• About The Sophia Center

The Sophia Center for Spirituality

~ Spanning the denominations in NY's Southern Tier

The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Tag Archives: consecrated life

Joseph, the Just Man

19 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

consecrated life, St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

consecratedToday people the world over are celebrating St. Joseph, called “the Just Man” and known as the patron of the universal Church by Catholics. It is ironic that a man who has so little written about him in the Scriptures would have so great a title and be revered the world over – but we know him as the father on earth of God’s beloved son, Jesus, the one who loved and protected Mary, his wife, and who listened to directives from God that would have challenged the most devout servants. Biographical information is scarce but one of the commentaries explains that as a “just” man, Joseph was “completely open to all that God wanted to do for him. He became holy by opening himself totally to God.”

I have the privilege of living under the special patronage of this holy, humble man as a Sister of St. Joseph – a member of a worldwide network of people who trace our roots to Le Puy en Velay in France in the mid-1600s. There, six women sitting in a small kitchen shared their desire for a different kind of religious life, one that would not close them into a cloistered prayer life (also a good way to live) but rather send them out to divide the city to do works of charity. They began by visiting prisons and teaching prostitutes to make lace so they would no longer be forced by poverty to prostitute themselves. The early documents call us to do “all the works of which women are capable which will benefit the dear neighbor.” When women religious were called by the Second Vatican Council in 1965 to return to the spirit of their founders, research called us to re-state the founding vision in a consensus statement that begins:

Stimulated by the Holy Spirit of Love and receptive to the Spirit’s inspirations, the Sister of St. Joseph moves always toward profound love of God and love of neighbor without distinction, from whom she does not separate herself and for whom, in the following of Christ, she works in order to achieve unity both of neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God…

Pope Francis has designated this year as a year of celebration of The Consecrated Life. Today I ask you to join me in prayer for all women and men the world over who have consecrated their lives to God in vows that call for total commitment to personal transformation and the transformation of the world in a myriad of expressions which all lead toward the unity and reconciliation of all peoples and all of creation. May it be so.

Donate to The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Donate

Our other websites

  • Main website
  • Facebook page

Visitors

  • 67,791 hits

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 826 other followers

Recent Posts

  • Strength for the Journey
  • Go Deep!
  • Late Word
  • Snippets
  • Just a Word

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Archives

  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy