“It is with the smallest brushes that the Artist paints the best paintings.” –St André Bessette
By Nick Carney, Endowment and Planned Giving Program Manager
I have worked in several different roles and industries throughout my career. The most difficult role, but also one of the most fulfilling, was my time serving as a firefighter and paramedic. I remember a call we received to a large structure fire several years ago. The bell went off in the station and the unit of four firefighters raced to the call. With the four of us, there was a lieutenant who led the team, the engine operator who managed the pump of the truck, then two firefighters who were inside leading the attack to suppress the fire. With a structure fire this big, it takes a lot of time and energy. We needed to drag several hundred feet of hose throughout the building, upstairs, and around objects in the heat. There is always one firefighter who is quick to grab the nozzle and they are the ones who, as they say, “Puts the wet stuff on the red stuff.”
The other firefighter is moving quickly to lift and move the hose around the structure and avoid any obstacles that may get in the way of suppressing the fire and the other firefighter’s safety. After several hours, the fire was suppressed, and we celebrated a job well done. A news reporter came to the firefighter who was at the front with the nozzle. He asked if he could have an interview and his picture for the newspaper. After all the effort of moving, lifting, protecting, and fighting the heat the only one who got recognition was the one who sprayed the fire with the nozzle.
Saint Joseph is a worker, to say the least, and he wears many hats. To name a few in the Litany of Saint Joseph, he is the Husband of the Mother of God, Guardian of the Virgin, Foster father of the Son of God, Faithful Guardian of Christ, Head of the Holy Family, Love of Poverty, Comfort of the Troubled, Pattern of Patience, Terror of Evil Spirits, and Protector of the Church. He is quietly entrusted and does the heavy lifting and protection for many of us. Like the firefighter in my story, his work is done quietly but with great importance.
We are living in the year of Saint Joseph, in the Diocese of San Jose (Saint Joseph), approaching the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker (March 19). This is our time to venerate the gift of Saint Joseph and all the quiet work he does for us, our families, our community, and protection of our Church. Not only are we celebrating Saint Joseph, but we’re also celebrating the unsung work of us as a community. Take time to recognize the time, talents, and treasures that we may overlook from our neighbor and say thank you for those gifts. We give particular thanks to our Society of Saint Joseph members who have committed a legacy gift to Catholic ministries which will be realized after their lifetimes and will make a difference in the Diocese of San Jose for generations to come.
We hope you can join us in prayer for a 9-day Feast of Saint Joseph Novena. We will join as a community in a short 10-minute prayer and reflection at 8:00am PST each morning March 10 – March 18, 2021. Find more information and the link to join here: www.catholiccf.org/saint-joseph-novena-2021
“Saint Joseph was a just man, a tireless worker, the upright guardian of those entrusted to his care. May he always guard, protect and enlighten families.” – Pope Saint John Paul II