Joseph supported Mary and Jesus with his work. This fact colors the figure of St. Joseph, who in the Christian tradition appears as a model worker, a craftsman.
(LifeSiteNews) -- I begin with two preliminary ideas. The first is mine: Most representations of St. Joseph (I am thinking particularly of holy cards) depict him as an old man, an elderly man, perhaps out of a desire to ensure Mary's virginity. But I believe that, at his betrothal to Our Lady, Joseph would have been the age that all young men of Israel were when they got married. If Mary was 15 years old, Joseph would have been 18.
The second is from St. Francis de Sales, who maintains that Joseph is body and soul in heaven. The reality is that tradition has never identified a tomb of St. Joseph, which would have been a pilgrimage site.
The personality of St. Joseph is summarized in a biblical term: he is called “just” (díkaios) in the Gospel according to St. Matthew (1:19). This word must be understood according to its Old Testament meaning, where it is a title of totality, of fullness - unlike the value it acquires in Greek culture (in Aristotle, for example), in which there are four “cardinal virtues” of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.
Joseph is the father of Jesus - that is how he was considered. In the episode of the loss and finding of the Child (12 years old) in the temple, Mary says: “Your father and I were looking for you in anguish.” Jesus replies: “Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business (en tois tou patros mou)?" (Lk. 2:49) How would Joseph have felt this contrast between "your father" and "my Father"? But Luke's text adds that they did not understand (ou synēkan) what He wished to tell them.
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St. Joseph's virginity is a New Testament reality that accompanies Mary's virginity. Sexual expression is a sign of marriage. The Apostle Paul told the faithful that it is possible to abstain from sexual relations in order to pray, but he cautioned them not to be tempted into a kind of defrauding. Joseph's prayer is the adoration of God as it appears in the Psalms; he will have initiated the Child Jesus into learning adoration. His prayer is silent and interior, gliding along as he works. In light of the Incarnation it is reasonable to think that Joseph educated Jesus since he acted as a father, as if he were a reflection and representative of the eternal Father. Jesus was subject to him as to His Mother (Lk. 2:51: en hipotassomenos autois).
Joseph supported Mary and Jesus with his work. This fact colors the figure of St. Joseph, who in the Christian tradition appears as a model worker, a craftsman. In the New Testament work becomes a fundamental trait of Christ's disciples. The Apostle Paul can exhort: “If anyone does not want to work, let him not eat” (2 Thess. 3:10).
In the secular order, since the end of the 19th century, work has been a social reality in which justice or injustice can be perceived. Thus arose workers' rights and Labor Day. The biblical and religious dimension has disappeared; ideologies have taken over. In this context the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church contains a chapter on the question of work; it appears in papal encyclicals, messages, and speeches. Work is seen as a human reality and an object of law. Devotion to St. Joseph tries to restore the religious value to work; the image of St. Joseph presents him as a carpenter, carrying the instruments of his craft.
+ Héctor Aguer
Archbishop Emeritus of La Plata
Buenos Aires, May 1, 2025
Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker
