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THE SEVEN SUNDAYS OF SAINT JOSEPH (THE SECOND SUNDAY) THE SECOND SUNDAY THE VIRTUES OF SAINT JOSEPH I. The humility of the Holy Patriarch. For this second Sunday dedicated to Saint Joseph let us contemplate the virtues which he practiced in his ordinary life of work. While describing the virginal birth, Saint Matthew chose to describe the Holy Patriarch as Joseph her husband, … a just man … This is how the Evangelists portray the foster father of Our Saviour. He is a just man. In the case of Saint Joseph justice refers not only to the virtue of giving to each person his due. Justice has also to do with sanctity, with the habitual fulfillment of one’s duty and the Will of God. In the Old Testament we find that the idea of a just man is the same as that of a saint. The just man has a clean heart and right intention. He observes all that God commanded in his social and personal behaviour. Joseph was a just man in every sense of the word. When considering the virtues of Saint Joseph we need to keep in mind that God’s perspective on human actions is frequently quite different from the world’s perspective. We men and woman have a habit of giving all our attention to exterior things while neglecting the interior realities. We need to work against the clock. We accept appearances and give little importance to what is most important. We worry so much about things will look to others instead of being concerned for the way they ought to be. It is for this reason that the most esteemed virtues are those that are associated with ‘getting on in life’ and lead to success in business. As a consequence, the interior and hidden virtues are rarely practiced or, for that matter, rarely understood. Yet these are the virtues that pertain to man’s relationship with God. This dilemma (or paradox) is the key to the mystery of true virtue… Joseph, the honest man, seeks God. Joseph, the selfless man, finds God. Joseph, the hidden man, delights God’s presence. We need to follow the Holy Patriarch’s example by seeking God’s presence in the course of our ordinary work. One of the most important virtues we observe in Saint Joseph’s life is humility. This virtue is shown by Saint Joseph’s reaction in his vocation. We can imagine that Saint Joseph would sometimes glance at the Jesus and wonder to himself: why God choose me and not another? What do I have to offer that has earned me this holy charge? He did not receive an answer to these ponderings, since the ways of the Lord are beyond the calculations of men. God calls whom he wants and He grants the graces necessary for every vocation. It is useful to remember in this connection that the name Joseph, in Hebrew means ‘God will add.’ God adds unsuspected dimensions to the holy lives of those who do his Will. He adds the one important dimension which gives meaning to everything, the divine dimension. To the humble and holy life of Joseph He added ‒ if I may put it this way ‒ the lives of the Virgin Mary and of Jesus, Our Lord. God does not allow himself to be outdone in generosity. Joseph could make his own the words of Mary, his wife: ‘He has looked graciously upon the lowliness of his handmade… because he who is mighty, he whose name is holy, has wrought for me in wonder’ (Luke 1:48-49). Saint Joseph was an ordinary sort of man on whom God relied to the great things. The humility of Saint Joseph is also shown by his strong sense of gratitude to God. Our Lord wants us to imitate the Holy Patriarch in this disposition. We need to see all the events of our lives with the eyes of faith, with a real determination to live out our vocation in the middle of the world. in Conversation with God Daily Meditations Volume VI Special Feast January - June 
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