Pope Francis’ proclamation of 2021 as the “Year of St. Joseph” presents an opportunity for St. Joseph’s College to celebrate the College community’s dedication to making the world a better place, SJC President Donald R. Boomgaarden, Ph.D., says in an inspiring recorded message.
“We are going to celebrate our alums, our staff, our faculty, our students, who are doing things right now in the spirit of St. Joseph, who dream the dream of St. Joseph, who still follow that special mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph,” Dr. Boomgaarden says. “We’re going to try to tie these things together with that special personage, the special personality, the special spirit, the special charism of St. Joseph, as we move into this new year.”
Dr. Boomgaarden credits the College for producing “scholars, teachers, administrators, nurses, physicians, engineers, lawyers, scientists — people that have transformed the world around them. And we continue to do that today.” And he explains in the video how St. Joseph helped transform the world by being a protector, a teacher and a listener devout to his faith.
“St. Joseph was someone who worked in the background, in the shadows, to protect Jesus as he grew. And that process of protecting him involved taking some very, very courageous steps,” he says.
“These included listening to God and his dreams,” Dr. Boomgaarden adds, referring to Joseph’s dreams in which God came to him and told him to raise Jesus as his own. “And the Sisters of St. Joseph have a special maxim for that … ‘Dream the dream that God dreams for you.’ And by that, I think they’re referring to St. Joseph and the idea that we need to listen to our hearts and listen to our dreams … and allow them to grow into something spectacular.”
