In this special year, which Pope Francis has asked that we dedicate to St. Joseph, and during this long pandemic, we are encouraged to find our prayer and reflection turning often to St. Joseph. On earth, Jesus called St. Joseph His father. So should we. From St. Joseph, Jesus learned how to walk, how to pray, how to work, and how to love. More than anything, Jesus learned from His earthly father that the meaning and purpose of our human lives is found in doing the will of our Father in heaven.
When Jesus teaches us to pray “thy will be done,” we know that He witnessed this every day growing up, in the example of His earthly foster father, not to mention in the life of Mary, His mother. We see in St. Joseph what a life totally devoted to doing the will of God looks like; he entrusted his whole life to serve God’s plan of salvation.
Let us pray. “Gentle Joseph, guardian of the pure heart, God is captivated by the quality of your heart. Your entire being was focused on doing His will. With Mary and Jesus, you answered the Holy Spirit’s call to build a better world. With one heart, we join you in saying, “Here we are, Lord, your will be done! Your kingdom come nearer to us! Keep the hope of a new world alive in our hearts. Inspire us to speak words of tenderness to awaken the love of other hearts. May we draw the energy for our actions from the source of all Love so that our faces may shine with the freedom of the children of God. Through your intercession and in the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.”
