Sunday:       Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker
Date:         May 1, 2009
Year:         B
The readings: [Acts 9:1-20; Jn. 6:52-59]
The message:  The love of one's labour in the workplace.
Prepared by:  THE CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  995

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Welcome my spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ to today's celebration of the Holy Mass that commemorates the liturgical Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.

Today's celebration is one of two Feasts that are celebrated by the Holy Catholic Church in honour of St. Joseph. The first Feast, St. Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary and Patron of the Universal Church, is celebrated on or around March 20 th. Today's Feast that commemorates St. Joseph as a carpenter, exemplifies the working people who are dignified by their labour and who bring Christ into their workplace.

It was not until the 15 th century that the name of St. Joseph was entered into the Liturgical Calendar of the Catholic Church. Since then, devotion to St. Joseph experienced a tremendous growth. Finally, in 1955, Pope Pius XII proclaimed on May 1, Labour Day in many countries, the Feast that we are joyfully celebrating today.

When reflecting on St. Joseph as a worker, a carpenter, what comes to our minds? As a general rule, we associate the word 'worker' with the words 'career' or 'employment.' This association relates to our secular work. But what about our spiritual work?

Through St. Joseph, a great model for all Christians, we see a love for both, his worldly and spiritual labour. St. Joseph was an artistic carpenter who loved to transform a piece of wood by creating useful objects. In his mind, he surely perceived that the wood that came from the trees was a God given gift. As Christian carvers of wood do, St. Joseph must have surely spent endless hours in prayer to the Lord God so that he might be inspired as to the potential end result of each piece of wood that was processed through the labour of his hands.

As all parents have to, St. Joseph had to fulfill his marital obligation to support his family. He worked day after day to support the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus.

Through his work, St. Joseph had to be honest in his dealings with the suppliers of wood and the buyers or traders who purchased his finished product. His honesty was a reflection of his obedience to the command of God to live a righteous life.

As a parent, when his adopted Son Jesus came of age, St. Joseph had to work with Him. St Joseph taught his trade to the Lord Jesus who was God incarnated in human form. Imagine, a man, a mere human being, teaching God, He Who's infinite knowledge surpasses that of the entire human race.

In all these things, we see the correlation of the worldly and the spiritual labour in the work place. Through St. Joseph, we are reminded of how we should labour in our Christian life at work and at home.

Today's First Reading from the New Testament reminds us of the conversation of Paul who was a murderous sinner before he became one of the greatest saints that the Catholic Church has ever known. Before his transformation to the faith, Paul's obsession was to capture christians, imprison them and finally, for Roman entertainment, feed them to the lions in the arena. But God had other plans for him.

While the emphasis during this Reading was on the person of Paul, there was another individual in the background of this event. His name was Ananias. When Ananias was told by Jesus to go to Saul, he was not too excited. After all, everyone knew that Saul was the greatest persecutor of Christians. In complete trust, as an instrument of the Lord through which the Holy Spirit could move, Ananias obeyed.

In this Reading, we notice the powerful love of one's labour. When one truly loves the Lord, no obstacle will prevent that person from serving God according to the Divine Will. No human weakness, no fear, no trembling, no cowardice, should stand in the way of a Christian' service to the Lord in the love of Christ.

The Gospel Reading that we just heard is a reminder as to where we get our strength from. We do not get our strength from lots of rest, lots of food or from drinking lots of liquids. Our strength comes from our union with Christ through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the true Bread of life. As Jesus said, "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them."

Jesus calls us to remain in union with Him by continually receiving the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Through this perfect union, we grow in the love of our labour for the Lord. Through this growth and perfect love, we serve the Lord Jesus without any limitations. As Saint Joseph obeyed his calling, we will obey our calling. As Saint Paul obeyed his calling, we will obey our calling. As all the past and present saints of the Church obeyed their calling, we will obey our calling.

Those who live model lives as St. Joseph did, they do so by the grace of God the Father in the Most Holy Name of Jesus through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit who guides them in the ways of God. Blessed with the new nature that they received during the Sacrament of Baptism, they have embraced the spiritual way that Jesus commanded His followers to obey. Without embracing a spiritual mind, it is impossible to please God.

For St. Joseph to please God, he had to live a holy life that was filled with righteousness. Joseph's 'yes' to accept the Virgin Mary as his spouse was his baptismal 'yes' to faithfully serve the Lord God. For us to please God, we have to follow in the footstep of Saint Joseph over and above submitting ourselves to the Church and its Sacraments for our assurance of salvation and eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

Let us always look up to St. Joseph as one of our Patron Saints. As the Patron of workers, for those of us who work, St. Joseph is the model that we should imitate to ensure that the grace of God shall continue to flow upon us and flourish richly through us.

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."

The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord." The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight."

But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; "and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name." But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; "I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."" [Acts 9:1-20]

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Gospel Reading...

"The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum." [Jn. 6:52-59]

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