Skilled artisan
St Joseph taught Jesus how to do tekton work. The Greek word 'tekton' used to describe Jesus in the New Testament means 'carpenter', or more broadly 'craftsman' or 'builder.' It refers to Jesus' occupation as skilled artisan, likely working with wood, though some scholars suggest it could also imply stone masonry or general construction work.
Work by sweat of brow
St Joseph patiently taught Christ all that he knew, through toil-filled days and sometimes work at night. Jesus learned how to create in the earthly sense. He saw what it entailed to work by sweat of the brow, and Christ - the Creator - joyed to be taught by Joseph, earthly foster father.
Vocation
So, too, we need to be devoted to whatever vocation God has called us to. Sometimes we are called to more than one work, as chapters of our lives open and close at the behest of the Almighty, according to our talents and aging powers of our body.
Virtues of Jesus
Let us imitate the virtues of Jesus, stonemason who became Rabbi and went on to save humankind. Let us likewise love St Joseph and celebrate his feast on May 1 with devotion and joy.
Feast of St Joseph the Worker
Pope Pius XII established the Feast of St Joseph the Worker on May 1, 1955. Coinciding with International Workers Day, the feast was intended to honour St Joseph and highlight the dignity of human work..
The feast extends the long relationship with St Joseph and the cause of workers. Beginning in the Book of Genesis, the dignity of human work has long been celebrated as participation in the creative work of God.
Encyclicals regarding St Joseph
In 1899, Pope Leo XIII wrote Quamquam Pluries, encyclical on devotion to St Joseph. [1] In his encyclcal Laborem Exercens, Saint 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 the above-mentioned [social] changes so as to ensure authentic progress by man and society." [2]
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, Saviour 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." [3]
The Tekton’s Son
In Nazareth’s hush at break of day,
Where wood and stone and shavings lay,
A patient man with gentle tone
Taught God-made-flesh to shape the stone.
Saint Joseph, worker, strong and true,
Gave all he had, all that he knew,
The craft of tekton, skill refined -
A builder’s art, both hand and mind.
The saw would sing, the hammer fall,
A measured line, a steady call,
While Christ, the Word by Whom all grew,
Learned earthly work as children do.
He watched the grain, the stone, the seam,
He laboured long in sun’s bright beam,
By sweat of brow and aching limb,
Creation’s Lord learned work from him.
O wondrous sight the ages tell;
The Source of all in workshop dwell,
Receiving from a father’s care,
The humble trades that men must bear.
Joseph taught with quiet grace,
No pride to cloud his weathered face,
But love that formed in hidden years
The Saviour’s path through toil and tears.
So too are we by God assigned
Our works of heart, of hand, of mind,
Through changing days, through shifting call,
One path, then more - God orders all.
In youth we build, in age we guide,
In strength we strive, in frail abide.
Yet each vocation, great or small,
Is holy when we give our all.
Let us then walk as Christ has shown,
Who shaped the wood, who hewed the stone,
Then taught as Rabbi, healed, forgave,
And gave His life the world to save.
With Joseph’s love let us be true,
In faithful work whate’er we do,
And mark with prayer and hearts made bright
His feast upon May's first light.
O blessed worker, guard our way,
Teach us to labour, watch, and pray,
Till all our work on earth is done,
And we behold the Father’s Son.
[1] Pope Leo XIII. Quamquam Pluries. 1889
[2] Saint John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, number 1. 1981
[3[ Franciscan Media. Saint of the Day. May 1. Saint Joseph the Worker
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-joseph-the-worker/
With thanks to vatican.va and franciscanmedia.org
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