The month of May, dedicated to Mary, begins with a feast in honor of Saint Joseph the Worker. At every Mass, in the commemoration of the saints, Mary and “blessed Joseph, her spouse,” are named together. This liturgical pairing reminds us that the mission of Saint Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer and universal patron of the Church, is inseparably linked to the mission of the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of God.
Joseph’s place next to Mary in the Eucharistic Prayer highlights his closeness to her within the Holy Family and draws us into the incarnational mystery of God’s plan for our salvation. The Eternal Word takes flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary and is nurtured, protected, and raised in Joseph’s home at Nazareth. Mary and Joseph, in distinct roles yet one household of faith, become humble servants of the Incarnation.
Since the mid-20th century, the Church has celebrated this dimension of Joseph’s life in the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, established by Pope Pius XII as a response to May Day in communist countries. The intention was to reaffirm that ordinary human labor possesses dignity, because it participates in God’s own creative work. Joseph, a man of manual labor, knew the meaning of daily toil. Yet his greatest work was entrusted to him not in the workshop, but in the home of Nazareth: to care for and raise the Redeemer of the world.
God’s saving plan unfolds through the human family. It passes through the fiat of Mary and the quiet obedience of Joseph. That same plan continues in our lives—in our fidelity to daily responsibilities, patient work, and the hidden opportunities to love and serve God each day. So it is fitting that we begin the month of Mary under the patronage of her blessed spouse, the just man who draws us into the hidden life of Nazareth, where daily life is lived with Jesus at its center, as in the home of Joseph and Mary.
Fr. Richard Hermes, S.J.
