The Divine Lamp

HOW WE MUST WORK ACCORDING TO THE EXAMPLE OF
ST. JOSEPH. 

Joseph , her husband, being a just man . . . was minded to 6ut her 
away privately. Matt. 1:19. 

St. Joseph, whose feast we celebrate to-day, is a glorious saint,
who shows us by his example how all, and especially those who
have to labor constantly throughout their lives, can work out
their salvation. His sanctity cannot be doubted, for if he had
not been holy in an eminent degree, God would not have chosen
him to be the virgin-spouse of Mary, and foster-father of his Incarnate
Son ; neither would Holy Writ call him a just man, for
only those are just, in the sense of Sacred Scripture, who conscientiously
observe the commandments of God and perseveringly
walk in the path of virtue. But how did St. Joseph become a just
man? Did he, perhaps, perform extraordinary deeds? Did he,
like the Apostles, preach the gospel ? Did he work miracles ?
Did he die a martyr for the holy faith ? No, the gospel relates nothing
of him in regard to such things; he was simply an artisan
who spent the greater part of his life in the shop, working hard
to gain an honest livelihood for himself, and for Jesus and Mary.
It was by work principally that Joseph became holy and secured
his salvation. Thus, we also can become holy and be saved, if,
following the example of St. Joseph, we work 

I. With God, and
II. For God. 

PART I. 

i. St. Joseph worked with God in the proper sense, because he
worked with Jesus, his divine Foster-Son, and in his presence.
Joseph lived under the same roof with Jesus at Nazareth up to
the time of his death. There can be no doubt that the Child often
came into the shop, watched Joseph at his work, and when he
became older himself assisted his foster-father. For this reason
the Jews of Nazareth believed our divine Saviour to be the son
of the carpenter Joseph. We can easily imagine that Joseph,
through reverence for Jesus, whom he knew to be the Son of
God, worked with great diligence, preserved patience in all the
hardships incident to his state of life and, in general, so conducted
himself that God looked down upon him with pleasure and
rewarded his labors with heaven. Herein you must imitate St.
Joseph. Although you do not see God with your corporal eyes,
as Joseph saw Jesus, he is, as faith teaches you, invisibly present
and sees all you do. You must, therefore, have God before your
eyes in all your works, and this no doubt will enable you to work
diligently and preserve patience. If the presence of an earthly
employer banishes indolence and animates your zeal, will not
this be done the more effectually if in all our employments and
labors we vividly represent to ourselves the presence of God,
the Lord of heaven and earth? How can any one be negligent
in his occupations when he considers that God is near him, sees
all his actions and desires him to work diligently. This thought
is the strongest incentive to zeal in our vocation, and, as it were,
the power that puts the wheels of our activity in motion. There
fore, God himself said to Abraham : "Walk before me, and be
perfect." Gen. 17:1. Because Abraham conscientiously complied
with this commandment and always had God before his eyes, he
fulfilled all his duties most zealously and was perfect in his conduct.
In all your works and business transactions often think
that God, your Lord and Father, is near you. Place yourselves
in his presence, particularly when you are obliged to do some
disagreeable and laborious work; say even then: "God sees
me, it is his will that I do this." This remembrance of God will
certainly banish every temptation to indolence and impatience
from your heart, and urge you to perform all your works with
zeal, patience and perseverance. 

2. Because he united prayer with labor. "Ora et labor a" pray
and work. There is no doubt that Joseph not only worked diligently,
but that he also prayed with great fervor and constancy.
How could the gospel call him a just man if he had been slothful
in prayer? A man who will not hear of prayer is not just. The
fact related of him in the gospel, that he annually went to Jerusalem
at Easter to pray there in the temple, leads us to infer that
he loved prayer and consequently performed his daily devotions
with great fervor and perfection. I imagine I can see him
on his knees early in the morning, praying with ardent devotion,
and frequently during the day raising his heart to God in pious
ejaculations, and again in the evening casting himself on his
knees to conclude the day with devout prayers. Thus St. Joseph
sanctified his work by prayer, drew God s blessing upon it and
rendered it meritorious for eternity. You also should unite your
labors with prayer, for on prayer depends your success and the
blessing you wish for your labors. He who believes himself able
to accomplish everything by his own power and ingenuity is
greatly deceived, for "unless the Lord build the house, they
labor in vain that build it." Ps. 126:i. Many are zealous and
active in their calling, they perform everything with prudence
and circumspection and are busily occupied from morning till
night. One would suppose that everything prospered with them;
but such is not the case ; on the contrary, nothing succeeds;
untoward circumstances frustrate all their labors and pains. Whence
comes this? Perhaps, from a neglect of prayer. They do not say
their morning or evening prayers; they neglect to hear mass on
Sundays and holidays ; at their work they never raise their
hearts to God ; they do not value prayer much under any
circumstances, and when pressed by the cares of business they
find no time for it at all. Thus it happens that God with
draws his blessing from them, giving them an unmistakable
proof that without him they can do nothing. Do not act like
these slothful, lukewarm Catholics, but always unite your
work with prayer. Say not only your morning and evening
prayers, but frequently during your work raise your heart and
mind to God and ask his blessing. If you have a task of importance
before you, do not fail to recommend yourselves to God
in prayer that he may bless your undertaking and grant you a
favorable issue. If you observe this rule, God s blessing will
never be wanting to you, and, what is more important still, he
will look with favor upon your work and reward you hereafter
in heaven. 

3. Because he labored in a state of grace. As already mentioned,
the gospel says that Joseph was a just man ; but justice in
the sense of the gospel excludes at least every mortal sin. Joseph,
therefore, was free from every mortal sin ; and it is also a
pious belief that by a special grace of God he also preserved
himself from every venial sin. Hence he always worked in a
state of grace, for which reason God looked down upon his labors
with pleasure, blessed them and rewarded them eternally in
heaven. You should also be solicitous to perform all your labors
in a state of grace. He who lives in a state of sin is an
enemy of God and has every reason to fear that his undertakings
will prove a failure. As an evidence of this, call to mind the
history of Saul When he had sinned and apostatized from God,
prosperity and glory departed from him, and his end was one of
misery. Add to this, that those who live in a state of sin need
not expect any reward hereafter for all their labors and exertions;
they are separated from Christ, and resemble a branch severed
from the vine, which can bring forth no fruit. How deplorable
the state of such persons ! They labor early and late in the sweat
of their brow, and never enjoy any comfort so long as they live.
If they would walk in the fear of God and at least avoid mortal
sins, they would daily have opportunities of acquiring treasures
for heaven ; but spending as they do the years of their
life in sin they labor in vain, and whatever they accomplish is of
no value for eternity. Their lot is a hard one in this world, but
a sadder one awaits them hereafter ; for unless they are thoroughly
converted they will be delivered to eternal perdition. Guard,
therefore, against every mortal sin, and if unfortunately you
should commit one, make a sincere confession immediately in
order to recover sanctifying grace, and thus you will render your
labors and concerns meritorious for heaven. 

PART II. 

i. St. Joseph also gives us a beautiful example, teaching us
to labor for God. As foster-father of Jesus, he considered it his
most important duty to take care of the divine Infant, and to
provide all that was necessary for his support. All his toil was
devoted to his divine Foster- Child. When busy in his shop from
early morn till late at night, planing boards and performing all the
work incident to his trade, he did all for the love of Jesus ; when
he became fatigued and the sweat poured from his brow he thought
of Jesus, and said to himself: For the love of my Jesus. When
he was obliged to do work which involved danger, as is often
the case with carpenters, he did it calmly and fearlessly, because
he labored for Jesus, and for love of him feared no danger. We
find St. Joseph in different places: in Bethlehem, where the divine
Infant was born; in Egypt, whither he had to flee in order
to place the Child beyond the reach of Herod ; and finally at Nazareth,
where Jesus grew into youth and manhood and remained
to his thirtieth year. In all these places Joseph devoted himself
to the fulfillment of his duties as foster-father of Jesus, every
where laboring for Jesus, his Lord and God. 

2. We also must labor for God for two reasons: 

(a.) Because all works, even the best, which are not done for God,
are without value in his sight. For this reason many labor in vain ;
the sufferings and hardships which they undergo do not merit
for them any reward hereafter. Shopkeepers, farmers and la
borers work hard in the shop and in the field from week to week,
and why ? Only for the sake of temporal prosperity. We find
servants who labor diligently ; why ? To please their employers,
to be praised and rewarded. What shall we say of these and all
other laborers who do not work for God ? What benefit will accrue
to them from all their anxiety and labors ? At most a temporal,
but in no case an eternal, gain. As a master will not pay
wages to those servants who do not work for him, but for some
one else, so God will not reward the efforts which one makes
purely from worldly motives. When such laborers appear before
the judgment-seat of God, they will hear to their consternation
that all they have done merits no reward. A noble descendant
of the royal family of Poland, who had labored long and zealously
for the welfare of his country, but who in all those long
years had done nothing for the honor of God or the salvation of
his own soul, one night had a most remarkable dream. He
seemed to be in a beautiful country peopled with a great number
of heavenly spirits, who were all writing very rapidly. He
approached one of them and asked him what he was writing
down so carefully. He replied : "We are angels of God, and upon
these leaves we write the merits of men." Whereupon the man
hesitated not to ask if he could see what was written upon his
leaf. "Certainly," replied the angel, and searching among the
numerous leaves he showed him the page which contained his
merits. But what terror seized him when he saw that the whole
leaf was almost entirely blank, though he had labored and toiled
so long and zealously. "How is it possible," he said, "that I have
scarcely any merits for eternal life?" "My friend," replied the
angel, "on these leaves, which form the book of life, nothing is
written except what men do for God and for love of him" This
dream made a deep impression upon the man, and from that
time he labored earnestly, not for himself or for the world, but
for God and the honor of his holy name. 

(3.) Oh, that the dream of this nobleman would produce the
same effect in you. Never forget that only those works which
are done for God and for the love of him will be rewarded in eternity.
How happy therefore you will be, if in all your works you
think of God and perform them for love of him. Not the smallest
action, however insignificant, will then be lost; each one will
find its reward before the throne of the divine Judge. In heaven
there are many saints who belonged to a lowly state, and who
during their whole life could do nothing great in the eyes of the
world. St. Isidore was a farmer, St. Deodatus a shoemaker, St.
Florus a mason, St. Onesius a servant, St. Nothburg a servant.
How did these, and with them millions of others of low extraction,
save their souls and become saints ? Chiefly through the good
intention with which they labored ; it ennobled their most menial
and insignificant works and rendered them meritorious before
God. Here, then, is an easy way for you to labor with fruit; do
all for God. "A good intention," says a renowned spiritual writer,
"is a heavenly alchemy by which iron is changed into gold, that
is, by which the most insignificant and lowly actions, such as eating,
sleeping, walking, working, are changed into the purest
gold of holy love, which acquires for us the joys of heaven. Since
so much depends on a good intention, all the saints paid the great
est attention to this matter. (St. Benedict, St. Ignatius, St. Mary
Magdalene of Pazzi.) A pious hermit had the habit of standing still
and looking up to heaven as often as he began work. On being questioned,
he said: "I must take good aim that I may not miss
the mark." For, as the hunter before he shoots stands still and
aims at the object, so that he may not miss it, so before every
work you must direct your thoughts to God and make him the
end of all your actions. 

PERORATION. 

Take St. Joseph for your model, and like him work with Goa
and for God. Work with God: in your occupations at home, in
the shop, in the field, often think of God ; guard against every
mortal sin and pray fervently ; especially begin and end your
work every day with devout prayer. Work for God, and have a
good intention in whatever you do. Never begin to work in the
morning without saying. "Lord, all that I do to-day, I do for the
love of thee, for thy glory." Renew this intention frequently~Johannes Evangelist Zollner

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