The names of the servants of God often indicate
some leading feature in their work or in their
character. When God Himself gives the name this
is always the case. Joseph signifies adding or
increasing, and was a forecast of his continuous
increase, not only in grace and in favor with God,
but also in glory and repute with men as long as
the world shall last. Rejoice in the growing
devotion to St. Joseph, and ask yourself whether
your devotion to him grows.
St. Joseph is said to have had a boyhood and
youth of suffering, and to have been persecuted
and ill-treated by his brethren. We should expect
it to be so, since this was the lot of the Patriarch
of Genesis; and moreover, one who has such an
eminent position in the Church on earth and such
exceeding glory in Heaven, must have been
conformed to our Blessed Lord in having a career of
suffering. St. Joseph's character as known to us in
Holy Scripture is eminently one purified by having
had much to undergo. Such patience, gentleness,
thoughtful charity, cannot be learned except
at a heavy price.
Joseph's
trade was that of a carpenter. The
thought of the great Patron of the Universal
Church, the husband of Mary, having been a
handicraftsman, ought to give us a great respect
for manual labor. The idea that there is in it
anything unsuitable to our dignity is a vulgar, un-Christian, heathen notion. All the saints had a
love for manual labor. How much better such a
life than that of self-satisfied ease and luxury.
Thank God if you have to labor.