Letters from Seminary: Hartnedy

St. Joseph: What I hear when the ‘silent saint’ speaks to me

Published: January 23, 2021

By John Paul Hartnedy
Diocesan Seminarian

The silence of St. Joseph made me struggle to relate with him for years. I had always admired him as Jesus’ earthly father, husband of Mary and a “righteous man” worthy of imitation. However, for someone who experienced daily life in the Holy Family, he seems to be a silent mystery, and I was hoping for the inside scoop.

In my sixth year of seminary, I recognize how God worked through my own family to nourish the vocation he has invited me to live. My parents were the ones who taught me how to pray and be open to a relationship with God. They brought my sister and me to Mass, although some days I was more focused on poking her in the ribs than on the miracle present to us.

Nonetheless, it was within my ordinary, human and sometimes crazy family where I first discerned and responded to God’s call for me to consider priesthood.

Pope Francis dedicated this year to St. Joseph; an invitation to reapproach the “silent saint” and get to know him better. This Christmas season I accepted the challenge and discovered to my surprise that he does indeed speak: not with words but actions.

In listening to the angel, who supports his marriage with Mary and then later warns him to flee with his family to Egypt, Joseph shows his attentiveness and docility to God, and a deep love for Mary and Jesus. His silence screams of the dedication he had to prayer, discerning how best to protect and provide for his family, and it shouts out his courage and humble obedience.

In looking again to St. Joseph, I found that my initial discomfort with him is actually one of his most virtuous qualities: humility. He is not the center of attention. Everything about him points away from him to something or someone else. His actions show that his life was spent in loving service to his family and community.

In remaining in the shadows, he allows the light of the world to shine unobscured, and his silence leaves space for the Word of God to speak. These aspects of St. Joseph’s character reveal him as an excellent role model for all of us in seeking to discover God in the midst of family dynamics and in discerning our vocations in ordinary life.

As I begin the spring semester of school, and continue formation in the new year, I have a renewed respect for this “silent saint.” He reminds me to relax and listen calmly for the voice of God, even among fear, anxiety and the unknown. He encourages me to consistency in prayer and in practicing the virtues, not in some abstract or impersonal way, but in concrete and quiet actions, right here, right now.

I recently ran past an outdoor nativity scene in my neighborhood and saw St. Joseph leaning on a staff, while he stood by Mary in silent adoration of the Son of God. “If only that staff could speak,” I thought, confronted by his silence again. Then I saw his eyes, and following them to Christ, I recognized that St. Joseph, the “silent saint,” does indeed speak. It just took me time to learn how to listen.

John Paul Hartnedy, a member of St. Edward Church in Little Rock, is a diocesan seminarian attending Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Texas. This article was originally published in Arkansas Catholic. Copyright Diocese of Little Rock. All rights reserved. This article may be copied or redistributed with acknowledgement and permission of the publisher.