by Rev. Herbert Nichols

Every age, every century, every time and place has developed its own particular cult of devotion to saints, but the most universally recognized is that of one whom we really know almost nothing--St. Joseph.

He was not a major figure in the early Church. Popular devotion to Joseph did not begin until the 15th century. And it was only as recently as 1714 that this feast honoring Joseph, patron of laborers was established. It was Pope John XXIII who added his name to the list of saints in the Eucharistic prayer.

The Bible tells us so little about this mysterious man--that he was husband of Mary, a descendent of David, but not the father of the child in her womb. Though at the time engaged, but not married, it was nonetheless considered a binding commitment.

To violate this agreement was considered adultery, and the sentence was death by stoning. Desiring to spare Mary her life and any embarrassment he planned to send her away quietly.

By divine intervention, Joseph was convinced that this child who was not his was conceived by God. Just think about that for a minute and wonder if any man in our century and culture would be able to accept such a revelation.

Joseph took Mary and her child into his home and loved and cared for them; Joseph must have been a man without selfishness. The Bible says so little and yet so much when it says of Joseph: He was a just man.

What could be a more fitting epitaph or marker beneath his statue, or model for our lives. We live in a culture today that glorifies leisure. We use cutesy little sayings like "couch potato" to indicate that if we don’t do something we are going to leisure ourselves to death.

How counter cultural to celebrate labor/work! Why? Because we are created in the image and likeness of God who worked at least euphemistically for six days and rested when His work was finished. When we think about our divine image, we focus on holiness, perhaps on free will, but on work?

When we work with commitment and imagination, we are like God. God created. We create, not strictly speaking from nothing but from the raw materials of the earth which God has given us. God’s creation and our power to share in it, unlike the lower forms of creation is a gift to those He loves. And what we do with it is our gift of gratitude in return.

God’s creation is an expression of his love, care and responsibility. St. Joseph understood this, lived it and modeled it for us to appropriate in our unique way. When we bring this attitude of mind to our work, then we too can rest with peace, pleased that we like God have made something with our own hands and can declare like God that it is good.