Millennial Lenten Reflections: Actions speak louder than words

Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. 

Actions speak louder than words, they say. But aren’t some words helpful?

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph and are given two options for the gospel reading. Even with two readings about Joseph, however, we don’t get a single word out of him. In fact, not a word of his is mentioned in the entire Bible.

What are we to make of this? Surely, he spoke. He must have talked with Mary about the dream he received. He must have asked others if they had seen Jesus after they had lost him in Jerusalem. But he gave no record of this. We have only his actions.

Perhaps, however, this silent, act-centered response is exactly what we need more of today.

Talk is cheap. Ranting on the blogosphere is abundant. Saying someone is my “friend” has lost much of its meaning when I have thousands of them on Facebook.

The world today isn’t in need of many words. Just like it was 2,000 years ago, though, the world needs humble servants who through their actions welcome Christ into the world.

Michael Rossmann, S.J., is a Jesuit studying theology at Boston College and the Editor-in-Chief of The Jesuit Post.