Meditation for January 12, The Head of the Holy Family

Joseph was an artisan and a gentleman.

Joseph was moreover strikingly different from the ordinary man of his day, since he had remained a virgin.

Why had he adopted this course? How virile and steadfast he must have been.

See him on an autumn day returning from Haifa where he had gone with an old cart to get wood. See him pass the river; the cart sinks in the mud up to the axle....Then see him in his shop, on a sunny morning; hear the saw and the clatter of falling wood; hear a child coming to look for him, calling, "Joseph! Joseph!"

Then picture him coming back from Jerusalem, to the astonish­ment of all, with a bride, so young and fair. See them when they arrive, greeting the kind neighbor who prepared their home. How many comments were made that evening when the neighbors gathered at the fountain!

Joseph is the patron of the hidden life. Holy Scripture does not record a single one of his words. Silence is the Father of the Word.

Joseph was a carpenter. He was obliged to discuss plans with his customers, to sign contracts, to follow up delinquent debtors, to buy his materials at the best price by watching the bargains.

See the coachman of one of those fine ladies who used to go to Tiberias stopping at the sick carpenter's shop to repair the car­riage. It is Jesus Himself who now takes charge of the work and takes the tool from Joseph's hand.

How touching must have been his last days with Jesus and Mary when he could no longer work.

"Jesus, Mary, Joseph. Just three poor people who love each other, and it is they who will change the face of the world." ( Claudel.)

"O St. Joseph, teach me silence and the art of sanctifying myself in the duties of my state. The fate of the world is still dependent upon the devotion of a few souls who work zealously for God and love Him with their whole heart."

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Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)