Do This in Memory of Me: Humility of St. Joseph

By: Laura Catherine Worhacz

“How deeply Saint Joseph’s humility must have been rooted may be judged from the fact that humility is the basis of all sanctity and the measure of grace and glory. It shines out in Joseph’s utter lack of self-esteem and in his relations with Jesus and Mary. He knew that Jesus was His Creator and Redeemer and that Mary was the true Mother of Jesus. Yet he was obliged to be head of the Holy Family, to command them, and receive their submission.” 

​ St. Peter Julian Eymard (Eymard Library Vol. 8, page 57) 

Dearest Eucharistic Family,

What a beautiful example we have in St. Joseph. As we commemorate his feast day each year on March 19th, it is an opportunity to rest our heads in a father’s love. St. Joseph is a spiritual father to us, God’s children. He truly teaches us humility and total submission to God’s will as the way to receive true joy on this side of heaven.

In my daily rosaries, I pray to Jesus through Mary with St. Joseph; and he seems to remain humble even in our spiritual lives. Beyond the veil is St. Joseph’s power in the Creator of the Universe.

I remember when Ray and I owned our first condo in the late 80s. It was time to sell in a poor real estate market. I offered a specific prayer daily to St. Joseph, and we sold in two weeks without losing on our sale. I feel bad now about burying St. Joseph upside down in a flowerpot outside our condo! It was the prayer, the faith, and the belief that St. Joseph would help us, and he did. It was time to move on, and a new door of grace opened. St. Joseph guided Ray and me to our next place of residence, where we providentially met our dearest friends in the Lord, true family in the Blood of Christ. I thank God for the gift of St. Joseph and the blessings to intercede through his fatherly care.

The Lenten Season is a blessing that I cherish more and more as the years pass by. We are already entering the Third Sunday of Lent, with Gospel encounters that profoundly touch our hearts. The Word of God echoes Jesus’ call to our humility.
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What door needs to close now so a new door of grace can open for us? What can we put to death to live more deeply in Christ’s love now through the Eucharist? In silent prayer, we find the answers to these soul searches, not so much in questioning but in purifying our interior through the whisper of God’s voice. Our brokenness, our longings for security, love, and holiness, are to be found in God alone. Humility will take us there to God’s heart. God’s language is calming, located in the interior cenacles of our existence. In the light of the Eucharist, we see as St. Joseph did through the lives of Jesus and Mary.

Our humility will be sought by the gratitude of our gifts, graces, trust, and faith in Jesus. 

On the Third Sunday of Lent, Jesus asks for the fig tree to be left for another chance to bear fruit. In this season, we have yet another opportunity to become more Christ-like; this is the purpose of our lives. To trim away the death, the dried branches, so the newness of life can blossom in our souls. St. Joseph’s humility raised him to the heavens in life by living with Jesus and Mary. St. Joseph beheld in the security of God Our Father’s love; nothing held him to this world. The stars surrounded his sleep, and God spoke to him there. St. Joseph feared the Lord in perfect love, and his humility was a virtue hidden through the dependability in Our Father’s love. St. Joseph became that same love for us. So, we shall, too, be in love with Jesus and Mary. Perhaps our humility in the Lord will raise us and others to new life this Easter.

St. Joseph, Guardian of the Eucharist, pray for us.

​“If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7: 11-12)

Laura Catherine Worhacz

Laura Catherine Worhacz is a Lay Associate of the Blessed Sacrament and author of Consecration to Jesus Through Our Lady of The Blessed Sacrament. She is also the Director of Mothers of The Blessed Sacrament. She lives in Trinity, FL with her husband and their two daughters.