Last year’s St. Joseph altar had an indelible meaning

From the beautifully decorated altars with fresh flowers, to the elaborate breads with rich symbolism connected to St. Joseph and the early Christians, to the vibrant colors of the cakes and cookies. Not to mention how delicious everything is. It’s a beautiful tradition.
 

But, the real beauty of this tradition is the reason behind it. Sicilians reached out to their patron saint, St. Joseph, asking for prayers in time of a drought. After their prayers for rain were answered, they returned with the bountiful harvest and set up an altar in gratitude. 
 

And the tradition began. It began with gratitude for prayers answered.
How often do we pray for one thing and then move on to the next thing without stopping for gratitude? 
 

This hit me like a ton of St. Joseph cookies in 2019. I had met with our parish priest a year earlier – frustrated and looking for direction. I felt God’s call to grow my family and step away from a job I loved to focus on my greater love of my family. All of this was happening while I harbored this tug on my heart to write. My priest suggested prayers to St. Joseph, which I offered.
 

A year later, my husband and I were pregnant and, without realizing, I scheduled the ultrasound on March 19. Providential, don’t you think?  
After that appointment, we headed to the St. Joseph altar. But that year was different. That year we returned to the altar in gratitude. I had a new job – one I never expected. That new job connected me to start blogging with NOLA Catholic Parenting. My family was growing!  
 

Even though we experienced other sufferings in that year, here we were still, just thankful, thankful for prayers answered and unanswered, thankful to the providence of God who can do more than we can think or imagine.
Gratitude is what this Sicilian tradition has taught me. Gratitude is what keeps us balanced. When the desolation of life hits us hard, remembering the victories God has won for us can keep us balanced and forever grateful.
 

So, if you find yourself in the middle of a spiritual drought, in the midst of troubling or uncertain times, take a lesson from this beautiful tradition. A St. Joseph’s altar is about reaching out to God in our time of need. It’s about asking for those holy men and women who have gone before us to pray for us. 
 

Most importantly, it’s about returning in thanksgiving and gratitude to God and to those saints to whom we have prayed – for all those answered and, dare I say, even unanswered prayers.
 

Kristen Bourgeois is a wife and mother who grew up in New York and now calls New Orleans home.  Kristen was a police detective for 15 years investigating crimes for a local police department. Currently, Kristen assists her husband in running the youth ministry at St. Jane De Chantal in Abita Springs. Kristen had a conversion while a detective and seeks to help working parents find peace in the chaos of our daily lives.