Page 36 - Reflections on St. Joseph

GIUSEPPE

ONE of US
Fr. Alberto Barbaro, OSJ

hile I was thinking about what to write and what contribution to make to our
reflection on Saint Joseph, I realized that I had gotten myself into a big mess.

The reason is that we do not have much material available on this saint. What do we know about
Joseph of Nazareth? Other than the name and some events related to the childhood of Jesus, we
have no other significant information. He doesn't say a word. In the episode of the bewilderment
and the discovery of Jesus in the temple among the doctors (see Lk. 2,41-59), it is the Mother who
recalls the son, not the Father: "Son, why did you do this to us? Here, your father and I were
looking for you in anguish”. He speaks little, indeed he says nothing and his language is silence.
However, he is a good listener. He is alert to the voice of the angel who speaks to him in his sleep.
He also reveals himself to be an excellent executor of orders whenever the eternal Father asks
him something. Finally, he carries out manual work expressed in the most modest and most
tiring forms, those which earned Jesus the title of "son of the carpenter" (see Mt. 13, 55). The
problem is that the life of this man, that of a simple craftsman, lacks any important note. In some
way, it seems to me to relive the wonder of the inhabitants of Nazareth when listening to Jesus,
they wonder about the wisdom of this extraordinary character, knowing that he is the
carpenter's son. As if to say that from a normal life it is almost impossible to get something useful
and good. And yet this figure so close to Jesus and to Mary, inserted in the Messianic genealogy,
if carefully observed, reveals itself to be so rich in elements and meanings that only the simple
and the humble know how to recognize, appreciate and make their own. They are above all
simple, and Joseph is among them, telling us that there are two ways of understanding and living
the life that has been given to us as a gift. One is to think that nothing is a miracle; the other is to
convince oneself that everything is a miracle. To belong to those who are convinced that
everything is a miracle, we must grasp the difference between living and existing. Joseph belongs
to those who believe that everything is a miracle because he lived a good life. Oscar Wilde was of
the opinion that living is the rarest thing on the face of the earth. Most people today only exist.

12 Reflections on st. joseph