Spiritual Corner - The Silent Doer

Pope Francis loves and venerates Saint Joseph. On his desk is a statue of Saint Joseph in his dream. In the Bible, St. Joseph always dreams and receives guidance from God to solve his problems in life. The Pope says that whenever he faces a problem, he would write it down on a piece of paper and place it under St. Joseph’s statue with the hope of St. Joseph dreaming about what he has written, praying for his problem and giving him some guidance.

Paradoxically, Saint Joseph is a name that is well-known and yet we are not quite familiar with. We know well about the name because many choose it as their baptismal name and many churches have chosen him to be their Patron Saint. We are not familiar with Saint Joseph because the Bible gives such a brief account about him that little of him is known. The Bible records few of Mary’s words yet none of Saint Joseph’s.

Saint Joseph was a righteous man. He was a silent doer. He silently acted according to the will of God and silently served the others. He protected the unmarried but pregnant Mary from the punishment of being stoned to death. He knew how to listen to God and be led by His will. He was the guardian of Mary and Jesus. He silently accompanied Mary to Bethlehem, protected and cared for the new-born baby Jesus and Holy Mary. Often, he did not quite understand God’s plans for him, but he humbly obeyed. For instance, after he was being instructed by the angel, he took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt to avoid the persecution of Herod. He persevered a hardworking life of poverty, silently accompanied Holy Mary and raised Jesus. His greatness lies in his lifelong silent, humble, and persistent obedience to the will of God.

Though Saint Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus, yet he had raised up Jesus with the care of a loving father. Jesus’ growth to adulthood should be credited to Saint Joseph’s efforts and contributions. The Church also hopes to be guarded and protected by the loving, fatherly care of Saint Joseph. Therefore, in 1870, Pius IX pro-claimed Saint Joseph as the Patron Saint of the Church. China and Canada have also proclaimed Saint Joseph as their Patron Saint for protection. Saint Joseph, Patron Saint of the dying, pray for us. Amen.

Your Pastor,
Fr. Thomas Loh