By Sister Timothy Marie, O.C.D.
This Lent is a good time to delve further into the mystery of St. Joseph. It reveals a mystery brimming over with questions. A mystery still awaiting answers. Yes, biblical authors allude to St. Joseph, but they refer to him in a narrative form. We do not have one word written by him, nor any word attributed to him. There is no quote by St. Joseph in the New Testament and that is stunning!
I would like to ask you to consider this. Consider that we do know St. Joseph. We know him by his actions and reactions. St. Joseph is a man of action, and action that doesn’t need words. He never talks about things. He does them. He is a shaker and a mover, not through any skilled rhetoric or talented writing, no, his power lies in his very silence. And that is the mystery of St. Joseph. Being of Irish descent and a storyteller of sorts, I’m clueless about the power of St. Joseph’s silence. I tend to use (or overuse) words and if I get nervous well, there I go, adding even more verbiage in my nervousness.
Through his silence, St. Joseph’s actions speak volumes. Just this morning I looked up the titles of St. Joseph. The title that seems most used, most popular is “Patron.” Here are just a few things he is the patron of: the dying, the universal Church, families, fathers, travelers, and immigrants. He is also honored as a protector, (St. Joseph is the Protector of Carmel, my spiritual heritage) Protector of the Virgin, and the list goes on and on.
So, my question is why? Without even one writing or one word of his, his strength and valor, his courage and trustworthiness are relied upon even today. And I am sure it will continue beyond today.
Thus, the title of my reflection. “His Silence was Loud.” As the head of the Holy Family, his strength was palpable. His faith, hope, and love (I include here, also, his obedience) to God was authentic. It was real. And he didn’t need words to express it. His silence was so loud that it still speaks to us today.
I’ve met very few people who had this powerful silence. Only two to be exact. I couldn’t see it or hear it, but I sure could feel it. It seemed to me to be something of God within them, something beyond the ordinary but, nevertheless, completely real.
St. Joseph, pray for us this Lent, that we may learn to quiet our inner spirit and calm our frantic busyness that we may begin to listen more and mature in our spiritual journey through the powerful spiritual practice of a holy, listening, responsive silence.
