“Following the example of St. Teresa, Carmelite seculars can find in St. Joseph a role model for a life of humble adoration and prayerful communion with Jesus, as well as a master of prayer and silence. Patron of the interior life, he is an example of faith and of being constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans. Being a chaste and faithful spouse, he is the model of a father solicitous in care of the family, and of a responsible laborer who considers his work as an expression of love.
“In communion with the Church and the Carmelite Order, who venerate St. Joseph as their provident Protector, members of the Secular Order find in St. Joseph an incomparable protector to whom they can entrust the hopes, the struggles and the work of every day.” [OCDS Constitutions, pp. 35-36]
“The same aura of silence that envelops everything about St. Joseph, himself a lay person and model for Carmelite Seculars, also shrouds his work as a carpenter in the House of Nazareth. It is a silence that reveals in a special way the inner portrait of the man.
As sons and daughters of St. Teresa, we honor St. Joseph as the patron of the Universal Church and the special patron and protector of our Order, as well as the patron of our Province. He is the model of attentive service to Christ, to Mary, and to the Church, and is also the master of prayer proposed to us by St. Teresa.” [OCDS Statutes, p. 56]
We celebrate St. Joseph's Feast Day on March 19.
Joseph, patron saint of workers, blending skill with charity, silent carpenter, we praise you! Joining work with honesty, you taught Christ with joy to labor, sharing his nobility.
Joseph, close to Christ and Mary, lived with them in poverty, shared with them their home and labor, worked with noble dignity. May we seek God's will as you did, leader of this family!
Joseph, workmen's inspiration, man of faith and charity, make us honest, humble, faithful, strong with Christ's true liberty; make our labor and our leisure fruitful to eternity!
--Liturgy of the Hours, March 19, Hymn for Morning Prayer