To foster deep devotion to Saint Joseph among Catholics, and in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker in 1955. This feast extends the long relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers in both Catholic faith and devotion. Beginning in the Book of Genesis, the dignity of human work has long been celebrated as a participation in the creative work of God. By work, humankind both fulfills the command found in Genesis to care for the earth (Gn 2:15) and to be productive in their labors. Saint Joseph, the carpenter and foster father of Jesus, is but one example of the holiness of human labor.
Jesus, too, was a carpenter. He learned the trade from Saint Joseph and spent his early adult years working side-by-side in Joseph’s carpentry shop before leaving to pursue his ministry as preacher and healer. In his encyclical Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II stated: “the Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work, to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated, and to help to guide [social] changes so as to ensure authentic progress by man and society.”
Saint Joseph is held up as a model of such work. Pius XII emphasized this when he said, “The spirit flows to you and to all men from the heart of the God-man, Savior of the world, but certainly, no worker was ever more completely and profoundly penetrated by it than the foster father of Jesus, who lived with Him in closest intimacy and community of family life and work.”
Reflection
To capture the devotion to Saint Joseph within the Catholic liturgy in 1870, Pope Pius IX declared Saint Joseph the patron of the universal Church. In 1955, Pope Pius XII added the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. This silent saint, who was given the noble task of caring and watching over the Virgin Mary and Jesus, now cares for and watches over the Church and models for all the dignity of human work.
I appreciate the warm welcome back from my vacation. Many of you have asked how my vacation was. It was exhausting. Now you may be thinking, “But Father, you were on vacation. You had a chance to rest.” When does a mother and father have a chance to rest? Just asking. I’m going back to the area I grew up as a priest, and I have my own little parish there. Everyone wants to talk to me. My vacation started this way: I got up in the morning and when I went into the kitchen for coffee, I stepped in a bunch of cat poop. Okay, this is going to be fun! After that it just got weird. I encountered a lot of episodes of WTMI (way too much information) during which I just sat there and said, “Uh-huh, Uh-huh, okay, yeah.” I went to see my aunt, who is also my godmother, and my two cousins Sheryl and Lisa. At one point, all three women were talking to me at once. Now, I can’t tell my 95-year-old godmother to “shut up” but my cousins I can, and I did. Shut up! “What do you mean?” Did I stutter? I love you but together you two drive me nuts! This is why I live alone and why living in a monastery appeals to me.
Every day I went to the diner which is like the TV show “Cheers” with grease on a plate. I have my own little parish there too. I saw this one man who I’ve known for years. When I first met him, he told me he had been in Vietnam. He came home after basic training and AIT (job training) and got married. Ten days later he was on a plane to Saigon. When he got back home, he became an Elvis impersonator. Gotta love a guy like that! When I talked to his wife, I said, “He wasn’t the same young man you sent away, was he?” She began to cry and said, “No.” I complimented her, and I still do because she was the one who brought him home from the war. It’s a type of on-the-job training. My mother and aunts had to do it for my father and uncles without a textbook or instruction manual to guide them. They didn’t talk about it although a few of them mentioned it to me before they died. They had to bring their husbands home, so they taught their children not to sneak up on their dads. Do not surprise Dad. So, I’ve watched this man’s health deteriorate over the years. I’m not “House” but there have been obvious signs. He has had a lot of maladies due to his time in Vietnam. During the first part of my vacation, he told me that his doctors had placed him in palliative care. Well, some people live forever on palliative care, so I wasn’t concerned about that. Near the end of my vacation, he told me that his doctors had given him the bad news that he had six months to a year to live, and he started to cry a bit. The agent orange had caught up with him. On the last day I was home, I told him I would see him in September, and he said, “No, you won’t.”
This is a funny story about another guy. Remember I told you that I know a guy? Well, this is the guy. I mean the Feds even bugged his phone, so he is the guy. He’s not in the business anymore, however, he’s open to referrals. So, I do know a guy. About 30 years ago, his friend helped him get out of the business and become the wonderful guy he is today. But his friend is dying and is in a trauma unit at a hospital in Rhode Island. He wanted to see him but felt bad about intruding on the family. So, he called his friend’s daughter and asked, “May I come to see your father? I don’t want to interrupt the family if it’s a bad time.” She said, “Yes, of course. He wants to see you.” So, he went. Even though his friend had tubes protruding from every possible place you could have them, he motioned to him that it was okay. He talked to his friend and made peace with him. He left the hospital, and an hour later his friend was dead.
Coming home I was privileged to sit next to a guy who had three hot toddies starting at 10:30 in the morning. Everyone is trying to be a paratrooper. I said, “Really? That’s the amateur hour.” Then, to top it all off, I called the church office to see how things were going and learned that the visiting priest had been vomiting all Sunday night and Monday morning. So Servpro came to the house and disinfected everything. Never a dull moment. On Friday afternoon, I drove from Charlotte back to Albemarle to take care of the mail and then drove to St. Luke’s in Mint Hill to hear confessions and drove back. Otherwise, I’m really relaxed.
While I was hearing confessions at St. Luke’s, someone said, “I don’t go to Mass the way I should.” Well, you can. Nothing is stopping you. The doors here are open. In many ways, it comes down to poor teaching about what the Mass is. The Mass is not a function. It is the event that redeemed creation and opened Heaven up for us. It gives us the means to get there by the sacrifice of Christ which is always before the Father and made present for us. In some parishes, the Mass is treated like a performance. They have these big screens that come down from the ceiling, and somebody is at the front of the church cheerleading. I didn’t read that in Scripture about Calvary. Did they have a cheerleader? Maybe I’m wrong. I may have been sick for a day or two while in seminary. Some parishes have a practice before the Mass or they have a Mass that goes on and on – like the guy last week – and on. You get no more salvation with a Mass that goes for an hour and a half than one that lasts for 13 minutes, which I have done several times because of extenuating circumstances.
Why is missing Sunday Mass so bad? The greatest sign of God’s love is made present on the altar on Sundays and every day, but Sunday is a holy day of obligation. Our good Lord asks those who say they believe in Him to come and be a part of the greatest act of divine love the world has ever seen. But people don’t show up. This is a little vulgar, but it’s true – they give God the middle finger. “I’m too busy.” “I don’t like it.” “I was there last week, and it’s just a rerun.” “I went to Mass a lot in grade school.” Really? I drank a lot of water back then, and I still drink water. So, they give God the middle finger and go about their business. That’s all ego. The true way to spirituality, as evidenced by people who get sober, clean, or slimmer or whatever 12-Step program they are in, is by humility or ego deflation. Once humility is achieved, along with the other steps supporting it, you never have to drink or abuse drugs again. Humility is one of God’s gifts and is the first step in spirituality. Does God chuckle at my not eating bacon? Maybe but doubtful. But He wants to see what I do with the sacrifices made on my behalf. He made such a great sacrifice Himself by sending His only Son to suffer and die. What is my response to that love? By complaining and crying that I can’t eat bacon or that I have to eat fish? That’s a big one. Did I tell you I hate fish? Ego deflation is the key to spiritual life.
“What a beautiful Mass, Father.” Don’t judge the Mass . . . all Masses are beautiful. The beauty comes in the person who is suffering in the Mass and that is Christ. What is the Mass? It is Christ and that is where the beauty comes from. The only way to improve the Mass is not from the outside but from inside us. That’s how we come to appreciate the Mass and not by judging it by our standards like ‘America’s Got Talent’ or thinking that our trip to Walmart is more important. The key to the Mass is humility and realizing what we are and what the Mass is. The humble say, “Speak Lord your servant is listening” and not “Listen Lord your servant is speaking.”
How will you apply this message to your life? ________________________________________
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.” On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.” Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.” Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at OLA.Catholic.Church. Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”
35 Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised Him at the breaking of bread. 36 They were still talking about all this when He himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’ 37 In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 But He said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts stirring in your hearts? 39 See by My hands and My feet that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.’ 40 And as He said this He showed them His hands and his feet. 41 Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, as they were dumbfounded; so He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ 42 And they offered Him a piece of grilled fish, 43 which He took and ate before their eyes. 44 Then He told them, ‘This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms, was destined to be fulfilled.’ 45 He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and He said to them, ‘So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that, in His name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses to this.
I looked this up: there are over 12,000 Protestant denominations. Protestants say they believe in Scripture; however, they must be reading different books than Catholics. God wants us to find our truth. Philosophically, there can be only one truth. There is one God and one truth. There is no different faith for Yankees than there is for people in Aquadale. There is not a different faith for people with different skin tones. We have only one faith and one truth. The Catholic Church teaches the truth.
I get these questions all the time. I see a group of Baptist guys on Mondays at Parkway House. They are good old boys, and I always go up and talk to them. Some of them will start quoting Scripture and ask if I am familiar with it. I feel like saying, “Dude, see this collar? I went to school and, believe it or not, I earned a master’s degree. I really did study, and I have a diploma to prove it.” So yeah, I think I know Scripture. I have people coming up to me all the time trying to prove me wrong. The Catholic Church wrote the Bible, so I know what it says and what it means. “Well, I don’t think it means that.” Do you argue with your doctor too? There is one truth. The Church teaches the truth, and we call that tradition. Truth is also contained outside of Scripture. In John’s gospel, he admitted that Scripture does not contain everything (John 21:25). So, we have the whole truth that the Church has taught from the beginning.
We have all sorts of people who have been “gifted” by the spirit, and they claim, “truth to power.” Uh-Huh. When someone uses that phrase, I always say, “I’ll get someone to check your meds because it sounds like you are on a real ego trip.” In the Catholic Church, those people have fallen by the wayside. They’ve all gone bye-bye. They say, “We have a new and better way. Christ told us so.” How’s that working out for you? Probably not really well. If we stick to what Christ said, we get what He promised: peace and joy in our souls, all the happiness that is possible in this life, and eternal life in the next. We have an inkling of what Heaven is like.
A lot of people say, “I don’t care what happens to my body; the body isn’t important.” Yes, it is. Our Lord said, “See by My hands and My feet that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see for yourselves.” At the end of time, we will have our bodies back . . . our souls will be reunited with our bodies. Nothing imperfect can be in the presence of God. There is only a temporary separation of our soul and body, so at the end of the world, we will receive our bodies back to serve our Lord and love Him. We will be reunited with our bodies and rejoice in Heaven. Hopefully, I won’t be eating fish! Please, Lord!! Although I am sure He will make me like it. This is our future. We will have our bodies back and not the weak and frail ones we have now, but bodies made perfect. We will be able to recognize each other in Heaven because the Apostles recognized our good Lord. If we do as we are told, that is our future. If not, let me know how that works out for you.
How will you apply this message to your life? _________________________________________
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.” On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.” Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.” Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at OLA.Catholic.Church. Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”
Physically—we don’t exercise regularly because we’re too busy. We don’t eat the right types of food, because they take too long to prepare, it’s too easy to go through the drive- through, and we’re too busy.
We don’t sleep regularly, because there are still only twenty-four hours in a day. We feel as though our lives have a momentum of their own, that they would go on with or without us. Our list of the things we have to do just gets longer and longer. We never feel that we get caught up; we just get more and more behind every day. Seriously, when was the last time you sat down, took a deep breath, and said to yourself, “I’m caught up now!” So we rush around late at night doing fifty- five little things before we go to bed and robbing ourselves of the precious sleep that rebuilds and rejuvenates us. Why? We are too busy.
Emotionally—most of us know that the happiest people on the planet are those who are focused in their personal relationships. Relationships thrive under one condition: carefree timelessness. Do we gift our relationships with carefree timelessness? Of course we don’t. We shove them into ten minutes here and fifteen minutes there. We give them the worst time, when we are most tired and least emotionally available. Why? We are too busy.
Intellectually—we don’t even take those ten or fifteen minutes each day to read good books that challenge us to change, to grow, and to become the- best- version- of-ourselves. Why? We don’t have time. We are too busy.
Spiritually—most people very rarely step into the classroom of silence to reconnect with themselves and their God. Why? We are afraid of what we might discover about ourselves and about our lives. We are afraid we might be challenged to change. And we are too busy.
It begs the question, doesn’t it? What are we all too busy doing? For the most part, we are too busy doing just about everything, that means just about nothing, to just about nobody, just about anywhere . . . and will mean even less to anyone a hundred years from now!
Matthew Kelly
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