“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” (Mt 13:54)

With this question, the Gospel places us at the heart of the mystery of Jesus: his simple life, his humble origins, and the difficulty his own people had in recognizing the presence of God in him. It is the scandal of the everyday, of the seemingly insignificant, of what does not fit human expectations.

Jesus is referred to as “the carpenter’s son.” And that expression also encapsulates an attitude that runs through history: the difficulty of recognizing the value and dignity of work and of those who perform it. The long-awaited Messiah seemed unable to come from such a simple, concrete, and human reality.

Saint Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth; Mary, his wife; and Jesus, their son, share in the lives of workers throughout the ages. In them, a profound truth is revealed: God dwells in the ordinary, the fragile, and the silent.

May 1, International Workers’ Day and the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, invites us to view this reality from a Gospel perspective, as a call to recognize the centrality of the person and the value of work as an expression of dignity, service, and the building of the common good.

In the same vein, Pope Leo XIV points out that the example of Saint Joseph, who cared for the family entrusted to him by the Lord, shows that presence and care are inseparable: “One cannot care for another without being present, and one cannot be present without taking responsibility for the other.” This statement sheds special light on how we understand Saint Joseph’s mission and also our own responsibility in daily life.

In this context, hospitality emerges as a fundamental Gospel principle. Not merely as an attitude of welcome, but as a way of viewing reality: recognizing the dignity of every person, supporting the lives of others, and forging bonds that humanize and transform.

Every day, many people in various fields embody this spirit of hospitality through their professional commitment, service, and dedication. In them, we see a concrete way of living out the Gospel in daily life.

Jesus, the carpenter’s son, continues to challenge us today. He invites us not to lose hope in the possibility of a more humane world, where solidarity, justice, and the dignity of every person form the foundation of our coexistence.

May Saint Joseph the Worker help us to live with humility, to work with purpose, and to build a true culture of hospitality.