By Leon Bent –
Pope Francis proclaimed the “Year of St. Joseph,” from December 8th, 2020, to December 8th, 2021. This special year will mark the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church, by Pope Pius IX on December 8th, 1870. The special Year was announced “to perpetuate the entrustment of the whole Church to the powerful patronage of the Custos (Guardian) of Jesus.
To commemorate the occasion Pope Francis has written an Apostolic Letter entitled “Patris corde” – “With a Father’s Heart,” simply because Joseph loved Jesus!
1.A Beloved Father: According to the Pontiff, “the greatness of Saint Joseph is that, he was the spouse of Mary and the father of Jesus,” who placed himself at the service of the entire plan of salvation. Pope Francis quotes the memorable words of Pope St. Paul VI, who declared, “By making his life a sacrificial service to the mystery of the Incarnation and its redemptive purpose….He turned his human vocation to domestic love, into a superhuman oblation of himself, his heart and all his abilities – a love placed at the service of the Messiah who was growing to maturity in his home.”
2.A Tender and Loving Father: Pope Francis narrates: “Even through Joseph’s fears, God’s Will, his history and his plan were at work, Joseph teaches us that faith in God includes believing that, he can work even through our fears, our frailties and our weaknesses. He also teaches us that amid the tempests of life, we must never be afraid to let our Lord steer our course.
3.An Obedient Father: “When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded,” (Mt.1:24). “In every situation,” Joseph declared his own ‘fiat,’ like those of Mary at the Annunciation and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.” The Pope quotes St. Pope John Paul II: “St. Joseph was called by God to serve the person and mission of Jesus directly through the exercise of his fatherhood, and, in this way, he cooperated in the fullness of time in the great mystery of salvation, and is truly a minister of salvation” (Redemptoris Custos, 8).
4.An Accepting Father: Joseph always accepted God’s Plan for him. Pope Francis indicates, “Today, in our world where psychological, verbal and physical violence toward women is so evident, Joseph appears as the figure of a respectful and sensitive man. Even though he did not understand the bigger picture, he makes a decision to protect Mary’s good name, her dignity and life. In his hesitation about how best to act, God helped him by enlightening his judgment.”
Faith does not mean “finding facile and comforting solutions.” This is what we learn from Joseph who “did not look for shortcuts, but, confronted reality with open eyes and accepted responsibility for it.”
- A Creatively Courageous Father”: Joseph was the man chosen by God to guide the beginnings of the history of redemption….God acted in trusting in Joseph’s creative courage.” Several times the Gospels tell us that, Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and did what God commanded him (Mt.1:24; 2:14-21). Joseph “was able to turn a problem into a possibility by always trusting in divine providence.”
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A Working Father: An aspect of Saint Joseph that has been emphasized from the time of the first social Encyclical, Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, is his relation to work. Saint Joseph was a carpenter who earned an honest living to provide for his family. From him, Jesus learned the value, the dignity and the joy of what it means to eat bread that is the fruit of one’s own labour.
Work is a means of participating in the work of salvation, an opportunity to hasten the coming of the Kingdom, to develop our talents and abilities, and to put them at the service of society and fraternal communion. -
A Father in the Shadows: The Polish writer Jan Dobraczyński, in his book The Shadow of the Father, tells the story of Saint Joseph’s life in the form of a novel. He uses the evocative image of a “shadow” to define Joseph. In his relationship to Jesus, Joseph was the earthly shadow of the heavenly Father: he watched over him and protected him, never leaving him to go his own way. We can think of Moses’ words to Israel: “In the wilderness… you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as one carries a child, all the way that you travelled” (Deut. 1:31). In a similar way, Joseph acted as a father throughout his life.
In every exercise of our fatherhood, we should always keep in mind that it has nothing to do with possession, but is rather a “sign” pointing to a greater fatherhood. In a way, we are all like Joseph: a shadow of the heavenly Father, who “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt. 5:45). And a shadow that follows his Son!
The aim of this Apostolic Letter and the “Year of St. Joseph are meant to increase our love for this great saint, to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtues and his zeal.
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and has 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi.