Discipleship according to St Joseph

This year, Pope Francis calls on us to focus on St Joseph, “to increase our love for this great saint, to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtues and his zeal.”

Oct 15, 2021


By Gwen Manickam
This year, Pope Francis calls on us to focus on St Joseph, “to increase our love for this great saint, to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtues and his zeal.”

In conjunction with the year of St Joseph, City Parish has been hosting an online series of multilingual Rosary recitations and devotion to St Joseph on Wednesday nights.

Director of Catholic Research Centre, Fr Dr Clarence Devadass, recently spoke on Discipleship ‘according’ to St Joseph.

The Holy Father, who added St Joseph to the Eucharistic prayer, acknowledges that little is known about this saint. He describes him as “the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence”.

It may be difficult to think of Joseph as a disciple (student) of Jesus, since, in his fatherly role, he must have been the teacher of Jesus, who must have learnt from him. Fr Clarence spoke of three attributes to sum up St Joseph as a disciple.

One of St Joseph’s first traits was being a man of obedience. From the moment the angel appeared in his dream, he became a follower, a disciple himself. He trusted God and put aside his own plans to follow the will of the Father. Likewise, as we pray in the Our Father ‘Thy will be done', we need to trust God’s master plan over our wants.

His second trait was being a man of faith and trust. He faced many challenging encounters after choosing to abide by God’s will - he had to take Mary to Bethlehem, and later to move the family to Egypt - but he relied on the promises God made and believed God would be the provider through these obstacles. God must be the first point in times of trials, not the final option, in a way teaching us to let go and let God.

Lastly, he was a man of labour and love. He was a humble and diligent worker. He provided for the Holy Family and was an example of work-life balance. Are we approaching work with joy, or are we so driven that it is ruling our lives and sometimes making us cut people out? St Joseph teaches us to take time to love ourselves and to find a balance between life, love, and relationships.

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