St. Joseph

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If St. Joseph had a country song, it would be “When You Say Nothing at All,” by Keith Whitley and famously performed by Alison Krauss. Not a word of St. Joseph is recorded in Scripture. We only read of how God speaks to him and how he responds. St. John Paul II praises St. Joseph, in “Redemptoris Custos,” for his ready response to the Lord, which characterizes “Joseph’s Way.” Pope Benedict praises Joseph’s silence because it shows he is “steeped in contemplation of the mystery of God.” In all this, St. Joseph is a silent witness, not only to the mystery of the Incarnation and salvation, but to the Christian life. St. Joseph says it best when he says nothing at all.

In St. Joseph’s silent witness, three things stand out. First, in his silence, St. Joseph was able to hear and recognize the voice of the Lord. The angel shared many startling things with Joseph: that he should take Mary as his wife, that the child she was carrying was from the Holy Spirit, and that he should name him Jesus. How did St. Joseph know to trust this message? This was not the first time he heard the Lord’s voice. To recognize God’s voice, one must spend time listening, showing up every day in prayer. Not only that, but we must quiet our hearts: “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps 46:10).

Second, St. Joseph lived a life ready to do what God asks. Both in his dream before the birth of Jesus and before the flight to Egypt, St. Joseph was asked to do very difficult tasks. But, once it became clear what God wanted, he did it without hesitation. How did he do this? St. Joseph would have had to cultivate the disposition to do whatever God willed. This was built up, brick by brick, by being faithful in small things such that it became the default movement of his heart.

Third, St. Joseph lived holiness in the ordinariness of daily life. Jesus went with St. Joseph to Nazareth and was obedient to his parents. As his foster father, St. Joseph would teach Jesus how to be a man, including his trade as a carpenter. Jesus learned the value and dignity of work at the side of St. Joseph. St. Joseph would have also shown how to maintain the presence of God in the middle of ordinary life. St. John Paul II holds forth the example of St. Joseph as a model of how to balance action and contemplation.

St. Joseph as a silent witness shows us that it does not take great eloquence or grand designs to be a good Christian witness. St. Joseph shows us the inner dispositions and concrete actions needed to love our families and love the Lord: listen to the Lord, be ready to do what he asks, and allow the Lord to be with you always, even amid work. Then you too can say it best when you say nothing at all.

Father Floeder is director of the Propaedeutic Year and director of Human Formation at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul.

CUPPA JOE

“Cuppa Joe” is a series of 10 talks by 10 theologians on the 10 wonders of St. Joseph taking place at 10 locations in our archdiocese entrusted to the patronage of our spiritual father. These talks premiere the first Tuesday of the month through December at 4 p.m. — just in time for afternoon coffee. The next presentation, “Patron of a Happy Death,” by Deacon Dan Gannon, will be posted Nov. 2. It was recorded at the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet’s Our Lady of the Presentation Chapel in St. Paul. Watch the full “Cuppa Joe” series at archspm.org/cuppajoe.