1 May 2012: Memorial -- St Joseph the Worker

Jesus was called “the son of the carpenter” (Mk 6:3). This feast reminds us that honest work, even if seemingly menial, can be sanctified. Through work, we can sanctify ourselves and others. We become participants in the work of redemption. Many countries honor labor on 1 May. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1517) Work is a gift from God “By the labor of your hands shall you eat.” (cf Ps 128:2) The Church, in presenting St Joseph to us today as a model, is not endorsing one particular form of work, manual labor, but is testifying to the dignity and value of all honest human occupations. God placed man in the garden of Eden “to till it and keep it” (Gen 2:15). From the beginning of man’s existence, work is a command of nature, a feature of his being as a creature, an expression of his dignity, whereby he cooperates in the overall task of Divine Providence. What original sin did was to change the ‘form’ of this cooperation. “... In the sweat of your face shall you eat.” (Gen 3:17-9) For many centuries manual work was seen only as a way of earning a living, basically worthless or degrading. Nowadays some societies tend to classify people according to ‘how much they make’ and to their ability to secure a higher level of material comfort at any cost. “It is time that Christians shout from the rooftops work is a gift from God and that it makes no sense to classify men according to their occupation, as if some jobs were nobler or of less significance than others. Work, all work, bears witness to the dignity of man, his dominion over creation. It is an opportunity to develop one’s personality. It is a bond of union with others, the way to support one’s family, a means of contributing to improvement of society and to the progress of all humanity.” (cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 47) Saint Joseph worked for his living as a tradesman. (cf John Paul II, “Redemptoris custos”, 15 August 1989, 22) We should frequently pray to him so that our work never loses its innate dignity or value. Oftentimes, when God is forgotten, “from the factory dead matter goes out improved, whereas the men there are corrupted and degraded”. (Pius XI, “Quadragesimo anno”, 15 May 1931, 135) Our work, with St Joseph’s help, ought to leave our hands as a prayerful and pleasing offering to God. Any honest occupation can be a means to perfect the worker and society. Through the unity among all members of Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church, man’s work can become a means of helping others. Every human enterprise, even the most laborious and difficult, must be ‘supernatural’ with a human purpose. Let us meditate today, with St Joseph’s help, on aspects of love and esteem for our job. Do we endeavor to do things perfectly and punctually? Always careful and considerate in every detail of our work? Work well done is work done with love. A proper regard for our task is the first step in raising it to the supernatural level. St Joseph teaches us to love the occupation in which we spend so much of our life -- keeping the home, in the factory, at the office, etc. Let us ask St Joseph to teach us the awareness of God’s presence as he had while engrossed at work. We must not forget our Blessed Mother to whom we lovingly dedicate this month. Let us offer daily in her honor a particular hour of work or study, each day better and more perfectly done. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:208-14 May*, Month of Mary “Month of sun and flowers ... month of Mary ... Since Advent our thoughts have followed Jesus; now that the great peace that follows the resurrection is in our souls, how can we not return to her who gave Him to us? “She appeared on earth to prepare His coming; she lived in His shadow, such that we do not see her intervening in the Gospel except as the mother of Jesus, following Him, watching Him. And when Jesus leaves us, she effaces herself. ... but she remains in the memory of the people because we owe Jesus to her.” (cf J Leclerq, “A Year with the Liturgy”) Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:519 *A month of pilgrimages to the “Shrine of Our Lady of Antipolo”. The statue of the “Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage” (Antipolo) was brought by Governor Juan Niño de Tavora from Mexico to Manila in 1626. On his death (1636), the statue was turned over to the Jesuits for the church of Antipolo. The “Nuestra Señora dela Paz y Buenviaje” was proclaimed patroness of galleons. The statue crossed the Pacific and returned eight times on board galleons of Acapulco: 1641-1748. The statue was canonically crowned on 26 November 1926 by Archbishop Michael J O’Doherty at the Luneta attended by at least 100,000 people. (Philippine Historical Commission marker) ` ` ` MAY DEVOTIONS ` ` ` Mary is the Mother of God “When the Blessed Virgin said ‘yes’, freely, to the plans revealed to her by the Creator, the divine Word assumed a human nature: a rational soul and a body, which was formed in the most pure womb of Mary. The divine nature and the human nature were united in a single Person: Jesus Christ, true God and, henceforth, true Man; the only-begotten and eternal Son of the Father and, from that moment on, as Man, the true Son of Mary. “This is why our Lady is the Mother of the Incarnate Word, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity who has united our human nature to himself forever, without any confusion of the two natures. The greatest praise we can give to the Blessed Virgin is to address her loud and clear by the name that expresses her very highest dignity: Mother of God.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 274) Let us offer our Mother: ‘Brief but frequent prayers of love, eg: “Mother of God, you are omnipotent in your petition.”’ Ref: Fr Charles Belmonte and Fr James Socias (Eds), “Handbook of Prayers”, 1988, p304 The late Pope, John Paul II, has been beatified at a ceremony at the Vatican in front of hundreds of thousands of Catholic faithful. Among those at St Peter's Square is French nun Marie Simon-Pierre, who says she was cured of Parkinson's Disease. Her apparently miraculous cure is part of the case for the beatification, the last stage before sainthood. It comes amid criticism of the Church for the speed of the beatification and the clerical child sex abuse scandal. Much of the abuse, or its alleged cover-up, occurred while John Paul II was Pope, from 1979-2005, and the Church has been criticised for not doing enough to punish those found responsible. Police in Rome estimated that one million people had come to the city for the event, including large numbers of pilgrims from the late Pope's native Poland. St Peter's Square, in the Vatican, was packed, with the faithful waving banners and flags as Pope Benedict XVI declared his predecessor 'Blessed', or beatified. • In the year 1449, some of the principal goldsmiths of Paris began to give the May-pole to the Church of Our Lady. — Da Breuil, Antiquites de Paris, liv. i. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Queen of May. Donation of May-pole to “Notre Dame” church. 1449. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Donation of the May-pole to the church of Notre Dame. Paris, France 1449. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady Queen of May. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady of Charity. Agoo, La Union PHL. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady the Divine Shepherdess. Gapan, N Ecija PHL. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady of Miracles. Andria, Italy. Moveable feast -- First Sunday in May. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady, Queen of Lebanon. Moveable feast -- First Sunday in May. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)