Happy St. Joseph the Worker Day!

Novena to St. Joseph the Worker

 Let us praise Christ the Lord, as we celebrate the memory of Saint Joseph.

 In Praise of Saint Joseph

 Joseph, patron saint of workers,
blending skill with charity,
silent carpenter, we praise you!
Joining work with honesty,
you taught Christ with joy to labor,
sharing his nobility.

 Joseph, close to Christ and Mary,
lived with them in poverty,
shared with them their home and labor,
worked with noble dignity.
May we seek God’s will as you did,
leader of his family!

 Joseph, inspiration for workers,
man of faith and charity,
make us honest, humble, faithful,
strong with Christ’s true liberty,
Make our labor and our leisure
fruitful to eternity!

My father was a very faithful worker and provider for his family. At age 14, he became the principal breadwinner — setting pins at a bowling alley and serving as an orderly at a nursing home, all the while finishing high school. After graduation, he enlisted in the Army where he served faithfully as a cook. He liked to say “I saw all kinds of action. Shells were going off all around me. Egg shells.” When he was discharged, he went to work for Cummins Diesel Engines. His first job was to sand burrs off engine blocks for 8+ hour shifts, earning $1/hour. Fortunately, he benefitted from what would become a strong union. After 33 years of gainful employment, he was able to retire at age 53.

Dad worked hard but he did not take his work home with him. He was a fixture at my sporting events, often going into work in the middle of the night to put in his hours so he could take off and travel to a game. His devotion as a worker and a father would pay off, as I was able to receive the Cummins Sons & Daughters Scholarship to attend Hanover College and Dad’s dream of providing an education for his children was realized. Not wanting to receive it as charity, he worked for years off the clock to “pay back” the gift. Later, he would help my sister through nursing school and, together with his wife Connie, both nearly every diaper his descendants would wear for generations.

I pray on this day honoring St. Joseph the Worker that my father’s blood would run in me, that I would work for the glory of God to provide for my own family, as St. Joseph provided for the Holy Family.