Welcome to Day 4 of the St. Joseph Novena Study!
Today is all about Joseph’s faithfulness as a servant to God, family, and also to us who ask for his intercession.
The reading that inspired today’s list and reflection can be found here:
Day 4 St. Joseph List
◦ personal servant of Jesus Christ
◦ Good and faithful
◦ Cared for the House of God
◦ Perfect obedience
◦ Commanding
◦ Father
◦ Disciple
◦ Submitted
◦ obeyed in spite of the mystery
◦ obeyed without the slightest word of complaint
◦ Simple faith
◦ Humble heart
◦ Prompt love
◦ Neglected nothing
◦ Took in commands
◦ perfect devotedness
◦ consecrated
◦ Unselfish
◦ Cheerful
◦ Sacrifice
◦ Generous giving
◦ ready to die
◦ cooperator
◦ Nourishing
◦ Defending
◦ Poor and suffering
◦ Faithful servant
The Traits of St. Joseph Faithful Servant
Todays list is huge. There are so many ways to say how Joseph committed to trusting God and continuing to serve Him through service to his family. At the same time, it can’t seven to be over stated how good and faithful he was and is.
The virtue that stood out most to me today was Perfect Devotedness. This summarizes the faithfulness and loyalty that we have been talking about with St. Joseph but describes how unwavering his fidelity to Jesus and Mary was.
A Virtue to Pray for, Devotedness
Thinking about St. Joseph’s faithfulness as a servant of God and his family reminds me of just how weak I can be.
I find myself regularly making ambitious goals that require faithfulness and commitment only to have the drive that initiated the goal fade in a few weeks. Whether it is praying a regular rosary, a novena like this one, or even just my simple sacrifices like no my having sweets, I find I can keep this up for a brief time before finding some exception or excuse for myself. This is why I need God’s grace and St. Joseph as a model.
Learning Devotedness, Reminders of Why
As I reflect on these frequent failures, I realize that in order to remain devoted to something, there needs to be a big reason why. This reason why needs to be more powerful than the pain of perseverance. Why you act needs to be resilient against the slow erosion from boredom or monotony.
Why? Who?
For most of the big commitments we make in life, such as marriage, family life, or even our work and social life, the driving factor of why we act is because of other people. In the case of marriage and parenting, it is for love.
If our “Why” for staying healthy, reading more, or even praying is just to maintain a streak of some kind, it is destined to fail. If one wants to be healthy, it is probably more successful if it is out of a desire to spend time with grandkids some day. Reading good books might lead to better understanding of those around you or to have life giving conversations. We pray in order to love God more.
I think that next time I struggle with “why” I am doing something, I should put it into the context of “who” is this for.
St. Joseph, Pray for Us!
Even if this mindset is helpful, this reflection still won’t be enough to make every sacrifice easy. The struggle has value in itself too. It helps us to realize our weakness and need of God.
St. Joseph, help us by your example and intercede for us to have the grace to be faithful servants in every aspect of our days. Amen.
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