Page 190 - Reflections on St. Joseph

without distinction , children, adults, Italians, immigrants, poor, rich, Christians, Muslims, like
Mary and Joseph, took care of Jesus in every place they traveled: in Bethlehem, Jerusalem,
Nazareth and even in Egypt, continuing to be a light for all, because they provided for the
custody, nourishment and growth of Jesus. This means also helping others to guard the Lord, to
provide for the spiritual and material needs of those we meet: to give a piece of bread to those
who ask for it, clothes, or a word of consolation and hope. We can do this everywhere, even in
the center of Rome, where there are those who come to knock at the convent to ask for a hot meal,
those who stop in prayer in the Church of San Lorenzo in Fonte or guests at our Hostel Marello.

Our apostolate is carried out mainly in the Oblate schools and parishes, through the
religious and moral education of youth, but every moment of life is an opportunity to guard
Jesus in us or in others . The apostolate takes its inspiration and strength from the life of
prayer and union with God. The consecrated life itself is a mission, as was the life of Jesus .

The service we provide in schools and parishes seeks to be a sign of this personal and
community custody and also wishes to take care of the custody of the pupil, because for us
he represents Jesus. To care for the interests of Jesus means for us to take care of the true
good of those around me, because it is in the interest of Jesus the good of the person, of the
child or of the boy who attends catechism, or who participates in lessons at school, of the
family, with whom we try to maintain a relationship, a continuous dialogue, of the sick to
whom we bring the Eucharist, of the group of young people we guide . In our different
realities, beyond the house of formation there is at least one community that works in the
pastoral field alongside the Oblates: in Brazil, in Apucarana, the sisters collaborate in youth
and vocational ministry in the parish led by the Oblates; in the Philippines some sisters
teach in the schools of the Oblates of Saint Joseph, others teach catechesis in the parishes of
the Oblates; in Peru in Manzanilla-Lima the sisters animate various youth groups and
catechesis for children and adults in the Oblate parish, a sister teaches religion in a school
run by the Oblates and a few years ago in Lima we opened a community that collaborates in
a parish and a diocesan school. In Nigeria the sisters collaborate in the parish in the
catechetical, youth, vocational and family pastoral service, in a hostel and in the clinic led
by the Oblates of Saint Joseph. In Italy, in addition to taking care of Hostel Marello and the
Liturgy in the Church of San Lorenzo in Fonte, in Bari (Ceglie del Campo) they collaborate in
an Oblate parish through catechesis, the guidance of the alter servers, the pastoral care for
the sick and families.

Naturally, gratuitousness and purity of
heart and intention play a decisive role in
the care of Jesus' interests, because as so
Mary and Joseph took care of Him.

Like Mary and Joseph we are called to
nurture Jesus and we know that the Lord is
hungry and thirsty for souls. As Oblate
sisters of Saint Joseph we are called to share
with the Lord the purpose for which he
himself came among us. In all that we do, to
all those we meet, not letting ourselves be
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Reflections on st. joseph