Listening and Learning on the Feast of St. Joseph

Guest Post – Gabriela Robles, Chief Executive

Lent is a sacred season that invites us to enter a time of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and deeper conversation. Today, we are not only in the middle of Lent but also honoring the Feast of St. Joseph. Pope Leo XIV’s Lenten message asks us to “disarm our words” and to fast from language that further divides us in a time when the world feels very divided and loud. His request for us to make more space for “the voice of others” is not just a spiritual slogan. It’s a concrete invitation for how we show up at home, at work, and in the communities we serve.

On St. Joseph Day, we’re reminded of a quiet companion for that journey. In the Gospels, Joseph never says a single recorded word. We only know him by his listening and his actions. He listens to God in dreams, to the reality in front of him, the warning to an unexpectedly pregnant Mary, and to the warnings to flee Egypt. As this artwork by Sr. Madeleva Williams, CSJ, beautifully depicts, even in the face of these warnings and in the grips of fear, Joseph was quietly steadfast and not afraid.

Joseph could have used words to defend his reputation, question Mary, and resist God’s plan. Instead, he chose strength to protect Mary’s dignity as he claims Jesus as his son. Joseph builds a home where love, safety, and faithfulness can take root.

Just as Pope Leo calls us to do, Joseph fasted from saying judgmental words, centering his own fears, and using language that labels and diminishes. His actions remind us that sometimes the holiest thing we can do is listen carefully, choose our words sparingly, and let our love show up in how we move.

On the Feast of St. Joseph, during Lent, and every day, we can all try to listen more.

We can pay attention to how we talk about each other, our leaders, and our partners. Do our words build trust or close it down? We can catch ourselves before we describe communities by their needs, and instead remember to name their strengths, wisdom, and leadership. We can pause before replying with sarcasm and ask whether this is building up the body or wearing it down.

At the St. Joseph Fund, we’re in our own season of discernment and change as an organization, and it’s integral that we choose the spirit in which we move. That we choose to be like Joseph, listening more than we speak, protecting one another’s dignity, and making sure that those who are most vulnerable, inside and outside our walls, feel seen and safe when they are in our presence.

Lent draws us into holy ground. It’s a season to be reverenced, not rushed. As Pope Leo reminds us, listening is an act of courage, a discipline of love, and the beginning of true transformation.

Transformation rarely comes through noise or force. It unfolds through the patient, prayerful practice of attending to God’s actions. Discernment teaches us to notice where our hearts are being stirred, unsettled, or consoled. It asks us to clean our minds of worry, distraction, and hurry, so that we may hear Him more clearly.

On the Feast of St. Joseph, I thank you for the many, often quiet, Joseph-like ways our partners, community leaders, caregivers, peers, and stakeholders already live this out.