20150319 THE HOLINESS OF ST JOSEPH IN HIS ORDINARINESS
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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2 Samuel
7:4-5,12-14,16 ©
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The word of the Lord
came to Nathan:
‘Go and
tell my servant David, “Thus the Lord speaks: “When your days are ended and you
are laid to rest with your ancestors, I will preserve the offspring of your
body after you and make his sovereignty secure. (It is he who shall build a
house for my name, and I will make his royal throne secure for ever.) I will be
a father to him and he a son to me; if he does evil, I will punish him with the
rod such as men use, with strokes such as mankind gives. Yet I will not withdraw
my favour from him, as I withdrew it from your predecessor. Your House and your
sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne be established
for ever.”’
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Psalm
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Psalm
88:2-5,27,29 ©
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His dynasty shall
last for ever.
I will sing for ever
of your love, O Lord;
through
all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure,
that your love lasts for ever,
that your
truth is firmly established as the heavens.
His dynasty shall
last for ever.
‘I have made a covenant
with my chosen one;
I have
sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your
dynasty for ever
and set
up your throne through all ages.
His dynasty shall
last for ever.
‘He will say to me:
“You are my father,
my God,
the rock who saves me.”
I will keep my love
for him always;
with him
my covenant shall last.’
His dynasty shall
last for ever.
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Second reading
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Romans
4:13,16-18,22 ©
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The promise of
inheriting the world was not made to Abraham and his descendants on account of
any law but on account of the righteousness which consists in faith. That is
why what fulfils the promise depends on faith, so that it may be a free gift
and be available to all of Abraham’s descendants, not only those who belong to
the Law but also those who belong to the faith of Abraham who is the father of
all of us. As scripture says: I have made you the ancestor of many nations –
Abraham is our father in the eyes of God, in whom he put his faith, and who
brings the dead to life and calls into being what does not exist.
Though it
seemed Abraham’s hope could not be fulfilled, he hoped and he believed, and
through doing so he did become the father of many nations exactly as he
had been promised: Your descendants will be as many as the stars. This
is the faith that was ‘considered as justifying him.’
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps83:5
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Glory and praise to
you, O Christ.
They are happy who
dwell in your house, O Lord,
for ever singing your
praise.
Glory and praise to
you, O Christ.
EITHER:
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Gospel
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Matthew
1:16,18-21,24 ©
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Jacob was the father
of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
This is
how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but
before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the
Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her
publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this
when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of
David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has
conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and
you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from
their sins.’ When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him
to do.
OR:
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Alternative
Gospel
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Luke 2:41-51 ©
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Every year the
parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he
was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on
their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem
without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it
was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their
relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to
Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.
Three
days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening
to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded
at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and
his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have, you done this to us? See how
worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’
‘Why were
you looking for me?’ he replied ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my
Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant.
He
then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority.
THE
HOLINESS OF ST JOSEPH IN HIS ORDINARINESS
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: 2 SM 7:4-5, 12-14, 16; ROM 4:13, 16-18, 22; MT 1:16-21, 24
Today,
we celebrate the feast of St Joseph. What is interesting about St Joseph
is his ordinariness. He is the silent one in the scriptures.
He worked no miracles, left no memorial. He wrote no books. He did
not die a martyr’s death. He was just a mere carpenter in Nazareth.
Yet, the Church gave him such a great honour by celebrating his feast with the
class of solemnity. And gave him the title of Patron of the Universal
Church. What is so great about St Joseph? Simply because he
was a trustworthy servant of God in his plan of salvation.
St
Joseph is great because of his ordinariness. He was simply
extra-ordinary. He was just like any other human being. Perhaps
not; because many of us are not so ordinary. No one would recognize him
as a saint in his lifetime. Even if Joseph were to be with us today, we
would not have recognized his greatness. But precisely, St Joseph is
great in his ordinariness. Who was he?
He was a responsible
person: he was a
good husband to Mary, a good father to Jesus and a good worker, a good husband
by giving his support to Mary. He was a good father in imparting his
skills and care to Jesus, a good worker by being responsible in his work.
Indeed, Joseph must have been a rather quiet father like many fathers
are. But he did his job well. He was a responsible person.
But what was the secret
of his holiness? The scripture tells us that he was docile to the
Holy Spirit. While Joseph was a worker, a real activist, he was basically
a contemplative. Being so silent, he appears to have been to be a
well-recollected person. He was open to the Holy Spirit.
Hence, although he made up his mind to divorce Mary, he was willing to
reconsider when he was prompted by the Holy Spirit.
He was also a man of
faith. He had this confidence in God, knowing that He works in
mysterious ways.
He was also a man who was obedient
to God’s laws. However, his fidelity to God’s laws did not make him
lose compassion for others who did not. We are told in the gospel
that when he found out that Mary had conceived, his first reaction was not that
of revenge but of protecting the dignity of Mary, and so decided to put her
away quietly. What kind of man could act like that unless he has the
compassion of God in him?
Today, as we celebrate the
feast of St Joseph, we must ask ourselves whether we are responsible and
trustworthy in the positions that we hold in life. Whether we are
parents, children or workers, are we responsible in our tasks? Do we try
to be the best father or mother to our children, as children do we try to be
the best son or daughter to our parents? And if we are working, do we
strive to be the best worker in our company, and if we are studying, do we try
to be the best student?
Greatness in life lies
not in doing great things but doing everything well and responsibly. Every small good is a great work
when it is done with our whole heart, mind and soul. But even great works
have no value if we do not give ourselves generously to them. Therefore
even a small act can bring greater glory to God than big acts. It does
not matter whether we are the Prime Minister or a priest or whatever. What
matters is whether we live our vocation to the fullest. Indeed, what I admire
most are those people who humbly do their work and do them well without
receiving any public glory.
In this sense, it is not so
difficult to be a saint after all. To be a saint is to be like St
Joseph who in his humble, ordinary ways lived out his life in love and service,
as instruments of God in the world. He was a trustworthy servant of
God. And so we ask ourselves, can we consider ourselves to be the
trustworthy servants of God?
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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