I am only half kidding when I lobby for St. Joseph to be named Patron of the “Saints Next Door”
Pope Francis and the “saints next door”
Before I explain let me quickly point to an important insight of Pope Francis.
7. I like to contemplate the holiness present in the patience of God’s people: in those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile. In their daily perseverance, I see the holiness of the Church militant. Very often it is a holiness found in our next-door neighbors, those who, living in our midst, reflect God’s presence. We might call them “the middle class of holiness”.[4]
Of course, we can and should celebrate the giants of our faith, those who have been beatified and canonized. But Pope Francis reminds us very explicitly that we need to celebrate the heroes of our lives or those he calls “the saints next door.”
He also says “The important thing is that each believer discerns his or her own path, that they bring out the very best of themselves, the most personal gifts that God has placed in their hearts”
Patron Saints
Since the Middle Ages, the practice of adopting patron saints spread beyond patron saints for churches. Almost in anticipation of Pope Francis’ insight, they looked for inspiration in their ordinary interests of life – health, family, trade, sickness, death, and even one’s city, and country.
Saints were chosen as symbols of hope in the midst of day-to-day life. Patron saints remind us of the bigger goal of what we think of as our ordinary lives. In many ways they are God speaking to us through these role models
St. Joseph as the Patron Saint for the Saints Next Door.
We all know that Saint Joseph became the patron saint of carpenters. What I am proposing is that he be recognized as the patron saint of the saints next door. Why?
He stands as the model for each of us as we accept our unique role in God’s plan. He said “fiat” when he did not understand what or why he was called to be the protector of Mary and her role in salvation history. He was as puzzled and anxious as Mary when they found Jesus in the temple. No doubt he also had to keep so many things in his heart. He made no noise or waves in his life. As he took care of his family, he simply put one foot in front of the other trusting in God.
Pope Francis reminds us that we can grow in holiness by quietly living our daily lives well.
“Are you called to the consecrated life? Be holy by living out your commitment with joy. Are you married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ does for the Church. Do you work for a living? Be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. Are you a parent or grandparent? Be holy by patiently teaching the little ones how to follow Jesus. Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain” (14).
I honestly doubt whether he will be named patron of the saints next door. But there is nothing to prevent us from recognizing in Joseph, “the quiet one”, the model for far more than just carpenters.
Questions
- Have you ever thought you can … and should… be a saint next door?
- What can St. Joseph teach you?
Click below for an audio version of this Vincentian Mindwalk
Thanks, John, for this reminder about “holiness by quietly living our daily lives well.” It sends me back to the frequent use of “saints” for Christians in Acts and in the Lettersof St. Paul.
Another thought might be to identify a friend, acquaintance or neighbor and share with them how they have become a “next-door neighbor saint” for you. I have had a few of those in my life. For the ones who are still around, I make the effort to reach out to them to encourage them as well.
“Have you ever thought you can … and should… be a saint next door?”
Well, this reminds me of something that is keeping coming back to my mind and soul. Being from Rome, Italy, and having traveled quite a bit with my parents and my 4 siblings throughout central and northern Italy, as a child and an adolescent, I kept absorbing the majesty of the paintings or Our Lady which I was admiring in churches, museums, etc. Lately, I started asking myself whether thinking of Our Lady so… far away from us, so… high up in splendor, etc. was helping me, a wife. Well, not much.
So, I started contemplating Mary more as a human being AS she was and I told myself: who knows how many washings she had to do to take care of baby Jesus, of Joseph’s sawdust on his clothes, on Jesus’ ones, and probably on her own clothes…, etc.
While my husband is also a home maker like I am, sharing some chores I cannot do if I don’t want to hurt my back and end up paralyzed from the waist down, I came to appreciate Mary as my model, as my “patron of wives” saint, the saint next door. Not only.
This way of looking at her as a human being called by God to be God’s Mother, while it doesn’t take anything away from her helped me, in my soul, in my heart and mind, make of my simple life something I could, and can, offer to God as she, for sure, did.
“What can St. Joseph teach you?”
While this was happening with Mary, I started to pray St. Joseph in a particular way following what Pope Francis told us in this year of Saint Joseph. His courageous “fiat” is amazing and is helping me accept things in my life which do not seem to have an explanation, yet. “He made no noise or waves in his life. As he took care of his family, he simply put one foot in front of the other trusting in God.”
Great resolution for the rest of my life: simply put one foot in front of the other trusting God.
Thank you , Fr. John, for this Mindwalk!