On occasion throughout this year that is dedicated to St. Joseph, I will reflect on that very special saint and universal patron of the entire Church. In grade school, I was taught by the St. Joe Sisters. Over those eight formative years, I learned from them to love the foster father of Jesus.
When I became an Oblate, I learned that St. Francis de Sales was utterly charmed by St. Joseph. Along with all of us, Francis was in awe of Joseph’s lofty status as the foster father of Jesus Christ and the loving spouse of Mary, the Mother of God. He used to marvel that St. Joseph was “closer to Mary and Jesus than anyone else” (OEA, XV, p. 33), and he admitted that “nothing excites me so much as the title of foster father of Jesus Christ” (A.S. III, p. 473).
But I believe that what impressed Francis de Sales most about St. Joseph was his quiet fidelity to the everyday responsibilities which were his as husband, father, provider and protector of his little family. Francis used to teach that the deepest love for God and, thus, the perfect fulfillment of the first commandment, was attained by our continual union with the divine will for us. And he went on to teach us that God’s will for us is found, above all else, in the many duties and responsibilities that cluster around our vocation or state in life. As parent or priest; as spouse or religious; as the CEO of a major company or a farmer or factory worker or teacher—no matter what our state in life may be, so long as we embrace it as God’s will for us and are faithful throughout life to its many obligations, duties and responsibilities, large or small, it can lead us to the highest degree of holiness. To underscore this teaching, when Francis gave examples of saints, he frequently included lay saints, husbands and wives, single men and women, and children. For de Sales, one of the greatest of those lay saints, is St. Joseph, which is why he presented him as a model for those who embrace the Salesian spirit.
Although he was the foster father of God’s only Son and the spouse of Mary, the Mother of our Redeemer, St. Joseph was first and foremost a humble carpenter who earned the daily bread which nourished and sustained his family by hard work and the sweat of his brow. By human standards, he did not accomplish much, nor did he rank high on society’s social ladder. By God’s standards, however, he was a “good and faithful servant,” and his quiet fidelity to the demands of his daily life delighted the heart of God. When Joseph lay dying, God surrounded him with Jesus and Mary, along with a host of angels. They comforted him, preparing him for the heavenly happiness that he was soon to enjoy. Such a holy and happy death was God’s way of blessing a life well-lived because during that life countless little things had been done with such great love.
St. Francis de Sales holds up to us, his followers, the life of St. Joseph as model for our own lives. Like him, we too are to bloom where we are planted, faithful to whatever is asked of us in each passing present moment of life. If we are faithful in this way, we too will delight the heart of God and merit a holy death, accompanied to heavenly glory, as he was, by Jesus and Mary. As it was for St. Joseph, such a happy death will be for us the crown of a life well-lived in love!
V. Rev. Lewis S. Fiorelli, OSFS
Provincial
Wilmington-Philadelphia Province
