Blessed Joseph

Tags

faith, intercessor, Patris Corde, patron, Pope Francis, Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Joseph, support, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

If you noticed that I am speaking late today, there is good reason. Today is the feast of St. Joseph, husband of Mary and Mother of Jesus. I am a Sister of St. Joseph, one of the thousands of women whose religious community gathers with pride on this date each year to celebrate this quiet, loving, faithful and holy man who was willing to take on the protection and parenting of “the boy Jesus.” We who live under the patronage of St. Joseph trust the guidance we find in the Scriptures, the stories of Joseph, full of silence and listening to God and the messages of God. You will not find conversations of Joseph with God’s messengers. Rather, he is busy being silent deep in the heart of God, his love and reverence for his young wife and then his son, Jesus, of primary concern to him.

This evening, as the celebrations of this day ended we again had reason to pause and join our Sisters across our province who joined from far and near to pray in thanksgiving for Joseph—through the miracle of “Zoom”. We listened to a part of the Apostolic Letter of Pope Francis, Patris Corde which was a fitting conclusion to our day. Here is what we heard:

Each of us can discover in Joseph—the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence—an intercessor, a support and guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation…Even though Joseph’s fears, God’s will, his history and his plan were at work, Joseph, then, teaches us that faith in God includes believing that he can work even through our fears, our frailties and our weaknesses.

May we go to Joseph in any hour of need, for he is the patron of the universal Church and a great model of who we are to be in the world!

Blessed Joseph

Tags

Blessed Mother, Mary, mother, Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Joseph, St. Joseph the Worker, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There are so many reasons to celebrate St. Joseph today on this feast of St. Joseph the Worker. Most obvious for me is that I live as a Sister of St. Joseph whose heritage is dedicated to and modeled on the person of Joseph, husband of Mary. We believe him to be a quiet man who worked as a carpenter – simple yet noble work – in service to God and his family and as a teacher to his son. Somehow that image remains although he is also named as Patron of the Universal Church for Catholics and has come to the attention of workers the world over since the Papacy of Pope Leo XIII as the champion of the social teachings of the Church. The promulgation in 1891 of his encyclical, Rerum Novarum, which addressed the condition of the working classes, gave a platform for workers that still directs the actions of justice workers throughout the world.

Closer to home and heart, however, is the devotion of my mother, Mary, whose birthday is today and who celebrated each year by placing flowers in church at the feet of St. Joseph’s statue. I continued this tradition in her honor after her passing from this world. This year it would be impossible because our church participation is necessarily virtual, but I plan to go outside later and walk to the border of our land where my siblings and I had forsythia bushes (30 of them!) planted in memory of our lovely mother after her death. She loved those “golden bells” and it does not surprise me that this year they are so prolific and beautiful that they always make me smile.

So I welcome this beautiful month and give thanks to God for the models of steadfast love so present in Joseph and Mary, and my own holy mother.

The World's Turning

Tags

cycles, Earth, healing, positive energy, spring, Spring Equinox, St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The spring equinox was early and totally missed by me this year! While I was busy trying to celebrate St. Joseph’s feast day (3/19), the earth was sending out messages of new birth and energy. It took until this morning for me to feel it and I had to verify it by looking at my calendar. Now I know why the daffodils are straining to open after their surprise breakthrough along the side of our house two weeks ago.

I plan to go outside today and stand in the midst of all that is natural: the greening of the grass, the calling of the birds, the freshness of the breeze (still somewhat chilly) and feel the hope of healing for the earth rise up to give me courage in this moment when all but the most essential workers have been charged to stay home. With this remembrance of the cycles of life happening in concert with or in spite of us, I hope to add to the positive energy and learn the lessons so important to us all.

Patron and Protector

Tags

advocate, helper, obedient, patron saint, protector, St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, workers

On this feast of St Joseph I am drawn to the word “patron” as that is what we Sisters of St. Joseph call the man behind the name. Information about Joseph is almost nil. We know only from scant mention in Scripture and from legend that he was a quiet man, husband of Mary and human father to Jesus. Obedient to his dreams and visions, we find him trustworthy and faithful to his family and his God.

It is rather extraordinary that we who live in this time of an information glut but who are generally unwilling to take most things “on faith” would see Joseph as someone to be revered without much proof. It says to me that we are still a people willing to believe in what we have been taught of goodness as well as extrapolation from what is written, e.g.: Joseph’s dreams saved Mary’s reputation and actually her life as well. He saved Jesus from the violence of Herod and taught him to work in wood – a noble occupation. Thus, he must have been loving and courageous in a quiet sort of way.

Here are some words that describe a patron: promoter, friend, guarantor, helper, supporter, advocate, champion protector, supporter…We trust that Joseph was all those things. And others in the world believe all that of Joseph as well. In a list generated by the Franciscan Media website, we learn that the following countries and groups and life issues have been placed under the patronage (protection) of Saint Joseph: Belgium, Canada, carpenters, China, fathers, happy death, Peru, Russia, Social Justice, Travelers, The Universal Catholic Church, Vietnam and workers the world over. Oh yes, and Congregations of religious Sisters of St. Joseph everywhere.

So what is to be learned from all this? I might say that a person ought not to try to be something s/he is not but only be the best person possible in order to respond to the unique destiny offered by the Divine. And if one is blessed to be placed under the “patronage” of one as revered as Joseph, today should be a day of deep gratitude and celebration – as it always is!

Happy St. Joseph’s Day!

Joseph’s Role

Tags

dreams, generosity, God is calling, inner voice, intuition, love, prayer, St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Joseph, husband of Mary who brought Jesus into the world, has a very small speaking part in the gospels. He is very often called “the silent one” which is not the easiest part to play in any situation. We do speak of some men as the “strong, silent type” and that is seen as a good thing but more because of the descriptive strong rather than silent. (And they are usually handsome as well!) One might think of Joseph as one “waiting in the wings” for his moment to shine, but that is not true! Joseph is always ready – listening – for God’s word in his life and obedient at every turn. His obedience to messages that some would have dismissed immediately had to come from deep within himself and from the conviction of how God worked in his life – always for his good and the good of those he loved.

Sometimes we are also called to trust our intuition, our dreams and the sense that God is calling us to something we would not have chosen, perhaps, but what seems an important next step. We would do well to imitate Joseph, standing silent, waiting for God to speak and trusting our inner voice that flows from a life of prayer and generosity in love.

Joseph Was Silent

Tags

Father, Holy Family, humility, obedient, silence, Sisters of St. Joseph, spouse, St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, worker

Today Catholics around the world celebrate the feast of St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church and the “silent partner” of Mary, in what we know as the Holy Family. I say that Joseph was silent because although he appears in several places in the gospels, there are no words attributed to him. It is up to us to imagine his part in the conversations that took place in family life, their travels and other significant events. That can be difficult for people who desire to know more about Joseph but much easier for those with active imaginations.

As I think of it, that is true for us with much of Scripture. We need to take the descriptions of events and fill-in the blanks where conversation is lacking. Those of us who live under the patronage of Joseph, e.g. Sisters of St. Joseph, carry him with us – most likely as a reflection of how we try to live our commitment to the religious life. What we can say about Joseph is that he heard God speaking to him in dreams, trusted what he heard and was obedient to God’s messages throughout his life.

I envision Joseph as a loving, gentle and kind spouse and father, humble about his work and his role in God’s plan. Although we do not hear him speak for himself, his humility and willingness to carry out God’s plan is evident in his actions. I have come to love the portrayal of his silent acceptance and way of moving through life as gift. Often words fail when God intervenes in our days in special ways or surprising moments. I believe Joseph treasured these events in his life and that they anchored him when the difficult moments came. Silence was his home, I think, and it served him well.

May Joseph’s gift of silence be a prayer to bless each of us today and may his love for God and his family be an example to all. Happy Feast!

The Just Man

Tags

Father, feast day, fidelity, interiority, Jesus, just man, Luke, Matthew, obedience, silence, Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I was in my car and on the road at 6:17 this morning, traveling to participate in the 6:45 liturgical celebration of St. Joseph’s feast day with my friends, Florence and Anne. Rarely would I be up and out that early but it is Florence’s 60th anniversary in the Sisters of St. Joseph and she has been friend, sister and mentor to me for 47 years now, so the early call was certainly worth the trip. (The raspberry scones and coffee that followed were an added treat as well!)

When there is conversation about St. Joseph, the introductory sentence most often goes something like this: “We don’t know much about Joseph, except that he was a just man, the husband of Mary and (foster) father of Jesus.” I was thinking about this during the liturgy this morning as Father Charles elaborated a bit about Joseph’s character as a devoted husband and father.

The deep feeling of love and respect for Joseph, not only of Sisters of St. Joseph but people the world over, speaks to me of the power and value of communal reflection. Stories of Joseph, prayers said to him, and reports of “favors” granted because of faith in his intercession with God have been a part of Christian tradition since the beginning. What I have learned and loved most about this man from it all is the clear sense of his silence. Joseph spoke no word that is related in Scripture but the stories told about him – his fidelity to Mary and Jesus, his obedience to the messages that allowed him to keep them safe, and his trust in God permeate the early chapters of Matthew and Luke, convincing me of his deep listening and contemplation.

In this world of noise and hurry we would do well to pause and be grateful for such a model of interiority, respect and care. May today include that moment and a blessing for Sisters of St. Joseph everywhere!

 

 

 

 

 

The New Covenant

Tags

heart, jeremiah, Jubilee, knowing, love, pledge, sing, song, St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Our most cherished annual gathering, to honor St. Joseph (feast day 3/19) and those Sisters celebrating a jubilee in religious life (40, 50, 60, 70, 75 years this time), was held yesterday. The liturgy was glorious and we “sang our hearts out!” As I thought of that turn of phrase this morning I felt more deeply the truth of our covenant with God as expressed in today’s first lectionary reading from Jeremiah 31:31-34.

Speaking on behalf of God, Jeremiah says, “The days are coming when I will make a new covenant…” We sang – with accompanying gestures, tracing a heart over our inner, physical, beating hearts: My song will be for You forever, You the music in my heart! Jeremiah continues: “I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts.” Our song proclaimed: I will pledge my love forever; I will call your name out loud. I will reach my hand out to you and I know you’ll reach for me.

The new covenant is sealed in love, is lived in love. There need be no fear of abandonment in this way of relating. It is as certain as the steady beating of our hearts. There can be no greater knowing, no greater blessing than this! Praise God!

 

 

 

 

 

Postscript

Tags

age, community, Jubilee, message, St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is Monday – time to resume the “headset” of the workaday world after a weekend of blessed celebration. One of the loveliest parts of the weekend was coming home yesterday to mark the actual feast of St. Joseph, our patron, which this year in community we noted on the day before and in the Church celebrate today on the day after (because of the pre-eminence of the third Sunday of Lent). We had a delicious dinner and I got presents from my housemates! Tucked in one of the jubilee cards was a colorful stiff square of a card written on both sides whose message was the following, which I believe will find itself in a central place in my bedroom and my life for what I hope will be years to come!

SIDE ONE: Each age has its own special joys and experiences. I am always  the perfect age for where I am in life.

SIDE TWO: I am at peace with my age.

Joseph the Dreamer

Tags

angel, assurance, dream, Emmanuel, faith, Mary, Matthew, message, St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, thoughts

Often when I wake up in the morning I know I’ve been dreaming but I rarely have any idea of the content of the dreams. Sometimes I feel as if I have been very busy in the night and I wonder what I have been working out during sleep, but my mind usually goes quickly in other directions so I hope that my soul knows any message that I was supposed to hear. I am confident that if God wanted me to know something of import in a dream, it would remain clear enough on a conscious level for me to grasp it upon awakening – but perhaps I should revisit my “Awakening the Dreamer” materials (a self-taught course from long ago). I wouldn’t want to miss anything…

These thoughts were occasioned by the story of Joseph in today’s gospel and by a conversation with nine women a week ago as we reflected together on the Incarnation. I was asking their opinions on Joseph’s state of mind and heart when he learned that Mary was pregnant…and then after he was visited by an angel in a dream (MT 1:18-24). Our compassion for Joseph was great. We listed shock, helplessness, betrayal, love, disappointment, loneliness, compassion…and more as our thoughts of what it must have been like for him. We concluded that it would be difficult for us who live in such a different culture to apprehend all that he faced even after his dream directing him not to “divorce Mary quietly” but rather to take her into his home. Neither he nor Mary could possibly have fully understood what was happening. It was, we decided, his love for Mary and his trust in God that allowed him to move forward as he did.

And Scripture offers one more point of affirmation. In speaking of the child to be born, the angel echoed the message of the prophet Isaiah – a message that Joseph had surely known since his early youth. Both texts tell us that a virgin will conceive and bear a son and they shall name him Emmanuel. And Joseph likely knew, as the angel reminded him, that Emmanuel means God is with us. With this assurance, and our faith as assent, the way forward – for us as for Joseph – becomes possible.