St Joseph - a model for many

It is said that faith is nourished by prayer; this is the most precious treasure that Saint Joseph transmitted to each of us as we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph, husband of Our Lady on March 19 every year.

As the Bible tells us, Saint Joseph was the descendant of the royal house of David. A village carpenter of Nazareth, he was chosen among all men to be the husband of Virgin Mary and protector of Jesus Christ. To his loving care was entrusted the childhood and youth of the Redeemer of the world: our Jesus Christ. He reveals to us the perfect model of Christianity through his purity of heart, patience and fortitude in difficult moments of his life with Mother Mary and Child Jesus.

What we know about the life of Saint Joseph is contained in the gospels of Saint Matthew and Saint Luke. He has become known as the “Just man” by saving Mary, who was found pregnant after the betrothal with him. As a local custom any women accused of adultery could be stoned to death and he decided to divorce her quietly (Mathew 1:19-25). We also see St. Joseph as a man of faith and obedience to God, as angel came and told him about the Child Mary was carrying; St. Joseph immediately and without doubt took Mary as his wife.

When the angel appeared to him second time to convey that his family is in danger, he left everything he owned and fled to a distant country Egypt with his young wife Mary and baby Jesus. We see in gospel that St. Joseph waited in Egypt till the angel told him to go back (Mathew 2: 2-13). All these incidents quite clearly demonstrate the faith, obedience to god and patience of St. Joseph as a model for us.

As a mere carpenter St. Joseph was poor in worldly possessions; however was obedient to local customs as we see that when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised and Mary to be purified- he offered the sacrifice of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons- as they could not afford a lamb (Luke 2:24).

As a guardian of the Holy Family of Nazareth, St. Joseph has undergone many hardships and challenges in life. Are these qualities are model for us in our life? In today’s world when success is measured by power, prosperity and material possessions; let the model of St. Joseph may be inspiration for many families and workers across the world. As a patron of workers Saint Joseph the Worker is observed on 1st May every year. Joseph is also patron of the universal Church, fathers, carpenters, and social justice.

In the words of Pope John Paul II: “Saint Joseph was a just man, a tireless worker, the upright guardian of those entrusted to his care. May he always guard, protect and enlighten our families.”

Prayer to St. Joseph:
O Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.
O Saint Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.
O Saint Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath, Saint Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us.
Amen.

Lent 2011

“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:7)

As news swirls all around of corruption, scams and scandals of various hues, I notice myself quickly jumping to judge and condemn. It is so easy to look at the speck, while gingerly dodging the beam in our own eye (Mt 7:3). God’s Word tells us, in what can be viewed as both brutally honest to those in denial and yet calmingly reassuring to those bordering on scrupulosity, that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).

Sin (‘hamartia’ in Greek) means to miss the mark. Even the best sharpshooters tend to miss the mark sometimes, we falsely reassure ourselves. But our mandate from our Lord is very clear, “Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). Perfect 10/10. Bulls-eye.

For this, rigorous training is need. And Grace. In some sense, that sums up ‘Lent’.

As Pope Benedict XVI in his message for Lent 2011 writes, “The Lenten period, which leads us to the celebration of Holy Easter, is for the Church a most valuable and important liturgical time. As she awaits the definitive encounter with her Spouse in the eternal Easter, the Church community, assiduous in prayer and charitable works, intensifies her journey in purifying the spirit, so as to draw more abundantly from the Mystery of Redemption the new life in Christ the Lord.

He chooses for his theme “You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him.”(Col 2: 12) though which he urges us to rediscover our Baptism, so as to renew our acceptance of the Grace that God bestowed upon us at that moment, thus illuminating and guiding all of our actions. He continues, “Through the traditional practices of fasting, almsgiving and prayer, which are an expression of our commitment to conversion, Lent teaches us how to live the love of Christ in an ever more radical way”.

“By rendering our table poorer and by bearing some form of deprivation – and not just what is in excess – fasting, far from being depressing, opens us ever more to God and to the needs of others, thus allowing love of God to become also love of our neighbour (Mk 12: 31). The practice of almsgiving is a reminder of God’s primacy and turns our attention towards others, so that we may rediscover how good our Father is, and receive his mercy. By meditating and internalizing the Word in order to live it every day, we learn a precious and irreplaceable form of prayer; by attentively listening to God, who continues to speak to our hearts, we nourish the itinerary of faith initiated on the day of our Baptism”, he writes.

This month as we focus our prayer and efforts not to “miss the mark”, by leaning on Grace and disciplining ourselves, we pray especially for our youth. As Pope Pius XII said, “The sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin”.

We pray and fast, for ourselves and our young people, that we move out of the trap of relativism and focus ourselves on the Way, the Truth and the Life. In the words of our beloved Pope, “May our Lenten journey, in which we are invited to contemplate the Mystery of the Cross, reproduce within us “the pattern of his death” (Ph 3: 10), so as to effect a deep conversion in our lives.”