Page 42 - Reflections on St. Joseph

5:24;Judges 6:22-23, 13:22), yet trusting in the mercy of the same Lord for those He called, he
believed he has passed over from death to life.

Bringing the example of St. Joseph to our various communities, we can also x-ray our roles as leaders
in our own capacities as Superiors/Rectors, Administrators, Parish Priests/Parish Vicars etc. The
Christian community of persons, bound by a common way of life, is also to be stirred by a leader (and
leaders in various offices) who precedes others in authority and responsibility. An Oblate placed in
position of leadership is to be a leader after the example given by the Lord Jesus when He says the
leader must be the servant of all (cf. Mt. 20:26; Mk 9:35; Mk 10:44) and when He puts this into practice
by stooping low to wash the feet of his disciples (cf. Jn. 13:12-17). Jesus came to give us life (cf. Jn.
10:10) and to show us the path of enlivening one another. This road, however, must pass through
the humble service we render to one another in sincerity of heart. He says, after washing the
disciples feet, “you will be blessed if you know these things and do them” (Jn. 13:17). The Lord teaches
that the service of love is the foundation to being blessed, for indeed no one can be truly blessed who
has not reached out in love or charity (even if only through prayers, as experienced in the life of St.
Theresa of the Child Jesus, who turned her cell into a stable mission station by reaching out in prayer
to missionaries) to others. The humble service of St. Joseph to Jesus and Mary says it all.

The temptation to want to be associated with big responsibilities or high offices sometimes makes
us disdain the little ways that could easily bring about our sanctification. It is not the size of the
office, the bigness of the parish, the loftiness of the responsibility we discharge that matters, but the
spirit with which the work is carried out. Many in Nazareth do not know that heaven was on earth
in the small home of St. Joseph, since Jesus was not born in the palace; but in that little home of
Nazareth the service of Joseph amounted to a greater reward than the responsibility of Kings who
reign in palaces. Nothing is to be despised or belittled when it comes to serving the Lord. Wherever
souls are found to be served, there is always Jesus to be served and His interest to be attended to.
Assuming the spirit of St. Joseph in disposing ourselves solely to the work of Our Father and not
conditionally to our measurement or qualitative value of the apostolate is the secret of a life of
fulfilment in the Lord’s service.

We must always remember the words of our Founder that, “if, in the likeness of the great Patriarch
St. Joseph, you were to serve Jesus in humble tasks inferior in dignity to those of St. Peter, you must
remember that the humble guardian of Jesus holds a higher place in Heaven than the great Apostle”
(Lt. 248). Merit is not in size but in quality and quality is not measured by size either but by
faithfulness. Let us, therefore, rethink the maxim “Be extraordinary in ordinary things” which
reminds us of the great care and fidelity our services require and in our humble application of it in
our daily life, preach Jesus, love Jesus and make His teaching known to all and sundry. St. Joseph was
hailed in the preface of his liturgical Mass as “a wise and faithful steward in charge of the Lord’s
household”. His life is the encouragement we have from the very beginning from our founder, St.
Joseph Marello. Let us be servants of the servants of God entrusted to our care after the example of
our Patron and Guide, knowing that it is always the interest of Jesus we serve, each time we bend in
humility to live out our apostolate and to love Jesus in all that we care for. St. Joseph remains our sure
guide, if we follow faithfully in his steps, we will arrive at the city of love above where the servants
of the servants of God are celebrated in eternity.

May St. Joseph pray for us. Amen!

18 Reflections on st. joseph