The liturgy today celebrates St. Joseph the Worker, a feast instituted by Pius XII in 1955, in which the Church remembers the patron saint of workers, and the divine value and dignity of work.
The last few Popes have praised the figure of St. Joseph in a special way. One year ago today, Pope Francis posted a tweet on the @Pontifex account of the X network, in which he said: "Today we celebrate the Memory of #StJosephWorker. Let us ask the Lord to renew and increase our faith, so that our work may have in Him our beginning and our fulfillment." At the same time, he proposed again "the Holy Family of Nazareth as a model of domestic community: a community of life, work and love".
San José, central role
Francis had published the apostolic letter 'Patris cordeOn December 8, 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, which begins as follows: "With the heart of a father: thus Joseph loved Jesus...". "After Mary, Mother of God, no saint occupies as much space in the pontifical Magisterium as Joseph, her spouse," the Pope wrote. "The greatness of St. Joseph consists in the fact that he was the spouse of Mary and the father of Jesus."
"My predecessors," he added, "have deepened the message contained in the little data transmitted by the Gospels to highlight its central role in the history of salvation: the Blessed Pius IX declared him 'Patron of the Catholic Church', the venerable Pius XII presented him as 'Patron Saint of Workers', and St. John Paul II as 'Custodian of the Redeemer'".
One of the descriptions Pope Francis used was, in point 6, 'Working Father'.. And he noted: "One aspect that characterizes St. Joseph and has been emphasized since the time of the first social encyclical, Leo XIII's 'Rerum novarum', is his relationship with work. St. Joseph was a carpenter who worked honestly to ensure the livelihood of his family. From him, Jesus learned the value, dignity and joy of what it means to eat the bread that is the fruit of one's own labor."
Importance of the work
On May 1, 2005, on the 'Regina caeli' of today's feast, the newly elected Benedict XVIToday we begin the month of May with a liturgical memory deeply rooted in the Christian people, that of St. Joseph the Worker," he said in St. Peter's Square. And, as you know, my name is Joseph. It was instituted by Pope Pius XII, of venerable memory, precisely fifty years ago, to highlight the importance of work and of the presence of Christ and of the Church in the working world".
"It is also necessary to bear witness in today's society to the "Gospel of the work"John Paul II spoke of in his encyclical 'Laborem exercens'. I wish you never miss the workFinally, I direct my thoughts to Mary: the month of May is dedicated to her in particular".
