As we honor St Joseph, the worker, the lowly carpenter (Mk 6:3; Mt13:55), we acknowledge the dignity of labor and the importance of labor in our lives. Joseph working with wood and tools confirms that God blesses all our activities and that every labor is an expression of our love for God and his creation. Pope St. John Paul II writes in his encyclical Guardian of the Redeemer, “Work was the daily expression of love in the life of the Family of Nazareth” (no 22). St Joseph in line with today’s Gospel, through his arduous labor for the love of God and his family is a perfect illustration of the relationship between the vine and the Branches. Joseph remained faithful in search of God’s will as a breach remains attached to the vine. All our labors, endeavors and activities should be ordered towards God. Like Joseph, may we be those branches that bear much fruits in our daily lives!

Happy feast of St. Joseph!

Fr. Georges R. Bidzogo sac