Page 153 - Reflections on St. Joseph

of Mary and Joseph in the style of the virtues of the House of Nazareth. They are virtues which we
must live in the school of St. Joseph, Father and Model, if we want to be faithful to our identity.

For our Founder, devotion to St. Joseph was more than just a devotion. It was a way of living, a total
spiritual composition of life. He lived this devotion, this intimate relationship with St. Joseph with a
sense of totality which stirs up a great wonder. You do not find this in any other Saint, not even in
St. Theresa d’Avila who is considered to be the greatest devotee of St. Joseph. She “loves” St. Joseph,
but does not reproduce his life.

Let us think on a succinct and definitive expression of St. Joseph Marello: “We will thus say to our Great
Patriarch: Behold us all for You, and You be all for us” (Letter 237, St. Joseph Marello, Letters, edited by
S. Dalmaso, A. Santiago, G. Miglietta, Acqui Terme, AL, 2010, p. 594). These are not half terms, no
reduction, no compromise: All of us for You and You all for us. This Josephite characteristic has
always been preserved and deeply rooted in our Congregation. It is up to us to defend it, and to make
it clearer and more effective in our lives, both personal and community, and through the
institutionalizing of the Josephite spirit, in our presence in the Church. Filial intimacy. From this
indispensable characteristic of the relationship between St. Joseph Marello and St. Joseph, comes this
other aspect of his devotion: filial intimacy with him and unparalleled confidence in him in all the
moments of his life and that of the Congregation. We are thinking of invocations like: “You, O Joseph,
mark the way for us, you support us in every step and you lead us where Divine Providence wants us to
arrive.” (ivi).

Therefore, the “pilot” who marks out the way is St. Joseph. But it is also him who gives strength to
those who need strength, because on their on they cannot make it. You support, every day and even
every moment. This guide is absolutely sure to make us arrive at the goal established by Providence.
St. Joseph was for him “the guide and teacher of the spiritual life, the unsurpassable model of hidden and
interior virtues.” He also adds with a touching confidence: “our good Papa`”, “the first upon the earth
to care for the interests of Jesus.” He is the sure guide. Marello thought of the spiritual life as a journey,
a continuous progressing and growth so as to realize “the spiritual plan that the Lord has laid out for
us” (Insegnamenti, Consigli spirituali e omelie raccolti da Bice Graglia e Sr. Albertina Fasolis, in Studi
Marelliani 9, 2017, p.282). Obviously, for our Holy Founder, the supreme guide is the Holy Spirit, to
Whom he submits with extreme docility. Just think of the phrase: “We must not move tongue, heart,
or hands without first consulting the Holy Spirit”(ibid, p. 146). However, along with the Holy Spirit,
almost as the model of fidelity to the Holy Spirit, he takes Joseph. This pervades all of his spiritual
life, his thoughts and his sentiments, his activities and his way of living. St. Joseph becomes the
inspirational motivation for everything: “Let everyone take their inspirations from their Model St.
Joseph, who was the first upon the earth to care for the interests of Jesus...”(Letter 83 in op.cit.p.275). In
what way did St. Joseph become the secure guide of our Founder? He became the guide precisely in
everything, by means of that absolute principle which he had adopted. However, analytically, we
can see three particular areas: 1) guide in relationship with Jesus; 2) guide in the spiritual (religious)
life; and 3) guide in apostolic activity.

1. Guide in relationship with Jesus.

St. Joseph Marello, not even a year from his priestly Ordination, writes in a stupendously
revealing letter: “O glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, do not forget us. You after the Blessed Virgin, were
the first to hold in your arms Jesus the Redeemer, be our exemplar in our ministry, which like your own,
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Reflections on st. joseph