue and consummate holiness. No other mortal man would ever hold ahigher office. Saint Joseph surpassed all the Saints of the Old Law in sanctity; in him the virtue ofhis ancestors reached its culmination and perfection. Like Abraham, he was a man of faith andobedience; like Isaac, one of prayer and vision; like Jacob, he was patient and self-sacrificing; likeJoseph of Egypt, his chastity was inviolable. And like David, of whom he is the directdescendant, he is a royal intercessor according to the heart of God. Ite ad Joseph — Go toJoseph; to Joseph of Egypt, the pharaoh told the needy to go for assistance to receive the grainthat would save their lives. To the new Joseph, the just man to whom the Son of God Himselfwas subject as to a father, all Christians can go with confidence, and he will see to their spiritualand temporal needs with paternal goodness. |
