St. Joseph the Worker

As explained in my previous writings, work increases the dignity of the person. The glory of God is man fully alive, as St. Irenaeus explained. When we materialize our potential, it is God’s glory. He is the ultimate source of creation. We share in His creative powers. He bestows gifts to everyone, in order to continue His work of creation. God has great plans for us. We are always a work in-progress, in spite of regressions due to the ravages of sin in our midst. When we work, we are following God’s will, thus we are sanctified. Work sanctifies us.

Given the above explanation, our retirement age is just a number. As a friend of mine said, it is a human invention. We have got to continue working. It is just a matter of changing our activities. God tasked our first parents to work, to manage His creation. Subdue and multiply. Develop not exploit. Tap the resources with responsibility. We just don’t let our forests, for example, be left as they are, as a lot of medicines that benefit us currently come from the forests. Or, the corals of the sea, if well managed, can yield food and medicines in abundance. These examples are just two of the numerous possibilities where we can exercise our creative powers.

People retire in many ways. The elderly in Japan help children cross the streets. A friend of mine sits in the barangay office to listen to the grudges and disputes chaired by the captain and later on in private together with the other elders, where they share their take regarding the issues and suggest solutions. Obviously, greed and selfishness dominate the issues. My father, an architect, in his last days continued to accept requests for drawings and sketches for room expansions, be it the garage or kitchen, pro bono. Others serve their parishes in any way they can. Many help take care of the grandchildren. All these goes to show that work can still bear fruit even in our last productive years. St. Joseph must have been busy even in his last days, as tasked by God to take care of the Blessed Mother and his son, Jesus. When people commented on Jesus, that He has done all things well, certainly, His traits, work ethics, attitudes, character, bear the marks or vestiges of His father and mother. God humbly allowed the subjection of His Son to humanity, so that in the process, He can divinize us, for it is in His humanity that we see His divinity.

Let us go to our Blessed Mother, for she was a witness to her husband’s work, until his last breath. (Johnny Sulit)