In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today, the readings and the Gospel remind us of our call to be dedicated to God with sincerity and humility of heart. That all that we do, in our spiritual life, in our life of service, in our life of almsgiving, and in our prayer, are to be done with sincerity and humility of heart, generosity of heart. We do it for the pure motive of pleasing God, of loving Him, and of honoring Him.
And Our Lord today says several times, and reminds us about, "Your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you." And when we think of the hidden life, perhaps one of the best examples is St. Joseph, who truly lived a hidden life. That we know a little bit about St. Joseph from the Gospel, but much of his life is hidden. And of course, no words of his are recorded in Scripture. And yet, he is given to us as an example of that hidden life in his obedience, his dedication, his rich interior life in loving and serving God.
And I always like to reflect on the words of St. Teresa of Avila, the great contemplative, who said that everything she learned about prayer, she learned from St. Joseph. And in fact, all except one of her convents that she founded, she named after St. Joseph. Just to reinforce that interior, hidden life.
And so we can ask St. Joseph today to help us to live that hidden life that we seek to love and serve God. St. Joseph, of course, was dedicated to the Holy Family. He was a man of work, a man of prayer, and reflecting continuously on the mysteries before him, in the Incarnate Son of God and His Mother, the Mother of God.
May St. Joseph help us to live that interior life, to seek to do everything with sincerity and humility of heart, that we may always strive to please and love and serve God as he did.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.