St. Teresa of Avila, the Doctor of the Church most known for her writings on prayer, so much so that she is named The Doctor of Prayer, encourages all to have recourse to the great St. Joseph, whom she names The Master of the Interior Life. This title bears great weight, as the only other Person bequeathed it by the Catechism of the Catholic Church is the Holy Spirit.
Master of the Interior Life
What does this title “Master of the Interior Life” mean? We all have both an exterior life, which is manifested by our concrete actions each day, and an interior life, which is our daily relationship with God in prayer.
This title emphasizes that St. Joseph was a man of deep, profound prayer, of constant and intimate union with God. Furthermore, it shows us that he can teach us to pray, entering into a more profound union with God. All we need to do is ask St. Joseph to aid in our constant growth in our own interior lives.
Our holiness, indeed our eternal salvation, depends on our prayer lives. It is therefore with utmost care and attention that we devote ourselves to this spiritual growth. St. Augustine put it this way, “He who prays well lives well; he who lives well dies well; he who dies well, all is well!”
Constant Union with Jesus and Mary
We can define prayer as intimate union with God, as well as union with Mary, the Mother of God. For many years, good Joseph maintained a constant union with Jesus, the Son of the living God, as well as with Mary. St. Joseph, who lived this example his whole life, can help us to maintain a constant union with Jesus and Mary. Even when Joseph was not physically present to Jesus and Mary, he had them in the depths of his heart. So should we constantly be aware of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in our daily walk.
Prayer Leader and Teacher of the Holy Family
Given that St. Joseph was the Head of the Holy Family, he also was the spiritual leader. What did this entail? Quite simply, St. Joseph would take the initiative to lead the family in daily, weekly, monthly, and annual prayer. As father of the Holy Family, he assumed his paternal leadership, carrying out his role with consummate perfection in all respects!
Taught Jesus to Pray
An extraordinary aspect of St. Joseph’s role, with respect to the title “Master of the Interior Life,” is the stunning truth that he actually taught Jesus how to pray! What does this mean?
Basic Christology teaches that Jesus had two Natures in one Person—the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. In Jesus’ Divinity, He could not learn or improve, because as God no change in His Divine Nature could be possible. However, as a man, Jesus could and did learn. He had to learn to walk, eat, speak, and work. This means that St. Joseph, as well as the Blessed Virgin Mary, taught Jesus how to express Himself by using human words. So Joseph would have taught Jesus how to say Abba—or “Daddy!” He would have taught his Son the Psalms, the Scriptures, the first vocal prayers of His earthly life. Therefore, according to His Human Nature, Jesus learned to pray as a result of the teaching of St. Joseph, The Master of the Interior Life.
If It is Good Enough for Jesus, It is Good Enough for Me
Because of this, we naturally conclude that if St. Joseph was instrumental in teaching Jesus how to vocalize words and express them to God in prayer, then we too should have the most earnest desire to lift up our minds, hearts, and souls to St. Joseph and beg that, through his most powerful intercession, we will one day become masters of prayer too, that one day we will become Masters of the Interior Life.
Prayer Time with St. Joseph
Now is your time to lift your mind, heart, and soul in humble prayer to good St. Joseph. Beg this greatest of all saints to intercede for you, that you might be gifted a great desire to pray more and better every day. Ask him to gain for you the grace to bring others to a deeper union with God through prayer.
Lift your gaze to St. Joseph with great trust, and from the depths of a meek and humble heart pray:
Good St. Joseph, teach me to pray, to persevere in prayer, and to have an ardent desire to place my prayer time at the very center of my life. Amen.
Editor’s Note: For today’s solemnity, if you would like your prayer intentions brought to St. Joseph de Bessillon, the sanctuary of St. Joseph in Cotignac, France, and prayed over by more than 2 million Catholics around the world, then enter your intentions here.
Image from Wikimedia Commons
