Humility 

   If I am to serve God as I should, I must do so from a place of humility.  I must realize that I am dust and to dust I shall return, as I am reminded each Ash Wednesday.  I have to admit that on my own I can never attain holiness, only through God’s grace is it possible.

   I look to Saint Joseph as the example of how I am to serve my Lord.  Not a word of his is recorded in scripture, but his actions speak volumes.  When he was told that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and that he should not be afraid to take her as his wife he didn’t question, he did as he was told.  I’m certain that he did not understand how something such as this could happen, but he trusted in God and did as he was asked.

   After the birth of Jesus an angel appeared to him in the middle of the night telling him to take Mary and Jesus and flee, Herod was looking to kill the newborn Savior.  Joseph at once got up and took his family into exile in Egypt, staying there until an angel told him it was safe to return home.

   Throughout Jesus’ childhood, Joseph was a father to Him.  Helping Him learn to walk and talk, teaching Him the Torah, and training him as a carpenter.  How hard it must have been to know that he was fathering the Savior of the world and never say a word about it.  He didn’t seek glory for what he was doing, only to serve Jesus and the Father.

   Saint Joseph obeyed God’s word without question or doubt.  He humbly and quietly served Him without seeking recognition or self-glory.  I must try to follow his example and I pray for the grace to live as Joseph did, in humility before my God.