In a country of the world a traditional shop of toys, made by wood and strings, and puppets and dolls and micro-beds and mini-houses, is called "the workshop of St. Joseph." And shows the love of a great craftsman and artist, a creative, Joseph of Nazareth completely dedicated to his special child Jesus.
Joseph belongs to Jesus, but Jesus has been entrusted to him, so that he is responsible for his life and growth. St. Joseph Marello had the same idea when donated to the first Oblates an image in which St. Joseph looks to Jesus, but Jesus seems to think happy: "This is my dad that I need and I love a lot, with all my heart."
The generational process, for which one generation gives life for another, makes sacrifices so that their offspring might be well, is part of God's plan for humanity, and so on the Family of Nazareth this process by which parents deliver their life for their children, was taken by God, who is infinte Love, to enter the world through Mary and Joseph. Joseph, the first Christian, received hiss baby and surrendered completely to him; he always had him under his eyes and supported him in his heart: "Gift of the Lord are children. His grace is the fruit of the womb" (Ps. 126.3) ,
He surrendered his life to Jesus: "Whoever loses his/her life for me, will find it" (Matthew 10:39). Lord gives in abundance: Joseph by Jesus met the Eternal Love, God.
We, proceeding by the paths of interiority, have to overcome our "I" degenerated into selfishness, to reach - and that is the contemplation - the Absolute. The Absolute has the profile of Christ. In the deepest part of me, Jesus Christ keeps for me the Absolute, keeps God for me, and gives it to me. The common space of life experienced in our human life takes place between communion with Him, the Word of God eternally generated, and communion with this men generated over time son of Mary, then our brother, and his son. For being ready to receive the eternal Word of God means to be ready to receive all men and women, who are our brothers and sisters in our common humanity. The interior life is substantially open to communion with Jesus Christ and inseparably with every human person. The process of education, that is the aid in the growth of human creatures, has been sanctified by God through the acceptance of the gift of God Joseph and Mary did. To educate is a spiritual journey, and belongs to a spiritual process consisting in losing life and finding life. Joseph was a great artist, because he had always under his eyes that divine prototype who is the seat of any Beauty, and also because he became a protagonist in that infinite design of beauty as is the life of Jesus our Saviour. Not only because he gave him his name, Jesus, that means Saviour, but because he was stripped out from his inner forms of life, his thoughts, desires and attachments, in practice finding himself in a position to make by all that things a great gift of his life. His inner cell is inside the Holy Family and he donates to his family all his thoughts, all his will and his affections. So that the terrible event of losing radically Jesus in the Temple came, and he delivered and returned Jesus who was his very soul, to God from whom Jesus had been handed over to him, and went in search of Jesus for three days advancing for it the gift of his Jesus on the cross and his wife. If the gift of myself that I am submitting has those qualities, it is no longer mine, I do not have it anymore. Then I can reach my inner silence - my hidden life - not so much remaining silent without expressing myself, on the condition that my speech is stripped out from my word and will and affections, donating all these with absolute radicalism up to the point that I would not be the owner of them. To whom are the gifts? To God-Man Jesus, in the people I love. Then I will be together with San Jose a perfect animator. (see the original in Italian).