‘Do you see what I see?’ (A worker!)

If you’re getting overwhelmed by Christmas’s commercialization and needing to feel less like a consumer than someone who identifies with the season, think of Joseph.

During Advent this month, when Christians prepare for the arrival of Jesus, there are many images of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in humble surroundings in Bethlehem.

 

Although Joseph has been celebrated as “St. Joseph the Worker” on May 1 since 1955, the Nativity depictions of Joseph after an arduous journey to fulfill government census obligations might remind us of how integral this working man was to Christmas and the centuries since.

 

In some ways, the 90-mile trek walking from Nazareth to Bethlehem perhaps drew on Joseph’s labors, the hard work that prepared him for the physical challenges of that journey and also the demands and responsibilities ahead as the head of that household.

 

Decades ago, Pope Pius XI said, “St. Joseph belongs to the working class, and he bore the burdens for himself and the Holy Family, whose tender and vigilant head he was.”

 

As author and Catholic priest Donald H. Calloway has written, “The devil hates an honest and diligent worker. At the beginning of human history, the wicked serpent initiated his attack on the human family in the workplace — that is, the garden God gave to Adam and Eve to tend and keep. Lucifer hates work. He particularly disdains the fact that because of love, God humbled himself and became a man, making himself capable of manual labor. Jesus spent many years in St. Joseph’s workshop diligently working.

 

“It was preparation for his re-entering man’s original workshop — another garden; the Garden of Gethsemane, specifically — and accomplishing the work of our redemption,” Father Calloway continued.

Later, Jesus learned the proper place of work in His life through the loving example of St. Joseph.

 

“At the workbench where he plied his trade together with Jesus, Joseph brought human work closer to the mystery of the redemption,” remarked St. John Paul II years ago.

 

Today, St. Joseph might teach us how to be diligent workers, on the job outside the home, and in our families.

 

“Our Lord desired to do manual labor for many years before initiating His public ministry,” Calloway added. “Why did He do it? He did it because He wanted to sanctify work and teach that work is honorable and pleasing to God.”

 

Merry Christmas!