Saint Joseph the Worker

Saint Joseph the Worker: Feast Day May 1st 

Writing this post, during the Year of Saint Joseph, I can't help but reflect upon the importance, dedication, selflessness, and dignity that work provides for people. Saint Joseph, the man whom God entrusted to care for, raise, and protect His only begotten Son and the Blessed Virgin Mary, worked tirelessly to support the Holy Family. He crafted and built with his hands, he had to travel to Egypt and find work in a country with a different culture and with a different language; and all the while, he trusted in the Father's plan without hesitation or question. As the pandemic continues to surround our lives, I can't help but think of work. I think of all those who have lost their jobs and seek the dignity to work and to provide for their families. I think of those who have gone above and beyond putting their own health at risk in order to serve others. I think of those leaving their homes and countries hoping to find work, whatever work they can find, so that they and their families can have a better life. Dignity. Work and human dignity go hand in hand. When society stops seeing people as people and sees them only as dollar signs, the dignity of the human person and their right and desire to work is lost. Let us turn to Saint Joseph, especially today on his feast, and pray that human dignity, dignified work, and the dignity of being able to provide an honest living for one's family, will always be remembered and valued. I hope you and your family have a wonderful and blessed day celebrating the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker! 

Celebrating with Food: 

Today, let the food you make follow a worker or laborers theme. A hearty meal you can make for lunch or dinner is Cornish Pasties. These meat-filled pies were a staple for miners, not only in England, but also the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Here is a recipe to make these savory hand-pies from the website, “The Spruce Eats.” You can even change their name to “Carpenter Pies,” in honor of Saint Joseph the Worker when you serve them. If you want a slightly easier meat-filled hand-pie to make, the recipe for “Knishes” (a Jewish recipe in origin) below is one my mom made for my family when I was growing up. It’s very delicious, and easy enough for kids to help make.

If you’re looking to make something sweet instead of savory, “King Arthur Flour” has a recipe for “Carpenter Street Poppy Seed Cake.” You can serve this tasty treat with tea or coffee in the afternoon and call it “Carpenter’s Cake.” You can also make “Artisan Bread,” in honor of Saint Joseph’s craftsmanship and the craftsmanship of workers, using this recipe from the website, “Sally’s Baking Addiction.” You can use this “Saint Joseph the Worker Bread” to make sandwiches for lunch or serve it with jam for breakfast. Preparing this bread, or any food today, is a great way to work and show your family that making something by hand, and enjoying the satisfaction of hard work and a finished product, is dignifying. It is also the perfect opportunity to offer up prayers for those who are hungry or those seeking work as you prepare and cook the food.

Celebrating with Crafts: 

Even though he worked hard to support the Holy Family, Saint Joseph was also responsible for teaching Jesus that you can't work all the time, that you must balance work with relaxation. I'm sure he not only made tables and chairs in his workshop, but also toys for the Christ Child that they could play with together. Today, make a wooden puzzle with your children. I purchased the wooden puzzle set (3 4 piece puzzles) below for $2.99 at Hobby Lobby. You can draw an image of Saint Joseph the Worker on the puzzles and have your kids color or paint them, or have your kids draw their own rendition of Saint Joseph. Have fun crafting and then playing with puzzles as a family.

Another craft you and your family can make together is wooden or cardboard magnets. I purchased the wooden shapes below for .35 cents each at Hobby Lobby. Your kids can paint or color them, and then attach a magnet to the back so they can play with them on the refrigerator or another magnetic surface.

Celebrating with Prayer: 

Say the prayer for Saint Joseph the Worker's intercession below. Pope Pius XII wrote this prayer when he proclaimed the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker in 1955, in order to proclaim the value and dignity of the worker, in response to Communist May Day celebrations and their views of human beings and labor.

O glorious patriarch, Saint Joseph, humble and just craftsman of Nazareth, you gave all Christians, but particularly to us, an example of a perfect life of assiduous work and of admirable unity with Mary and Jesus. Help us in our daily work so that we might find in it an effective means of glorifying our Lord, of sanctifying ourselves and of being useful to the society in which we live. Obtain for us from our Lord, o beloved protector, humility and simplicity of heart, attachment to work, benevolence towards whose who work with us, compliance with the divine will in the difficulties of this life and joy in bearing them, consciousness of our specific social mission and the sense of our social responsibility, a spirit of discipline and prayer, docility and respect of our superiors, fraternity towards our equals, support in times of stress, charity and indulgence for our dependents. Help us to follow your example and to keep our sight fixed on Mary, our Mother, your gentle wife, who wove silently in a corner of your humble shop, smiling sweetly. May we never avert our eyes from Jesus, who worked with you at your carpenter's bench, so that we may in like manner lead peaceful and holy lives on earth, the prelude to the eternally happy one which awaits us in heaven for ever more. Amen.

(Pope Pius XII From the back of my St. Joseph Patron of Workers Holy Card)

Additional Activity:

Watch the EWTN “My Catholic Family” episode on Saint Joseph.