For well over a century May 1st has been celebrated around worldwide as labor’s holiday. In 1955 Pius XII established May 1st as the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. “The Gospel specifies the kind of work Joseph did in order to support his family: he was a carpenter,” explained John Paul II in his 1989 Apostolic Exhortation On the Person and Mission of Saint Joseph in the Life of Christ and the Church.
If the Family of Nazareth is an example and model for human families, in the order of salvation and holiness, so too, by analogy, is Jesus' work at the side of Joseph the carpenter. In our own day, the Church has emphasized this by instituting the liturgical memorial of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1. Human work, and especially manual labor, receive special prominence in the Gospel. Along with the humanity of the Son of God, work too has been taken up in the mystery of the Incarnation, and has also been redeemed in a special way. At the workbench where he plied his trade together with Jesus, Joseph brought human work closer to the mystery of the Redemption.
On this Feast of St Joseph the Worker, let us offer a prayer for all those who work with their hands.
And be especially nice to carpenters.
St. Joseph was a working man probably with adequate schooling, and well educated in his trade, that of a woodworker, a carpenter and some suggest skilled in construction as well. I think one may safely assume that St. Joseph, while not wealthy, was able to provide an adequate living for his family. God certainly would not entrust his Son and Mother to a man unable to provide proper support.
There is a tradition not often discussed, that Joseph had been married and had children prior to becoming Mary’s husband and Foster Father to God’s Son. After his marriage to Mary any children that Joseph may have had would become the legal brothers and sisters of Jesus. Are these the “brothers and sisters of Jesus” of which Scripture speaks? I don’t know but I kind of like the idea!
So then, Joseph knew something about family life and what it takes to be husband and father. Was this one of the reasons why the Wise and Prudent God chose Joseph to be a loving and faithful husband to the Mary ever a virgin and a steady guide to Jesus from infancy through childhood, to early manhood, a Dad on which Jesus would model his human development?
St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, Earthly Father to Jesus, Patron of the Catholic Church AND my Patron – the perfect man for the job Heaven gave him, God’s “middle man” and truly a Man for all Seasons! Joseph, pray for us!