Dear friends in Christ
The final week of Advent begins our contemplation of the divine birth of our Saviour. Central to this mystery is the Divine Motherhood of Mary. We must not forget though, that God chose a foster-father for Our Lord--St Joseph--who would be his guardian too. Perhaps the role of Mary is all too obvious and prominent, to the extent that St Joseph doesn’t get much of the limelight. This month Pope Francis has addressed this by reminding us that it is one hundred and fifty years since St Joseph was declared the Universal Patron of the Church, by Blessed Pope Pius IX. To celebrate the anniversary, Pope Francis has proclaimed a special Year of St Joseph, beginning on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 2020 and extending to the same feast in 2021. In a new Apostolic Letter entitled Patris Corde (With a Father’s Heart), Pope Francis describes St Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows.
The Holy Father wrote Patris Corde against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which, he says, has helped us see more clearly the importance of “ordinary” people who, though far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day. In this, they resemble St Joseph, the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence, who nonetheless played an incomparable role in the history of salvation.
At the end of his letter, Pope Francis relates how for over forty years, at the end of morning prayer he has added this prayer to St Joseph. This prayer, he says, expresses devotion and trust, and even poses a certain challenge to St Joseph, on account of its closing words: My beloved father, all my trust is in you. Let it not be said that I invoked you in vain, and since you can do everything with Jesus and Mary, show me that your goodness is as great as your power.
We could get used to saying a prayer to St Joseph too, each day, in this coming year. This will be a powerful way of placing ourselves under his guardianship as Jesus did, and recall to our minds that he is still protecting Holy Church. May St Joseph inspire us in these days, to have a tender love for the Child Jesus, so that we may celebrate His Birth with thanksgiving.
I wish you and your families every joy and blessing this Christmastide. I shall keep very specially in my Christmas Masses the intentions of those who have suffered in this last year: those who lost loved-ones, or their employment or suffered ill-health and all who have felt bereft. May the coming of Christ give us all a renewed joy and lightness of heart.
Msgr Kevin Hale