20160319 ST JOSEPH PATRON OF HOLY WORKS OF MERCY AND SPOUSE OF THE
BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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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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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
88:2-5,27,29
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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.
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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.
ST
JOSEPH PATRON OF HOLY WORKS OF MERCY AND SPOUSE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ 2SAM 7:4-5, 12-14, 16; PS 88:2-5, 27,29; ROM 4:13, 16-18, 22; MATT
1:16, 18-21, 24 ]
Today,
we celebrate the solemnity of St Joseph, the spouse of our Blessed Mother Mary
and the foster father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It must not have been easy for
Joseph to assume this role. St Joseph was a common man who desired
what everyone hopes for in life. He was an ordinary carpenter and
he hoped to settle down and raise a family. Everything seemed to be going
well with St Joseph as Mary was betrothed to him in marriage. He must have
thought that his life and future were all cut out for him. Mary
certainly must have been known to him and his relatives as a decent God-fearing
girl. He would have looked forward to the day of his marriage. Yet, the truth
is that man proposes, God disposes. Our plans are not always His plans.
God had chosen Mary to be the mother of the Saviour and she would
conceive Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. This was told to Mary by the
angel Gabriel.
If
we were Joseph and were told that our future wife is pregnant in the power of
the Holy Spirit, how would we react and what would we do? Would we believe her?
Would we think that she was either lying, gone berserk or even been unfaithful
to us? We would be totally lost and devastated at such news.
So we can imagine what St Joseph must have gone through when Mary broke the
news to him. It was too good to be true on one hand and too sad to be
true on the other; but on both counts it went against logic. No one would
believe them, even if St Joseph were to give Mary the benefit of the
doubt. We can be sure that St Joseph went through days of torment
and sleepless nights. Utmost in the mind of St Joseph was how to explain
this situation and secondarily how to protect Mary.
This
predicament that St Joseph had to go through was not made easier because he was
known to be a just man. This
is to say, he was God-fearing and law abiding. He would not do anything
against the Law of Moses. He was obedient to the
commandments. He was a man of justice and of integrity. He was
known to be a diligent, hardworking and responsible worker. So how could
he be just and yet merciful to Mary? This is the crux of today’s
celebration when we contemplate on St Joseph as the patron of works of mercy
and as spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
How
can one be just and yet merciful? Very often, justice and mercy seem to be in
conflict. Being merciful implies that we bend the laws whereas justice is
based on rights and fairness, reward and punishment. So there is
always this tension within us of wanting to be just to all and yet at times
compassion implies that we let an offender go free without being punished for
the sufferings and wrongs he has caused to others. Truly, very often we are
caught in such dilemma, more so when that person who commits an offence or sin
is someone we know personally and love dearly. On one hand, we are able
to feel with that person and empathize with him or her. On the other
hand, justice must be done, especially in a case of a criminal
offence. Either way, we are paralyzed in our decision. Either
way, our heart will be broken.
How
did St Joseph resolve this conundrum? The apparent conflict between justice and
mercy can only be resolved by faith in God’s mercy and grace. It is faith in the mercy and
grace of God that saves us. God saves us not because of our good
works but because of His mercy. Indeed, this is what the Church wants the
world to know, that God is merciful and compassionate. The jubilee year
of mercy is to underscore the mercy of God and His forgiving love. Whilst
we must seek to be just, yet mercy is greater than justice, forgiveness better
than revenge. St Joseph in this sense was made to realize that we are
justified by faith, not good works. It is not good works or the
law that saves us but the mercy of God. Recognizing that God’s justice is
His mercy, he was careful not to allow his fidelity to the laws to make him
harsh. Even though He initially thought that Mary could have been
unfaithful, Joseph wanted to do what was just and yet merciful. He did
not take revenge, nor was he presumptuous in condemning Mary of a sin she did
not commit and of which her pregnancy could not be explained.
This
requires us to have faith in the transforming power of God’s grace. Just as Mary accepted in
faith the angel’s message, Joseph was asked to trust in God’s plan.
Although it was difficult to accept or to believe, he submitted to God’s plan
in faith. St Joseph was a man of deep faith. He knew that God was
faithful. Joseph knew from scripture that God is always with the
just man. He just knew that somehow God would come to his aid and see him
through all his trials. He also knew that God’s grace can transform
sinners as well. Hence, we must not give up on sinners. There are
no incorrigible sinners or hopeless people. So when we have faith
in His grace, we know He works both in just and unjust people.
This
faith comes about through understanding in deep prayer and intimacy with God. We know from scriptures that
Joseph was a quiet man, but a man of deep faith and contemplation. He was
always attentive to the voice of God. So God spoke to him in a dream and
revealed to him His plan for our salvation. Although his mind was made
up, he was not wilful or too proud to listen. So it was his contemplative
spirit that enabled him to hear the Word of God so clearly that the gospel
says, “When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to
do.
The
ability to accept the will of God is aided by a better understanding of the
fulfillment of God’s plan.
When St Joseph was informed by the angel in a dream of how the plan of God was
being fulfilled, he understood and gave his full cooperation to the plan of
God. Understanding the beauty of God’s plan and His divine
providence enabled him to surrender even when things were not clear to
him. God has a plan for sinners too. He makes all things good if
they cooperate with His grace. In other words, we are called to walk by faith,
not by sight. This does not mean that we be rash in believing what people
say. Walking by faith means to walk in trust, but it also requires us to
be responsible in clarifying and verifying whether the voice we hear is truly
the Word of God and His will. This was what Mary did when asked to be the
mother of the Lord. Unlike Zechariah, she was not lacking faith but she
needed the angel to help her confirm the message she had heard. So too,
if we were to take the leap of faith, it would come through prayer and study in
the process of discernment.
Today
as we celebrate the Solemnity of St Joseph we are asked to imitate His example
of justice in mercy. Being
just itself is an act of mercy. As Christians we need to observe the very
basic foundation of mercy which is justice. We need to be fair to our workers
and those under us. We must ensure that they are reasonably paid and we
must be compassionate to them in times of sickness and family problems. Justice
and impartiality in our actions and treatment of our workers or family members
is the most basic justice. We must be careful not to pass judgement on
people based on hearsay without verification or investigation. This is
where we as Church must avoid gossiping, slandering, and false accusations.
But
we must also go beyond justice to compassion and forgiveness. In the Church we are all
sinners. We must be ready to forgive and let go. At times we do not
understand, but like St Joseph, we must hand over judgment to God and not take
it upon ourselves. St Joseph could not explain the situation, but not for
once did he judge Mary or make any accusation against her. He just noted
the fact that she was indeed pregnant, but as to who caused the pregnancy, he
made no judgment. All he wanted to do was to see how to resolve this
matter without scandal and without causing hurt to anyone. That is why
when we speak of compassion, this does not mean that we are exempted from doing
the right thing. We do what is permitted within the laws and yet, at the
same time, we must be careful not to judge the intentions of the heart.
We must leave judgment and vengeance to the Lord. With Jesus, we
say, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they were doing.”
This
presupposes we have contemplated on God’s mercy. Unless we are first and foremost
recipients of God’s mercy, we cannot show mercy to others. His mercy is
only given to those in need of His mercy. Proud and self-righteous people
do not need mercy because they trust only in themselves and their good works.
To be like St Joseph who is just and merciful, we must be aware of our sins and
failures. If there is a lack of contrition and self-awareness on
our part, we will not be able to receive or be moved by His mercy.
Reflection on one’s misery and wretchedness should make us realize that we are
not in a position to judge others because there is a plank in our eyes.
We should instead see our sins in our fellowmen so that their sins would evoke
our gratitude for God’s mercy and sorrow for them instead of anger and condemnation.
But
being sorry for our sins is not yet redemption as we will fall into despair
like St Peter or, worse still, into scrupulosity. Such fear of God will not make
us holy but only robs the joy of the gospel from our lives. If there is
no joy in us we have nothing to share with others. A further
consideration of God’s patience and mercy for us is critical to transform us to
be like St Joseph – just and yet not judgmental; kind and merciful towards
others. Only faith in His unconditional love and mercy can heal our
wounds and assuage our fears. Without experiencing mercy from God either
for our sins or remembering those times when He came to our aid in hopeless and
difficult situations, we will never be able to appreciate the power and mercy of
God; and as a result lack power to proclaim and share His mercy with others.
Beyond
forgiveness and compassion for the sins and weaknesses of our brothers and
sisters, we must also reach out to those in need, in distress and in pain. This is what we are invited to
do today if we love St Joseph who is the protector of our Blessed Mother,
defender of widows and orphans and the dying. Like St Joseph, we must be
ready to assist and to help the universal Church. We are called to help
the People of God and the world. We must come to the aid of widows,
orphans and those in trouble. St Joseph could be all these to us only
because he had gone through all these pains in his life and identified with
those who were and had been in such situations. We too can be like St
Joseph, a man of mercy and compassion, provided we are also able to identify
with the sufferings and pains of our fellowmen and most of all, with the heart
of God.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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