St Joseph the Worker

The memorial we celebrate today honors the foster father of Jesus Christ under the title St Joseph the Worker. It is a day to remember, in a Christian tradition the dignity of honest work and hard working men and women everywhere.

This special day on the Church calendar is not that old as the memorial was established by Pope Pius XII in 1955. During this period of time, many workers were being influenced by the false workers rights promises from communists and others. The church, in giving us a memorial in honor of St. Joseph on May 1st, was countering the May day celebrations steeped in communism.

Of course little is known of St. Jospeh except from tradition and apocraphal works. What everyone agrees on is that he was indeed a working man who supported his family as a carpenter. He earned his daily living with his hands and the sweat of his brow.

Even though the main feast day that honors St. Joseph is March 19th, on May 1st we can all pray with St. Jospeph the Worker to honor the dignity of workers everywhere. In many ways, our work can be part of our prayer life.

As it says in the Psalms: prosper the work of our hands.

St. Jospeph the Worker, pray for us.