When we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, we are reminded that they are a model of holiness and faithfulness for all families.  Although they were the perfect family they experienced many trials and difficulties in their day.  For example, when Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem to be enrolled by the decree of Caesar Augustus, Mary’s body was beginning the process of giving birth. Since there was no room for them at the inn, where was she going to deliver her baby?  I could only imagine what was going through St. Joseph’s mind.  Because of their faith in God, the Holy Spirit guided them to a cave and there Mary gave birth to the Savior of the world. 

 “May the Holy Family, who had to overcome many painful trials, watch over all the families in the world, especially those who are experiencing difficult situations. May the virtues of the Holy Family also help men and women of culture, and political leaders so that they may defend the institution of the family, based on marriage, and so that they may sustain the family as it confronts the grave challenges of the modern age!”

Pope John Paul II– Feast of the Holy Family 2004

“A family that prays together, stays together.”  Let us exemplify the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as we are called to strengthen our families through self-less acts of humility and charity.

Year of St. Joseph

On Dec. 8, Pope Francis issued an apostolic letter, Patris corde “With a Father’s Heart” for the 150th anniversary of the declaration of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To mark the occasion, the Pope proclaimed a “Year of St. Joseph” from Dec. 8, 2020, through Dec. 8, 2021, explaining that the aim of this special year is “to increase our love for this great saint, to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtues and his zeal.” Also, a plenary indulgence is available to Catholics throughout the year under specific conditions. Please visit the Diocese website grdiocese.org for more information.

Fr. Tony Russo
Pastor
Our Lady of Consolation
Rockford, MI

Pope Francis
22.12.13  Angelus, St Peters Square  (4th Sunday of Advent  Year A )      

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!

On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, the Gospel tells us about the events preceding the birth of Jesus, and the Evangelist Matthew presents them from the point of view of St Joseph, the betrothed of the Virgin Mary.

Joseph and Mary were dwelling in Nazareth; they were not yet living together because they were not yet married. In the meantime, Mary, after having welcomed the Angel’s announcement, came to be with child by the power of the Holy Spirit. When Joseph realized this, he was bewildered. The Gospel does not explain what his thoughts were, but it does tell us the essential: he seeks to do the will of God and is ready for the most radical renunciation. Rather than defending himself and asserting his rights, Joseph chooses what for him is an enormous sacrifice. And the Gospel tells us: “Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly” (1:19).

This brief sentence reveals a true inner drama if we think about the love that Joseph had for Mary! But even in these circumstances, Joseph intends to do the will of God and decides, surely with great sorrow, to send Mary away quietly. We need to meditate on these words in order to understand the great trial that Joseph had to endure in the days preceding Jesus’ birth. It was a trial similar to the sacrifice of Abraham, when God asked him for his son Isaac (cf. Gen 22): to give up what was most precious, the person most beloved.

But as in the case of Abraham, the Lord intervenes: he found the faith he was looking for and he opens up a different path, a path of love and of happiness. “Joseph,” he says, “do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 1:20).

This Gospel passage reveals to us the greatness of St Joseph’s heart and soul. He was following a good plan for his life, but God was reserving another plan for him, a greater mission. Joseph was a man who always listened to the voice of God, he was deeply sensitive to his secret will, he was a man attentive to the messages that came to him from the depths of his heart and from on high. He did not persist in following his own plan for his life, he did not allow bitterness to poison his soul; rather, he was ready to make himself available to the news that, in a such a bewildering way, was being presented to him. And thus, he was a good man. He did not hate, and he did not allow bitterness to poison his soul. Yet how many times does hatred, or even dislike and bitterness poison our souls! And this is harmful. Never allow it: he is an example of this. And Joseph thereby became even freer and greater. By accepting himself according to God’s design, Joseph fully finds himself, beyond himself. His freedom to renounce even what is his, the possession of his very life, and his full interior availability to the will of God challenge us and show us the way.

Let us make ourselves ready to celebrate Christmas by contemplating Mary and Joseph: Mary, the woman full of grace who had the courage to entrust herself totally to the Word of God; Joseph, the faithful and just man who chose to believe the Lord rather than listen to the voices of doubt and human pride. With them, let us walk together toward Bethlehem.

In the Litany of St. Joseph, as well as in the Divine Praises that are said at the end of Eucharistic Benediction, we refer to St. Joseph as the “most chaste spouse” of the Virgin Mary. What does this title mean? Many today think about celibacy when they hear the word “chastity.” Because of this, most understand chastity to be reserved for priests, religious sisters, or other really holy people. But this misses the point because every Christian is called to live a chaste life. So, what does it mean to be chaste? 

Firstly, chastity is a virtue, which means it is a habit of doing the good. Chastity specifically refers to the proper integration of one’s sexual energies of life and love. Many think of chastity in a merely negative way—namely many understand chastity as exclusively limiting what we can or cannot do (no to fornication, no to pornography, and no to adultery). For those who think this way, chastity just means “no” or is a long list of rules. But this is a very limited understanding of chastity! Instead, because chastity is a virtue, it is oriented to the good of one’s life. Chastity is the virtue that allows one to truly love the other with respect to each person’s state of life. Rather than merely being a virtue of saying “no,” true chastity enables love and self-gift—true chastity teaches us to truly say “Yes!”

To be quite frank, it can be difficult to be chaste in our culture. We are constantly bombarded by images and media which can lead us to impurity. So too our culture’s casual attitude toward sexuality makes living chastity with one’s significant other seem extremely counter-cultural. This is why St. Joseph, the most chaste spouse of Mary, is a great saint for our times. 

We ought to consider St. Joseph as a model of chastity. As a married man, St. Joseph was chaste in his conduct with the Blessed Virgin Mary. But just because Joseph has “Saint” before his name, does not mean he cannot relate to our own struggles around chastity. Remember, he was the only member of the Holy Family capable of sinning against chastity! So, St. Joseph can teach us a lot about chastity through his own example.

For those who struggle to live with chastity, St. Joseph can also be a powerful intercessor. Ask him to aid you in living for love that is real. If we are only considered with the “No’s” of chastity, we can ask for his help in teaching us what the virtue of chastity will help us to say “Yes” to. 

May each of us go to the most chaste spouse of Mary in this year of St. Joseph, and find in him a shining example of chaste love.

St. Joseph, Most Chaste Spouse of Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us!

Deacon Noah Thelen
Diocese of Grand Rapids
Seminarian – Theology IV

Today’s gospel focuses on Joseph who receives a message from God in a dream. An angel tells him to take Mary as his wife because her child is born of the Holy Spirit. Joseph wakes up and does what God says. No explanation of what his place is in all this is. No advice about how he would deal with the fact that she was pregnant before their marriage. No warning about the hardships that lay ahead of him. Joseph just does what his dream tells him to do. He gives Mary his strength. He gives her comfort in her hour of need, and he hopes that his faith and love will be enough to be able to finish what God asks him to do. Joseph not only enabled Christ to be born, he provides a safe nurturing place where Christ could grow. 

Joseph did what he did because he was a righteous man. He opened himself up to God’s voice and so was sensitive to divine visitation. Through his dreams God directed the course of his life and Joseph not only took those dreams seriously, he acted on them even though they left many questions unanswered. How many of us would have taken on as much as he did on the strength of a dream? Would you uproot your family and take off for another country because of a dream you had? In order to act like Joseph, we would have to be a lot more open and a lot more sensitive to the messengers God sends us. 

All Joseph had to assure him was his faith, a faith that told him God would be there every step of the way. That was obviously enough for him. He needed no other proof or explanation. Unfortunately, we do not operate on such faith today. We question and analyze everything we are asked to do. We try and control our outer life so much that our inner life is marked by a sense

of emptiness, unease, and incompleteness. So that is where God talks to us asking us to prepare a place where Christ can be born, nurtured, and allowed to grow. I know this to be true because it was into the restlessness and emptiness of my own life that God’s message convinced me that I was being called to this way of life. You may think it’s stupid to make such a radical change based on a “dream” that God was calling you. But once you get a glimpse of the divine, once you understand, as Joseph did, just how close God really is to you, and how involved he is in the life of his people, then, like Joseph, you can’t help but let go of the prejudices and fears that keep you from acting according to his will. 

God is still sending his messages to us, telling us what he wants us to do with our lives, telling us what he wants us to become. But like Joseph, we have to be able to recognize the sacred in our lives in order to hear those messages and to make the right choices. 

Somebody says something cruel about somebody else, not only cruel but funny, and everyone laughs. Do we laugh too, or do we defend the person even if we don’t like them ourselves? When a friend has hurt us, do we cut them out of our lives and act like we never were friends, or do we try and build a bridge over the hurt? When we are alone in our own thoughts do we think about our lost opportunities, our lost youth, our lost love ones, or do we take enjoyment in the life we have and thank God for the promise of each new day? Is our outlook on life destructive, cynical, self-defeating, or is it creative, hopeful, and glad. 

All these little choices and inner skirmishes that go into making up our days may seem to add up to very little at the time, but in the long run, they are important because it is precisely in all those small meaningless encounters with others that provide an opportunity to become more sensitive to the

messages God sends us. Maybe the message we receive is not as important as the one sent to Joseph in today’s gospel, but the message is the same, be strong… be merciful…help one another. 

In a way, God is asking each one of us to help Christ be born out of the emptiness which is inside of us. But unless we open up a channel for the word of God to enter we will not be aware of it. We will never see how intimately God is involved in our lives. We must open ourselves up to God’s divine presence, as Joseph did, and listen to what God wants us to do. Then we must try and create a place of safety, a place of welcoming for those who are in need, those we work with, those we live with, those who are forced to live on the streets, those who are closed off by walls of poverty, prejudice, and pain. 

Unless we act like Joseph and are willing to change the course of our lives for God. Unless we too seek to be righteous people and do as God asks us to do, Christ will never be born in us, nor have a chance to live among us.

Msgr. Michael Busch
St Jerome’s Parish
Ontario, Canada

May 1st is the feast of St. Joseph the Worker.

There’s a favorite song of mine that reminds me of St. Joseph. It’s called “The Carpenter.”

Let us now praise a carpenter and the things that he made
And the way that he lived by the tools of his trade.
He was tough as a crowbar, quick as a chisel,
Fair as a plane and true as a level.
He was straight as a chalk line… and right as a rule;
He was square with the world, he took good care of his tools.
He said anything that’s worth cuttin’ down a tree for
Is worth doin’ right; don’t the Lord love a two-by-four.

Over the centuries, the Church has found it necessary to keep reminding the world that Jesus was truly human. From the beginning, the Church has proudly emphasized that Jesus was a carpenter… obviously trained by Joseph.

Joseph — it seems to me —  must’ve taught Jesus both the “satisfactions” of that vocation… as well as the “drudgery.” 

The Church continues to remind us that humanity reflects the image of God — not only in “thinking” and “loving” —  but also in “creating.” Whether we build a table or a cathedral, our mission is to bear fruit with our minds AND our hands … always for the building up of the Body of Christ. 

Everything we know about the husband of Mary — the foster father of Jesus — comes from Scripture. But that’s been “too little” for some. So legends about him have been made up. 

We DO know he was a carpenter…a working man. The skeptical Nazarenes asked about Jesus: “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” 

We know that Joseph wasn’t a rich man. When he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised — and Mary to be purified —  he offered the sacrifice of two turtledoves or pigeons, because he couldn’t afford a lamb: the preferred sacrifice of the wealthy. 

We also know that Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary was pregnant — and he wasn’t the father —  he thought about divorcing her. But he knew that women accused of adultery could be stoned to death; so he decided to divorce her quietly. 

Obviously, Joseph was a man of great faith. He was obedient to whatever God asked of him without ever knowing the outcome.  When the angel came to him in a dream and told him the truth about the child Mary was carrying, Joseph immediately and without question took Mary as his wife.

Pope John Paul II taught us that Saint Joseph is the model of fatherhood. He said: Generations of fathers have followed in Joseph’s footsteps… fathers who — with the example of a simple and laborious life —imprinted on their children’s souls the inestimable value of faith, without which every other good runs the risk of being in vain. 

St. Joseph the Worker: carpenter… obedient servant of God… model of fatherhood.

Deacon Denny Williams
St. Thomas the Apostle Parish
Grand Rapids, MI 

As we consider the vocation of fatherhood, let us first give thanks to our Heavenly Father, who created our inmost being and knit us together in our mothers’ wombs.  (Ps. 139:13-14). He knows better than our earthly fathers what good gifts to give us.  (Lk. 11:11-13).  Let us give Him thanks for all the good gifts he has bestowed upon us out of love, especially the gifts of his only-begotten Son, his spouse the Church, and the sacraments.

Next, let us give thanks to our spiritual fathers, from the Holy Father, Pope Francis, to our bishop and all the pastors of our Diocese who nourish us with the Word of God and the sacraments.  Through their spiritual fatherhood, they help to lead us to our ultimate destination, an eternity spent in joy with our Heavenly Father as beloved sons and daughters.  Let us also give thanks to our earthly fathers, step-fathers, fathers-in-law, and grandfathers for all that they have done for us.  Throughout our lives, they have provided us not only with material support and encouragement but also spiritual support in their role as head of the domestic church.  

For those of us who are fathers, we are called to be one of the primary educators of our children in matters of faith.  As the Catechism notes, “in our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith.”  (CCC 1656). As Vatican II teaches, “The family, so to speak, is the domestic church . . . Parents should be, by word and example, first preachers of faith to their children.”  Reflecting upon the blessings of fatherhood and taking stock of our lives, have we, as St. Paul urges in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3, loved our wives as Christ loves his Church?  Have we avoided provoking our children, lest they become discouraged?  God always creates greater good out of evil.  During this time of the pandemic, have we taken advantage of the extra time at home to grow closer to our wives and children?  Have we modeled patience, kindness, and self-sacrificing love?  Have we been family prayer leaders?  In short, as head of the domestic church, have we modeled Christ to our families?  

Most of us are familiar with the old adage “actions speak louder than words.”  Nowhere is this more evident than in the gospels, which record not a single word spoken by St. Joseph, yet richly narrate his actions, which are the perfect model of self-sacrificial love and fatherhood.  In the words of St. Augustine, “see that you praise God not with your lips and voices alone, but with your minds, your lives, and all your actions.”  Like St. Joseph, let us show our wives and children through our lives and our actions what a personal relationship with Jesus looks like and how that relationship is lived out daily within the truth, goodness, and beauty of our Catholic faith.  Through that life and action, we shall fulfill our vocation as fathers and lead our family on the path to heaven.  St. Joseph, the foster father of the Son of God, head of the holy family, an example to parents, and pillar of family life, intercede for us that we might become the holy men of God and fathers we are meant to be.

Deacon Paul D. Lochner
Louis the King, Marquette, Mi

Listen……..Do You hear it?……….. Be still and listen………

That, my brothers, and sisters is the sound of silence.  In our world today we are inundated with noise and other distractions. We live in a society where we are always on the go and there is no time for silence. We are always going to the next activity, planning the next meal, running to this practice, that rehearsal, all the while working at our jobs and trying not to bring them home to our families. We have our radio, our television, our cell phones, and social media. All these things distract us from our life, from our prayer, from the awareness that God is present in our lives.

Silence is the foundation of a prayer life.  In prayer, in the silence of our hearts, we can talk to God, and more importantly, he can talk to us.  Our silence in prayer makes us receptive to the Holy Spirit. It allows God the opportunity to speak to us in our hearts and soul.  Our silence is a sign of docility to the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  It shows our desire to know what God’s plan is for our lives and how we are to respond.  We see this docility in the silence of St. Joseph.

In the gospel accounts, Saint Joseph stands as the model for silence. He never speaks a word. God comes to him in his dreams and reveals to him the next step in following God’s plan for the Holy Family.  Saint Joseph responds with silence. No words of questioning. No words of acceptance. No words at all.

Silence is typically defined as a negative, as an absence. The silence of Saint Joseph may be seen as weakness, as an inability to grasp the importance of the moment. Silence can be seen as complicity, complacency, or acceptance without the fortitude to stand for one’s convictions. 

However, this is not what the silence of Saint Joseph teaches us. In his silence, Saint Joseph listens to the word of God. In his silence, Joseph contemplates God’s will for his life. He is instructed by the word of God. Pope Benedict explains that “St Joseph’s silence does not express an inner emptiness but, on the contrary, the fullness of the faith he bears in his heart and which guides his every thought and action.” 

We hear not a word from the lips of St Joseph in the Gospels and yet his sanctity shines through his silence. His total fidelity to God can be seen in his actions as he accompanies the Blessed Virgin Mary to Bethlehem and becomes the first man to see the Christ-child; as he leads his family to safety into exile and ultimately brings them home to Nazareth; as he searches with Mary for the boy Jesus and finds him in the temple after which, Scripture tells us, Jesus lived under his parent’s authority. 

St. Joseph is a humble man of action rather than one of excess words and noise. He simply gets up and does God’s will without question. In his silence, Saint Joseph becomes the humble servant of God for his actions speak louder than his words. 

St. Joseph’s silence is a sign of his humility. In his humility, St. Joseph is obedient to God’s will. He does what he is asked, out of love of God, and love of his family.  St. Joseph willingly sacrifices his own desires and plans to meet the needs of his wife and child.  For this reason, he is called the Guardian of the Virgin and Savior of the Savior. St. Joseph’s humility is an important part of our salvation, as he protects Jesus and Mary by taking them to Egypt and returning to Nazareth once it was safe.

Humility is another word with negative connotations.  The societal view of humility is weakness. A humble person is seen as a non-assertive doormat, as disengaged and not driven for success.  Humility is often misunderstood as humiliation.  Humiliation means the loss of respect for one’s self or the loss of respect from others.  Humiliation denies a person their God-given human dignity.  Humiliation can lead to addiction, mental anguish, and self-harming.

Understanding the humility of St. Joseph helps us to not only put a proper perspective on what it means to be humble but also on what it means to respect one’s self, to love others, and to be successful.

The word “humility” derives from the Latin word “humus” meaning “earth.” Humility literally means being grounded.  St. Joseph was grounded.  He understood that he was not God.  He also understood that God had a plan for his family and that he had an important role to play in that plan.  St. Joseph’s humility shows complete love and trust for God the Father and sacrificial love for his wife and child.

We are called to be humble like St. Joseph.  To love God with our whole heart, our whole mind, and our whole strength. (cf. Luke 10:27) We are called to express that love through sacrificial love for others, especially members of our family, but also for the poor and marginalized of our society. Humility calls us to judge situations and circumstances and not people.  Humility calls us to understand that we are not God and that success is not measured in how big our bank account is, how fancy our car is, or if we are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Humility is an inner strength that is forged by prayer and constant practice.  It is confidently living life with sincere trust in God’s providence.  Humility provides the graces necessary to face persecution, ridicule, and suffering from the assurance that God will reward our struggles with everlasting joy.  Humility helps us to see that success is not measured by achievements, but in love of God, neighbor, and self.  To be truly successful in this life means to learn to love as God loves.  How much does God love?  He loves us to the point of humbling himself to take on our human nature with all its frailty and dying on a cross for our salvation.  He died for your personal salvation and mine.  If you were the only person on the earth, Jesus would have died for you because he loves you and wants to spend eternity with you!!!  Let that sink in.  The creator of the universe humbled himself to die for you out of love, so he could spend eternity with you.  Christ’s humility is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of the strength of pure love.

St. Joseph in his humility plays an important role in our salvation.  He responds to God’s call to the earthly father of the Savior of the world.  Through St. Joseph’s silent yes, his humility, and his commitment to his love for Jesus and Mary, we are embraced by the eternal love of God.

“Let us allow ourselves to be ‘filled’ with St Joseph’s silence! In a world that is often too noisy, that encourages neither recollection nor listening to God’s voice, we are in such deep need of it”. Let us pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on us. Let us enter into the love and strength of St. Joseph’s humility so that we can bring Jesus to our world and offer it the love and salvation it truly needs.  With St. Joseph as our role model and protector, let us humbly seek to do God’s will each and every day in faith, with hope, and through love.

St. Joseph, silent and humble servant, pray for us.

Deacon Scott A. Root
St. Katharine Drexel Parish
Mechanicsburg, PA