St. Joseph is our guide and model in the interior life. As St. Teresa of Avila said, “If anyone cannot find a master to teach him how to pray, let him take this glorious saint [Joseph] as his master, and he will not go astray.”
St. Joseph told Sister Mary Martha: “I much prefer prayer of the heart and interior union with Jesus than only prayer from the lips.”
Pope St. John Paul II in his apostolic exhortation on St. Joseph, Redemptoris Custos, wrote, “In Joseph, the apparent tension between the active and the contemplative life finds an ideal harmony that is only possible for those who possess the perfection of charity. Following St. Augustine’s well-known distinction between the love of the truth (caritas veritatis) and the practical demands of love (necessitas caritatis), we can say that Joseph experienced both love of the truth-that pure contemplative love of the divine Truth which radiated from the humanity of Christ-and the demands of love-that equally pure and selfless love required for his vocation to safeguard and develop the humanity of Jesus, which was inseparably linked to his divinity.”
St. Joseph Marello (1844-1895) and St. Paola Elisabetta (1816-1865) were founders of religious communities in 19th-century Italy. They were both intensely devoted to St. Joseph and imitated his interior life.
Joseph Marello was born in Turin. As a young boy he had a great love for the poor and faithful to religious duties. He was ordained a priest on Sept. 19, 1868.
As a priest he was just as eager to help the needy. Eventually he formed the Oblates of St. Joseph to serve the poor. He invited his followers to imitate St. Joseph. What Father Marello most admired about St. Joseph was that his sole desire was to serve Jesus and to do so in a way that attracted no attention whatsoever to himself.
Father Marello loved to talk about the hidden life and the silence of St. Joseph. He exhorted his followers to “be hidden from men, but under the eyes of God; unknown to men, yet dear and beloved to God.”
Regarding the silence of St. Joseph, Marello pointed out that the Evangelists “do not tell us one word he ever said, even though he was the head of the Holy Family and possessed the authority of the father. The only word he says in the Holy Gospels is ‘Jesus,’ the name he gave the Holy Child, a word straight from heaven.”
Costanza Cerioli (the future St. Paola Elisabetta) was born in Soncino. At age 19 Costanza married a widower, Gaetano Busecchi. The marriage lasted 19 years with much suffering. Costanza suffered from poor health and had to put up with the difficult character of her husband. Three of her four children died prematurely. Her son Carlo lived to be 16.
Before his death due to serious illness in January 1854, Carlo spoke these prophetic words to Costanza: “Mama, do not cry ... the Lord will give you other children.” At the end of that same year, on Dec. 25, Gaetano also died.
She began to visit and assist the sick and share her belongings with the poor and orphans. She opened her home to welcome orphans. On Dec. 25, 1856, she made a perpetual vow of chastity.
On Dec. 8, 1857, Costanza, “mother of many orphans,” founded the Institute of the Sisters of the Holy Family in Comonte, Italy. She took the name “Sister Paola Elisabetta” and summarized the charism of the Congregation in this way:
“The humility, simplicity, poverty and love of work found in the Holy Family of Nazareth is what makes up the specific spirituality of this Institute. The Sisters that belong to it must strive to model themselves on this life, full of the recollection, hiddenness and same spirit of humble labour that Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived in this blessed home.”
聖若瑟和內修生活
聖若瑟是我們內修生活的嚮導和榜樣。聖女大德肋撒說：『任何人如果找不到一個教他祈禱的導師，讓他找光榮的聖人[若瑟]作他的導師，這樣他絕不會偏離正道。』
聖若瑟告訴瑪利亞.瑪爾大修女說：『我喜歡發自內心的祈禱和內在與耶穌結合更甚於只用唇舌的祈禱。』
教宗聖保祿二世在有關聖若瑟的文獻Redemptoris Custor中寫道：『在若瑟身上，行動與默觀生活之間似乎有的緊張找到理想的和諧，這和諧只有對具有，成全愛德的人才可能實現。根據熟知的聖奧斯定在真理的愛（Caritas Veritatis ）與愛的需求（Necessitas Caritatis）之間的區別，我們可以說若瑟體會到兩者，真理的愛——那自基督的人性發射出來的神性真理的純默觀的愛——和愛的需求——以及為保護和助長耶穌的人性所要求的同樣純潔和無私的愛，而耶穌的人性是不可分地聯合著他的神性。』
若瑟、馬雷羅生於都靈。年青的孩子，他熱愛貧窮，忠於宗教責任。在1868年9月19日晉鐸。
作為一位神父，他渴望去幫助窮人。終於組織了聖若瑟會為貧人服務。他請跟隨他的人去效法聖若瑟。馬雷羅神父最羨務聖若瑟的是，他唯一的願望是服務耶穌，並在服務時不引他人注意。
馬雷羅神父喜愛談及聖若瑟的隱蔽和靜默的生命。他激勵他的跟隨者去『隱蔽於人，但見於天主的眼中；不為人所知，卻為天主所親，所愛。』
關於聖若瑟的靜默，馬雷羅神父指出，『雖然他是聖家之首，擁有父親的權力，聖史沒有告訴我們他所曾說過的一句話。在神聖福音中他唯一說了的字是「耶穌，」他給聖嬰的名字，一個直接由天上而來的字。』
Costanze Cerioli (日後的聖 Paola Elisabetta) 生於松奇諾。19歲的Costanze與一位鰥夫，Gaetano Busecchi結婚。婚姻維持了19年，帶來不少的痛苦。Costanze苦於自身的健康和丈夫難與相處的困難性格。四個孩子中三個夭折。她的兒子Carlo活到16歲。
在1854年1月在他因嚴重疾病去世前，Carlo向Costanza說了這預言的說話：『媽媽，不要哭，主會賜給您其他孩子。』在同年終結時，12月25日，Gaetano亦去世。
她開始去探訪，幫助病人，並與窮人和孤兒分享她擁有的。在1856年12月25日，她為貞潔許下終生永願。
1857年12月8日，Costanze，『很多孤兒的母親』，在意大利，Comonte建立了聖家會。她取名『Paola Elisabetta修女』，她總結修會的精神如下：
『在納匝肋聖家找到的謙遜，單純，貧窮和對工作的愛慕是本修會特有的精神建基所在。修女們都要奮力效法這種生活，收斂心神，隱蔽，以及謙卑勞動的精神，一如耶穌，瑪利亞和若瑟在那有福的家所活出的。』