St. Joseph’s silence reminds us of the importance of our actions
As we approach March, a month dedicated to St. Joseph, I can’t help but think about the virtues of this unassuming husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus. Though we know that the Bible recorded no words of St. Joseph, we understand that his actions said more than his words could.
The Gospel of Matthew tells us that Joseph was a “righteous” man. He was courageous, obedient to God, faithful, loving, and generous. We see how he lived out those virtues in how he led, protected, and served his family. He is a beautiful example of how we should live our lives—both within our homes and within our communities.
Last week, I had a conversation with someone about the importance of pro-life work and how people often lament that we are just preaching to the choir. While that may have a modicum of truth to it, I prefer to think of pro-life work as teaching the choir, so they have the tools to evangelize people who don’t know God or who have walked away from Him.
Those of us who are educated in our faith and in the science of the preborn baby or end-of-life issues have a responsibility to share that knowledge with others. The more we talk, write, and teach about the sanctity of life, and the more we live those beliefs through good works, the more people will understand.
So we must get out of our proverbial comfort zones. We must do things that allow others to see or hear the truth. Spreading the gospel and bringing others to Christ only works if we have the moral courage to stand up in our secular society and shine the light of Christ. It only works if we live by the examples that St. Joseph and other saints set when they served God obediently, talked to others about Jesus’ commands, and then lived what they were teaching.
