Page 158 - Reflections on St. Joseph

wholeheartedly: “As long as you are cured!” We see in this story, another time where the voice of
God revealed his divine will which is again totally different from the will of man. We know that
Vincenzo Marello had a different plan for his son. This is another time where the voice of God
told St. Joseph Marello what to do and how to do it.

This is another story of a vocation wrapped in mystery. God reveals Himself in mysterious
ways. Indeed, when God calls, it is always a mystery. Joseph Marello was also in a difficult
situation. He is torn between his first vocation and his father’s plan for him. He also did what
the “voice” had told him. He went back to the seminary in Asti. It looks very simple. He just
obeyed. Indeed it is, because Joseph Marello knew very well what the will of God for him was.
Obedience is only difficult when you do not know what the will of God is. This is total self-
denial, to let go of our total self and obey the will of God totally.

In these vocations stories of St. Joseph and St. Joseph Marello, we can see some common
elements. First, St. Joseph and St. Joseph Marello are both religious. They both consecrated
themselves totally to God. For both of them, everything is for God. This must be the most
important thing in the Life of the members of the Oblates of Saint Joseph, our Consecration. We
are committed to God and to God alone. As St. Joseph and St. Joseph Marello did nothing for
themselves after they had committed themselves to God, so we must do everything for God.
When we are called and the plan of God is revealed to us, it might be totally different from what
we are planning to do in our life. But the moment we respond to his call, we set aside our
personal plans and do everything God wants us to do. The priority of St. Joseph and St. Joseph
Marello is to do the will of God. It must also be our priority now. And everything they do leads
and points to God.

This leads us to the second element, prayer. We can only know the will of God in the silence of
our hearts. It was in their deepest moments that God talked to St. Joseph and St. Joseph Marello.
It was also in their deepest moments that St. Joseph and St. Joseph Marello talked to God. It was
through prayer that they knew the will of God. We cannot separate our consecration from
prayer. Prayer must be our most important apostolate, in the same way that our apostolate
must be our prayer. And when St. Joseph and St. Joseph Marello learned what the will of God
for them was, they both obeyed.

This is the third common element we can see in the vocation stories of St. Joseph and St. Joseph
Marello: obedience. St. Joseph and St. Joseph Marello obeyed God because they knew his will. It
was no longer difficult on their part to obey God’s will. This was shown by both St. Joseph and
St. Joseph Marello, that obedience is difficult only when you do not know what the will of God
is. As members of the Oblates of St. Joseph, our obedience to God is expressed by our obedience
to our superior.

St. Joseph is our Patron. St. Joseph Marello is our Founder. We are Oblates of Saint Joseph. As members,
we are sons of St. Joseph and of St. Joseph Marello. Reflecting on the mysteries of the vocation stories of
our Fathers, and seeing how they consecrated themselves to God, how they prayed to discern God’s will
and how they surrender themselves totally to his divine will, there is no reason why St. Joseph and St.
Joseph Marello cannot be the models of OSJ vocations.
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Reflections on st. joseph