May 1st: Feast of St. Joseph the Worker

Apparently in response to the "May Day" celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955. But the relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers has a much longer history.

In a constantly necessary effort to keep Jesus from being removed from ordinary human life, the Church has from the beginning proudly emphasized that Jesus was a carpenter, obviously trained by Joseph in both the satisfactions and the drudgery of that vocation. Humanity is like God not only in thinking and loving, but also in creating. Whether we make a table or a cathedral, we are called to bear fruit with our hands and mind, ultimately for the building up of the Body of Christ.

Joseph, by the work of your hands
and the sweat of your brow,
you supported Jesus and Mary,
and had the Son of God as your fellow worker.

Teach me to work as you did,
with patience and perseverance, for God and
for those whom God has given me to support.
Teach me to see in my fellow workers
the Christ who desires to be in them,
that I may always be charitable and forbearing
towards all.

Grant me to look upon work
with the eyes of faith,
so that I shall recognize in it
my share in God’s own creative activity
and in Christ’s work of our redemption,
and so take pride in it.

When it is pleasant and productive,
remind me to give thanks to God for it.
And when it is burdensome,
teach me to offer it to God,
in reparation for my sins
and the sins of the world.

Feb. 9: Always think before you speak... most of the time.

Always think before you speak. We have been taught that from a very young age. You can easily hurt people's feelings when you don't think. The rule is one of those that should always be followed... most of the time.

I was told by one of my task managers at work that I need to work on speaking more clearly and concisely. I do not always think through exactly what I am going to say before I say it. Before now, it has made life, in my opinion, more exciting and interesting. The English language is fun to twist. You can add uns and commas to anything to make it more interesting to read. Create acronyms and shortenings of words to add humor and speedity to life. (I made a funny! [Splinter, ninja turtles]) But this also means that my words do not always say what I mean. Or, even worse, can be construed and twisted. So I need to think more before I speak.

But don't we also think that children speak truthfully? They don't think about what they say and yet they still speak wisdom...

And the Bible says in Acts, "Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim." Isn't that the opposite of thinking before you speak? Allowing the Spirit to speak through you?

And even in the Silmarillion, when Tuor comes before Turgon, "all that heard the voice of Tuor marveled, doubting that this were in truth a Man of mortal race, for his words were the words of the Lord of Water that came to him in that hour." Again, not thinking and allowing others to speak through you.

Today I went to Target to pick up some random things. I walked back to the car with my cart, threw the stuff in my trunk, and went to put the cart in the return pen. As I was walking towards it, I saw this guy and girl kissing. Not quite making out, but not just a peck either. And of course they were kissing right in front of the cart pen. And so placed the cart into the spot next to the cart pen and walked away. A few seconds later, the two ceased their embrace, and the guy burst into laughter knowing what had happened. He yells to me, "Sorry!" And I yell back, without thinking, "No problem! God is good!" He responds with a ya. As I drove away, I thought to myself, why did I say 'God is good?' I then realized that God is love. And love is good. Without thinking about what I said.

So we should always think about what we say before we say it. Unless you are channeling the Holy Spirit or going to say something profound. But you rarely know when these instances are going to happen. So its better to stick with the general rule. Most of the time.

God is good! All the time!

All the time! God is good!

Amen! Alleluia!

Yes! Lord!

St. Joseph the Worker! Pray for us!

-The St. Joseph Litany, St. Joseph House