Go To Joseph…..

Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Solemnity 

2 Samuel 7:4-5,12-14,16
Romans 4:13,16-18,22
Matthew 1:16,18-21,24

Today we remember and celebrate the father who is arguably the most important father to ever live, St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus and the husband of Mary. The Scriptures do not tell us a lot about him but do present us with important gifts he had.
First of all, he was described as a “just” man.  In the Scriptures a man was described as “just” because he embodied all the virtues held so dear by the faith community:  integrity, competence, compassion, gentleness, honesty, patience, piety, and an openness to God’s invitations to take risks.In other words, he was one who was completely open to all that God wanted to do for him. His love of Christ, his devotion to Mary, and his unreserved faithfulness to God’s call are all powerful examples of the path to holiness.

In the 1st reading (2 Sam 7:4-5,12-14,16) we see God telling David that his throne will stand secure for ever through one of his line. The 2nd reading (Rom 4:13,16-18,22) assures us that we are the spiritual children of Abraham and that we must have faith and belief like him. The gospel (Mtt 1:16,18-21,24) recounts the narrative of the vision Joseph had which told him to take Mary as his wife though she was already pregnant. In this way Jesus was born of the line of David and everything that God had promised to David and to Abraham was fulfilled. Think of the kind of love with which he loved Mary.
When he discovered that Mary had conceived a child in her womb, his decision is so striking. The important words of the Bible are that he planned to do this “quietly” because he was “a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame” (Matthew 1:19) not until the angel of the Lord appeared to him to reverse the situation of his initial decision.

The key element for us is that Joseph was a man of faith just as Mary was a woman of faith. Both had annunciations and both accepted what must have been quite troubling but they did so without hesitation. In this way they fulfilled the prophesies and promises of the Old Testament while giving the child a strong faith-based family in which to grow up. Joseph was a loving husband and father, a man who worked with his hands, a man who watched over and cared for his family, and who had a deep faith in his God, even when things seemed to be working against him he remained obedient to God and trusted in divine providence.

How do we respond to God when we are faced with challenges which seem beyond our hold and ability? Whom has God entrusted to our care and how can we care for that or those person(s), trusting that God will guide us to do what He wants us to do? Who has been a Joseph to you – the strong silent type, hidden and yet active who guides and instructs you?

We remember St. Joseph today with gratitude and deep admiration and we ask that the good Lord may give us the grace to always trust in His saving Divine Providence; help, guidance, wisdom and plan for our lives. Amen.

St. Joseph…pray for us.

Fr Joseph Osho