Pope
Francis: Saint Joseph and the dignity of labour
(Vatican
Radio) To mark International Labour Day which coincides with the
Feast day of Saint Joseph the worker, Veronica Scarisbrick takes a look
at the special devotion Pope Francis has for this Saint. As well as focus
briefly on one of the social issues central to his thinking: the dignity of
labour.
Let’s
begin with his devotion to Saint Joseph as there’s quite a list of things that
connect Pope Francis to this saint. Among them the choice of the date for the
beginning of his pontificate the 19th of March, Saint Joseph’s feast day, and
the choice of the nard flower symbolic of this saint on his coat of arms. Then
in July 2013 his decision to consecrate Vatican City State not just to Saint
Michael, as had been previously planned, but to Saint Joseph as well. And on a
more personal note his admission to cherishing a wooden statue representing a
dormant Saint Joseph, dressed in gold trimmed dark green and red garments
according to Hispanic iconography, by which he places prayer requests. Simply
because as he mentioned when he confided to us this personal gesture: “
He’s a carpenter and he gets the job done, even though he sometimes makes you
wait”.
As
for what links Pope Francis to Saint Joseph, International Labour
Day and workers why not shine the spotlight on his words the 1st of May
2013, so the very first year of his pontificate, during his weekly general
audience. Words which focus precisely on work and the figure of
Saint Joseph. In a special way on the role played by Joseph as the legal father
who teaches his son his skills as a carpenter in the workshop in Nazareth on a
daily basis and shares with him, the efforts, the commitment, the satisfactions
and problems that come with the job.
On
this occasion Pope Francis goes on to remind us of the dignity and
importance of work. The Book of Genesis, he says, tells us that God created man
and woman entrusting them with the task of filling the earth and subduing it,
which does not mean exploiting it, but nurturing and protecting it, caring for
it through their work: “Work is part of God's loving plan, we are called
to cultivate and care for all the goods of creation and in this way participate
in the work of creation! Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person...it
gives you the ability to maintain yourself, your family, to contribute to the
growth of your nation. And here I think of the difficulties which, in various
countries, today afflicts the world of work and business; I think of how many,
and not just young people, are unemployed, many times due to a purely economic
conception of society, which seeks selfish profit, beyond the parameters of
social justice. I wish to extend an invitation to solidarity to everyone,
and I would like to encourage those in public office to make every effort to
give new impetus to employment, this means caring for the dignity of the
person, but above all I'd like to say do not lose hope; St. Joseph also
experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to
overcome them, in the certainty that God never abandons us.And then I would
like to speak especially to you young people: be committed to your daily
duties, your study, your work, to relationships of friendship, to helping
towards others; your future also depends on how you live these precious years
of your life. Do not be afraid of commitment, of sacrifice and do not look with
fear towards the future; keep your hope alive: there is always a light on the
horizon".
But
while Pope Francis on this occasion shares with us words of encouragemen as
we've just noticed he also chooses to highlight some of the evils of
society in the area of work and denounces once again, the practice some
companies have of adopting policies that favour profit over human dignity
or even human life. And then uses an image to express how fundamental work is
to the dignity of the person:"... work to use an image ‘anoints’ with
dignity, fills us with dignity, makes us similar to God who has worked and
still works, who also acts”.
One
last word perhaps: let’s hope the prayer requests that Pope Francis places by
the reclining and dormant figure of Saint Joseph are eventually
answered…As he once assured us, they always are!
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