We are seeking to increase our devotion to St. Joseph this year along with all of our patron saints for the year.
May we follow the example of St. Joseph in leading a hidden life in God.
Follow the Example of St. Joseph by Leading a Hidden Life in God
The diversity of vocations tends to teach the children of God this truth, that all Christian perfection consists only in submission.
He who glorifies the apostles with the honor of preaching glorifies St. Joseph with the humility of silence; we should learn from this that the glory of Christians is not brilliant works but in doing what God wants.
While all cannot have the honor of preaching Jesus Christ, all can have the honor of obeying Him; and that is the glory of St. Joseph.
Do not ask what St. Joseph did in his hidden life; it is impossible for me to tell you.
Ordinarily, the life of sinners causes more talk than that of the just, for it is greed and passion that make things move in the world.
The just man does nothing for the eyes of men because he does all for the eyes of God. That is how the just St. Joseph lived.
He saw Jesus Christ; he savored Him and said nothing; he contented himself with God alone. He fulfilled his vocation.
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, First Panegyric of St. Joseph
The Reward for a Hidden Life with Jesus, Mary and Joseph
When Jesus appears in majesty, then will it be time to appear. O how beautiful will it be to appear on that day, when Jesus will praise us before His holy angels, in the face of the entire universe and before His heavenly Father!
What night, what obscurity could last long enough to make us deserve this glory?
Let men be eternally silent about us, so long as Jesus Christ speaks of us on that day.
But let us fear, Christians, these terrible words He pronounced in His Gospel: “You have received your reward” (Mt. 6:2). You wanted the glory of men, you have had it; you have been paid, there is nothing more to expect. O ingenious envy of our enemy, who gives us men’s eyes in order to take God’s from us; who with a malicious justice offers to reward our virtues so that God will not reward them!
Miserable creature, I want none of your glory. I shall wait to receive my crown from a far dearer hand and my reward from a far more powerful arm. When Jesus appears in His majesty, then do I wish to appear.
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, First Panegyric of St. Joseph
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