Christ the Cornerstone
In life and work, St. Joseph built up family and faith
Today is May 1, the Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker. The Church proposes to us today the common, simple and human virtues of the foster father of Jesus to help us understand the fundamental Catholic social teaching about the dignity of every human person. We are all equal in the eyes of God regardless of where we came from, who our ancestors were, what we possess or what we have accomplished in the world’s estimation.
Human dignity is not earned. It is God-given. This is what makes human rights universal: Every person has been created in the image and likeness of God, and no human being is more deserving of dignity and respect than anyone else. As children of God, and brothers and sisters to each other, we are all equally blessed with the same rights and responsibilities.
It is easy to lose sight of this fundamental truth. We human beings constantly make distinctions that are totally irrelevant to God. We judge others by the color of their skin, by their education (or lack of it), by their social status and/or political affiliation. We look down on strangers, and we vilify our enemies. We welcome and show respect for those who look, talk and think the way we do, and we are quick to dismiss anyone who is different from us.
This narrow-mindedness is part of the human condition, the result of original sin. It’s a dysfunction that makes living and working together much more difficult than it should be. That’s why followers of Jesus Christ must undergo a profound conversion of mind and heart. Christians must surrender their racist, nativist, elitist, and sexist prejudices and accept that all God’s children are equal to one another.
The feast of St. Joseph the Worker is deeply connected to Catholic social teaching’s defense of the dignity of work as a fundamental part of the dignity of every human life. Work is an intrinsic and dignified part of human life, reflecting the use of God-given gifts, time and talents to produce goods and services which sustain the community. This principle is rooted in biblical and Church tradition, encompassing Old Testament teaching, Jesus’ ministry, St. Paul’s writing and the Church’s magisterium. Work is not merely a means to material ends but an integral part of life’s purpose, incorporating both temporal and spiritual dimensions (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 261-266).
The feast of St. Joseph the Worker highlights Joseph’s role as a faithful laborer or craftsman who lived and worked in humility and obedience, embodying the dignity and sanctity that the Church attributes to work. The Church honors him precisely because he exemplifies the sanctifying value of daily labor and the integration of work with family and faith.
Given St. Joseph’s role as a worker and protector of the Holy Family, this memorial feast powerfully symbolizes the intrinsic value of human labor. Work is meant to build up the family and society, and ultimately to glorify God. This feast situates the dignity of human labor within the broader Catholic commitment to family, human dignity, social justice and the common good.
In fact, it is by working together that people who are different from one another discover that they are not so different after all. Good, honest work unites people as individuals and as communities. This is why the Church urges us to look beyond our differences to the universal truth represented by one who in the words of Pope St. John Paul II was recognized as a just man, a husband and father, and a faithful worker:
Work was the daily expression of love in the life of the Family of Nazareth. The Gospel specifies the kind of work Joseph did in order to support his family: he was a carpenter. This simple word sums up Joseph’s entire life. For Jesus, these were hidden years, the years to which Luke refers after recounting the episode that occurred in the Temple: “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them” (Lk 2:51). This “submission” or obedience of Jesus in the house of Nazareth should be understood as a sharing in the work of Joseph. Having learned the work of his presumed father, he was known as “the carpenter’s son.” At the workbench where he plied his trade together with Jesus, Joseph brought human work closer to the mystery of the Redemption. (“Redemptoris Custos,” #22).
Today as we venerate the simple dignity of St. Joseph the Worker, let’s keep in mind that he symbolizes every human person who in his or her work builds up the family and society, giving glory and praise to God. †