Reflection on Today’s Feast

By Fr. Adam Rosinski, SJ

The feast of St. Joseph, Patron Saint of the Society of Jesus, reminds me of another Joseph: my mom’s father, Joe, my pop-pop. Along with my grandmother, Pop-pop raised 13 children in a tiny rowhome in Northeast Philly, and in the basement of that home, he walled off a tiny section and set up a workshop. The focus of that room was a workbench, where you could find screws and nails, nuts and bolts, pipes and wires, and just about any tool for any job. But the most important thing on that workbench was a simple crucifix, about 12 inches tall, that stood right in the middle of that workspace for more than 50 years.

Like St. Joseph, Pop-pop knew the feeling of a hard day’s work. Whenever he wasn’t at his job as a gasman, he could most likely be found at that workbench, working on all sorts of projects–large and small–for his family. The bench was covered in sawdust, metal shavings, dirt, grease, and even a fair amount of Pop-pop’s blood, from the many cuts to his hands over the decades. And because it sat in the middle of it all, his crucifix was covered in the very same things.

As he worked, he would pause sometimes and look at Jesus on this cross and speak with him about whatever he was working on. In this way, Pop-pop mirrored his namesake. I can picture Joseph, standing at his own workbench in the family home in Nazareth. I can imagine that he, too, brought Jesus to that workbench and paused from his work once in a while to look at and speak with his son–who perhaps from time to time got covered in sawdust and metal shavings.

Joseph saw Jesus in the middle of his work; he saw God in the middle of his work. Joseph understood the Incarnation…intimately. Joseph understood that in the Incarnation, God had infused his divinity into every nook and cranny of our humanity, and therefore, the best way to God was right through his humanity, our humanity…and there is nothing more human than a hard day’s work. 

Like Joseph, we Jesuits are called to be men of the Incarnation. Whether in a classroom, an office, a church, a refugee camp, a homeless shelter, or a retreat house, we are called to labor hard for our daily bread and to pause once in a while and see Jesus standing there in the midst of it all, covered in the evidence of whatever work we’re doing. 

Many Jesuits indeed have seen Jesus covered in literal sawdust, metal shavings, grease, and yes, even their own blood. More often, though, when we pause to look at Jesus, we see him covered in other things: in the joy of a student who finally grasped a difficult concept or the peace of a penitent leaving the confessional. We see Jesus covered in the frustration mixed with hope of a hospital patient or in the profound amazement at God’s grace of a retreatant making the Spiritual Exercises. In our own homes, we even get to see him covered in the gratitude of a community member, the love of a superior, and in laughter around the dinner table.

St. Joseph reminds us that Jesuits are to be men of the Incarnation, men who have discovered that God has infused his divinity into every part of our humanity, and sent out on mission to help others do the same.

St. Joseph, patron of the Society of Jesus, pray for us!

Previous Reflections

March 19, 2022 – By Fr. Brendan Lally, SJ

A religious brother, Andre Bissett, C.S.C – now Saint Andre – the porter at the school across from Mt. Royal in the center of Montreal, climbed the hill one day, and planted a medal of Saint Joseph in the ground, praying that a great church would be built in his honor. Miracles attended his devotion to Saint Joseph, and the largest shrine to Saint Joseph in the world was constructed on the site.

I used to lead a small pilgrimage group of faculty and staff each year from the University of Scranton to visit the site for prayer, and to ponder the many healings that took place there. On the first trip, two of the faculty and staff with me got up early the first day and went to pray at the shrine, telling me they would join the rest of us for breakfast afterward.

Standing at the front doors of St. Joseph’s Oratory, on the top of the hill, they began a conversation with a woman also taking in the view over the city while awaiting her husband. Our faculty member said: “Isn’t this a powerful place – so many miracles happening here through the intercession of St. Joseph?” The woman smiled and said, “Yes, it is a wonderful place,” and after a silence added, “We had a miracle in our family! Our granddaughter was born with an incurable illness. Her parents were told to take her home and make her comfortable, as she had only a short time to live.” The woman told them, “My husband and I came right away to Saint Joseph’s Oratory and prayed fervently to Saint Joseph, promising that if she was cured, we would come here every day for the rest of our lives to give thanks.” After a pause, she added, “That was 22 years ago. We have been here every day since, and our granddaughter is fine!”

Why have devotion to Saint Joseph? Is it to seek miracles? Perhaps. But as the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster Father of Jesus, Saint Joseph is someone, after Mary, who is closest to Christ and worth getting to know. He walked in faith, assenting to the message of an angel in a dream to take Mary into his home as his wife, and later to lead the Holy Family as refugees to safety in Egypt.

He is that silent, but strong, figure who protected Jesus and Mary, and certainly loved them beyond words. A humble figure in the story of our redemption, Saint Joseph passes quietly out of the scene, as Jesus begins His public ministry and heads to Jerusalem and His passion, death and resurrection. Tradition tells us that Joseph died in the arms of Jesus and Mary – the perfect passing to eternal life – and is known as the patron of the dying.

Why should we seek a relationship with Saint Joseph? He is the Patron of the Society of Jesus – certainly a good reason. Perhaps we should, because he can relate well with the challenges and surprises of life at the present moment. He had to discern the vocation God was calling him to, following a message from an angel in a dream, not knowing what the future would bring. He had to entrust everything to his heavenly Father. He understands pure love and held the Christ Child close to his heart. He most certainly continues, from his heavenly home, to be close to the Sacred Heart of his foster Son, and is that strong companion for the journey, who understands life and challenges, and who, we can turn to in any need.

In 2014, to develop a deeper devotion to Saint Joseph at the university that bears his name, Fr. Kevin Gillespie, SJ, president at the time, joined me, following a Mass for trustees, in the planting of a medal of Saint Joseph in an area behind the University Chapel, and we blessed the ground in the hope of constructing a modest grotto to this special saint. The funding surfaced, and two years later it was in place. In the back of the chapel itself, we set up a small shrine to the “Sleeping St. Joseph,” a devotion of Pope Francis, and placed a box where intentions could be inserted under the statue.

The greatest miracles we seek are not always the ones that are known and written about, but are the ones hidden in the heart and known only to God. May Saint Joseph accompany you on your journey to those places and lift up your needs to the Heart of God.

St. Joseph is known by many titles, some of which include:

Patron of the dying, Patron of the sick, Patron of the Universal Church, Patron of the Society of Jesus, Terror of demons, Patron of workers, St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, St. Joseph, foster Father of Jesus, Patron of Fathers, Patron of Travelers, Patron of Immigrants, Chaste Protector of the Virgin, Zealous Defender of Christ, Joseph most pure.

St. Joseph is also the patron saint of 3 of the Jesuit works in Philadelphia: Saint Joseph’s University, St. Joseph’s Prep, and Old St. Joseph’s Church.

St. Joseph, pray for us!

Fr. Brendan Lally, SJ serves as the provincial delegate for senior Jesuits for the USA East Jesuit Province.