There are only three saints who have more than one feast day dedicated to their honour in the Church’s liturgical calendar: the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist and St. Joseph. Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on 1 May 1955 in response to the surge of atheistic communism in the decades after World War II.
In some countries, communism was understood as a liberating force, as it had helped to defeat fascism in Germany and Italy. May 1, or May Day, was the day of the workers in communist countries: a day of rest, of triumphant military parades and celebrations.
Pope Pius XII tore the mask of atheism and dedicated all the workers of the world to the patronage of St. Joseph who laboured for the Holy Family and established the feast of St. Joseph the Worker as a Catholic alternative to May Day.
Joseph was the carpenter, the working man who taught his God-Son how to swing a hammer and run a plane over a rugged plank. Honouring St. Joseph the Worker as a true icon of human labour easily attracted labourers around the world.
St. Joseph did not raise his fist in anger at the Roman oppressors of Judea. He did not lead a mob of Zealots to burn down the houses of the ruling class. He worked as any normal person worked. He was quiet about it. He did his duty. He provided his family with food and shelter. He taught his child life-lessons to care for the neighbour, to be compassionate and merciful. And when that child grew up, he taught the world mercy and compassion, and love for God and humanity.
Work is a source of dignity. A life of work and struggle for excellence are ingredients in the recipe for a mature, responsible adult. God the Father worked and God the Son worked. When man works, then, he is participating in God’s own work. Subduing the earth is one of God’s original commandments to man. And subduing the earth cannot come about except through work.
The will of God for us cannot be found outside of what we spend most of our life doing. If that were the case, then we wouldn’t have much of a religion. God is found in our work. So if we do it well, we give him glory and if we do it poorly, we offer him a shoddy sacrifice. The earth becomes our altar when our daily work is our daily offering. Work is a pathway to holiness, and St. Joseph the Worker stands by our side to encourage us toward the reward that our daily sweat and labour will earn.
St. Joseph the Worker, inspire all labourers of mind or body to work for their daily bread as much as for your glorification. May our work be done well to perfect us and to make us participants in your creative work.
