Hello, and happy Friday.

Today we remember St. Joseph as the patron saint of workers. This feast was established by the Church to off set, as it were, the holiday established in communistic countries, called May Day, in honor of the all the workers around the world. This holiday was especially celebrated in communistic countries. To offset this secular feast, Pope Pius XII in 1955 established the feast in honor of St. Joseph the Worker.

But we today do not need a special day to honor the foster father of Jesus with a feast to off set a secular one. We know Joseph for who he was and what quiet, and sometime hidden role he played and plays in God’s plan of salvation.

So today we honor, yes, those who labor everyday to give us what we have, and many times cannot themselves afford what they produce. But we also remember in a special way, St. Joseph who labored quietly in his role in God’s story of salvation.

Pope Francis give us this thought, ” Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet, and hidden presence an intercessor, a support, and a guide in times of trouble.” As Joseph was “father” to Jesus he extends his hand to us in troubled times as a good father would to he child.

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the

Bros and Srs of the

Franciscan House of Prayer