St. Joseph's memory is "in benediction." It is only little by little that we learn of the treasures and secrets of the world we live in. The same is true of our Catholic Faith. Jesus Christ left to His Church a "deposit" of divine truth and, according as the centuries move on, she examines more and more carefully into what has been committed to her and tells us of new and wonderful discoveries.
Something like this has happened in the case of the hidden carpenter of Nazareth. For a long time Holy Church, preoccupied as she was to establish the divinity of Our Lord and the virginity of His Blessed Mother, was slow to examine the position of St. Joseph and decree him the honor that we now know to be his due. This slowness was the result of her anxiety to preserve intact the prerogatives of Christ. If she was to exalt St. Joseph all at once she might seem to connive at the blasphemy which would make him the real father of Christ.
But in the last four hundred years there has been an advance in devotion to St. Joseph that has been described as "meteoric." He has been proclaimed Patron of the Universal Church, Patron of a Happy Death, and Patron "in the vast campaign of the Church against world Communism." This "mighty protector," writes Pius XI, "belongs to the working class and bore the burdens of poverty for himself and the Holy Family, whose tender and vigilant head he was. To him was entrusted the divine Child when Herod loosed his assassins against Him. In a life of faithful performance of everyday duties he left an example for all those who must gain their bread by the work of their hands . . . a living model of that Christian justice which should reign in social life."
Pope Pius IX had already constituted the saint as Patron of the Universal Church. "When in these most troublesome times the Church is beset by enemies on every side and weighed down by calamities so heavy that ungodly men imagine the gates of hell have prevailed against her . . . it has pleased the Sovereign Pontiff . . . to commit to St. Joseph's most powerful patronage himself and all the faithful . . ."
No more fitting ending could be made to this tribute and to this my period of prayer than is supplied by St. Teresa. "I cannot remember having asked him for anything that I did not obtain. I am quite amazed when I consider the great favors Our Lord has shown me through the intercession of this great saint, and the many dangers both of body and soul from which he has delivered me. It seems that to other saints Our Lord has given power to succor us in only one kind of necessity, but this glorious saint, I know by experience, assists us in all sorts of necessities.... I only request, for the love of God, that whoever will not believe me will prove the truth of what I say. He will see by experience how great a blessing it is to recommend oneself to this glorious patriarch and to be devout to him.... Whoever wants a master to instruct him how to pray, let him take this glorious saint for his guide and he will not lose his way."
"As thou did once rescue the Child Jesus from imminent peril to His life, so now defend the Holy Church of God from the snares of her enemies and from all adversity. Shield each one of us with thy unceasing patronage, that, imitating thy example and supported by thy aid, we may be enabled to live a good life, die a holy death, and secure everlasting happiness in heaven."
Summary:
1. St. Joseph "beloved of God" because of the virtues with which he adorns the married state.
2. St. Joseph "beloved of men" because of the dignity he gives to hard work.
3 St. Joseph whose memory is "in benediction" because, after centuries of obscurity, he is now proclaimed Patron of the Universal Church.
Thought:
A regular visit to Nazareth shows that, after all, there are more important things and more lasting things than a pay envelope and what it can buy.