Obedience can be a difficult and troubling concept for us as human beings. We see the seeds of disobedience even in the youngest children as they seek to learn and navigate the gift of free will in their lives. Obedience, as a virtue, is the invitation in following the will of God in our lives and grow in the path of holiness. Obedience to both God and worldly authority will often conflict and we must, as Christians, learn to seek to follow the obedience to God’s love and turn away from that which lures us away from God.
St. Joseph, as a model of obedience, as described in “The Month of St. Joseph” by Archbishop M. de Langalerie reminds us of this path to follow both civil and Godly obedience. As he describes it, “Every Christian should render implicit obedience to the commands of God and his Church… Saint Joseph obeyed the mandate of the emperor Augustus in going to Bethlehem; but he had in view an authority far superior to that of a worldly prince, for he recognize the will of God in the command of his earthly ruler.” (P. 91) We are reminded that like St. Joseph we must love God before all else and in doing so will discern his will even in the commands of the world. To follow these commands, as long as they have no conflict with the moral good of God’s will allows us to bring holiness into the life we live.

In the Second Vatican Council document “Lumen Gentium: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church” we are called, as a Church and as individuals to become a mirror of Jesus Christ. This is true for each member, both young and old, “For all their works, prayers and apostolic endeavors, their ordinary married and family life, their daily occupations, their physical and mental relaxation, if carried out in the Spirit, and even the hardships of life, if patiently borne—all these become “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”. Together with the offering of the Lord’s body, they are most fittingly offered in the celebration of the Eucharist. Thus, as those everywhere who adore in holy activity, the laity consecrate the world itself to God.” (LG #34)
Obedience too God’s will finds itself in the seemingly mundane works of life. And while Joseph was called through the census to make a journey, as difficult and arduous as it may have been with a pregnant wife, as first and foremost an offering of sacrifice to God while obeying the law of the time.
We too are called to make these spiritual, and sometimes physical journeys, as an act of obedience where, with faith and trust, we see the hope of the will of God being accomplished in a myriad of different ways. In this we are drawn and in turn draw others into the blessing of God’s presence in the Eucharist as the source of life and the fulfillment of Gods promise of love.
“Each individual layman must stand before the world as a witness to the resurrection and life of the Lord Jesus and a symbol of the living God. All the laity as a community and each one according to his ability must nourish the world with spiritual fruits. They must diffuse in the world that spirit which animates the poor, the meek, the peace makers—whom the Lord in the Gospel proclaimed as blessed. In a word, “Christians must be to the world what the soul is to the body.” (LG #38) Why are the Sacraments so very important? The gift of God’s grace, flowing through the Sacraments, allows us to do the work we must do as followers of Jesus Christ. Our prayer life, which seeks union in the sacramental life of the Church invites us into a more intimate relationship with God.

When I began my first teaching job in New Mexico one of the first things I learned was the need to pray. To pray before, during and after the day. I fell in love with the daily Mass with the missionaries before school began. I loved to take time in prayer before the children came through the door and after they left the door. I was given the example of a prayer life that infused the day with the knowing presence of God and something I hope I passed on to all my students. It wasn’t that prayer made the day less full of the struggles of teaching sixth grade but it did place the power of the Holy Spirit in those moments of struggle, conflict and hurt that pass through the life of both student and teacher.
The obedience to God in prayer and to the curriculum of the school day brought life and purpose to the work . As St. Joseph did in his first act of obedience in taking Mary into his home, “The merit of one act of obedience may be extended to a series of acts and serve to consecrate them all to God; sometimes one act devotes in entire life to God.” (P. 92)
We often miss how hard that first act of loving obedience was in the live of St. Joseph. He was heartbroken at the news of the pregnancy and yet, in trusting the greater plan of God, he was able to act in love towards God and Mary by accepting his new role. Did St. Joseph know the outcome? No, but he chose to trust as we are called to do because in the obedience of love, the trust in our call to mission we find the treasure in the field or the pearl beyond price in the market. (M 13:44-46) And in this discovery are we willing to go and sell all that we have to obtain this treasure of faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
This is who we are called to be, disciples obedient to the will of God in doing our work in the world, caring for the poor, the broken and the undesired in the world, to bring hope and joy in the world through following first and foremost the commandments of God’s invitation to love.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

“The Scripture assures us that he (Saint Joseph) executed the orders of God at the instant that they were made clear to him… What a source of grace is opened for us if we submit properly to the will of those authorized by our heavenly Father to command us! Love was the motive and principle of obedience of Saint Joseph.” (P. 92)

The followers of Christ are called by God, not because of their works, but according to His own purpose and grace. They are justified in the Lord Jesus, because in the baptism of faith they truly become sons of God and sharers in the divine nature. In this way they are really made holy. Then too, by God’s gift, they must hold on to and complete in their lives this holiness they have received…They must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things. They must devote themselves with all their being to the glory of God and the service of their neighbor. In this way, the holiness of the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good, as is admirably shown by the life of so many saints in Church history. #40