Fr. Calloway reflects on St. Joseph’s obedience today, and how good laws do not limit but enable our freedom. A stop sign limits our “free choice,” but it “frees” us to safely reach our destination. Our first parents (Adam and Eve) rashly chose “free choice” over “freedom;” our new parents (Joseph and Mary) trustingly chose to obey God and so brought true freedom to all their children. Interestingly, St. Faustina, by whose direction we celebrate Mercy Sunday tomorrow, had many visitations not only from Jesus but also from St. Joseph.
Then there is the “sleeping St. Joseph,” a popular devotion today. The small statue Fr. Calloway’s religious order distributes is pictured above. Unconsciously, we Americans tend to think sleep is a waste of time, unproductive, and socially irresponsible. We deify work and demonize rest. But rest is so good that God spent an entire day “resting” after his six days of work. Christians describe heaven as “eternal rest.” God has designed us to spend a full third of our time on earth in sleep. I recommend Charles Peguy’s delightful poem on page 201 of the book, in which God points out that “some have the courage to work but don’t have the courage to sleep. I hold it against them. A bit. They don’t trust me….”