Daily Gospel Reflection for May 1, 2017 - Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker

Today's Gospel: John 6:22-29

Where does Jesus get his wisdom and the power to do miracles scoffs the crowd? Obviously, the miracles comes from His heavenly Father, but I would like to think that some of his wisdom comes from Joseph, his earthly father.

The silence of Joseph throughout the Gospels deafening. Yet his quiet actions are loud if we pay attention.

Joseph accepted Mary’s explanation of her pregnancy. He protected his family when they were in danger. He loved and guided Jesus, even though Jesus called Another Father.

Pope Francis has a lovely devotion to St. Joseph:

"I would like to tell you something very personal. I like St Joseph very much. He is a strong man of silence. On my desk I have a statue of St Joseph sleeping. While sleeping he looks after the Church. Yes, he can do it! We know that. When I have a problem or a difficulty, I write on a piece of paper and I put it under his statue so he can dream about it. This means please pray to St Joseph for this problem." ~Pope Francis

Since I had never heard of this devotion, I immediately went online to look for a Sleeping St. Joseph statue. No one had them in the U.S. Fortunately, I have friends in the Philippines and they purchased the statue for me and brought it with them when they visited the States.

I wrote down my intentions on a post-it note and put it under St. Joseph’s head. I’m happy to say that some of those intentions have been answered.

The discovery of this devotion has helped me see St. Joseph in a new light. The quiet carpenter is much more busy than I ever imagined.

[Tweet "The quiet carpenter is much more busy than I ever imagined. By @CatholicReally"]

Ponder:

Have you ever prayed for the intercession of St. Joseph before? How do you see St. Joseph's role in the life of Jesus and yours?

Pray:

St. Joseph, remember my intentions as you sleep and dream. Forever remind me of your quiet example.

Copyright 2017 Pam Spano