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St. Joseph: a courageous and creative heart

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Omnes

Ramiro Pellitero

Professor of the School of Theology at the University of Navarre

Three major themes appear in the Pope's teachings these weeks: he continues his catechesis on prayer, an ecumenical Vademecum for the local Churches has been published under his blessing, and he has written an apostolic letter on St. Joseph.

We have dealt with prayer in the previous issue of the magazine, and we hope to do it again soon. On ecumenism, Pablo Blanco publishes in this same issue a article on the ecumenism of Francis, and you can also see those already published on this topic in the web of Palabra.

Here we focus on the letter Patris corde, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the declaration of St. Joseph as patron of the universal Church.

Beginning the "Year of St. Joseph".

With the letter Patris corde ( December 8, 2020), the Pope convokes a "Year of St. Joseph" until December 8, 2021. He says that his goal is "that love for this great saint may grow, so that we may be led to implore his intercession and imitate his virtues".

Secondly, the figure of St. Joseph takes center stage in the face of the pandemic, as Francis places him not only as "intercessor, support and guide" in these moments of difficulty, but also as a special representative and patron of those "ordinary people" who have behaved heroically, although without drawing attention to themselves; they have worked, have instilled hope and have prayed, supporting us all. In many cases, they even gave their lives for others.

"Jesus saw the tenderness of God in Joseph" (n. 2), who also taught him to pray. For us too "it is important to encounter God's mercy, especially in the sacrament of Reconciliation, having an experience of truth and tenderness" (Ibid.). There God welcomes us and embraces us, sustains us and forgives us.

In a similar way to Mary, Joseph said "let it be done" to the will of God, even if it only manifested itself to him in dreams. And so he was able to "teach" obedience to Jesus: "In the hidden life of Nazareth, under the guide of Joseph, Jesus learned to do the will of the Father" (n. 3), which involved the Passion and the Cross (cf. Jn 4:34; Phil 2:8; Heb 5:8). The Pope even says: "I would like to imagine that Jesus took from Joseph's attitudes the example for the parable of the prodigal son and the merciful father (cf. Lk 15:11-32)".

Joseph "accepted" in an eminent way the role of spouse of Mary and father of Jesus, which God asked of him. And this shaped his interior life: "Joseph's spiritual life is not sample a way that explains, but a way that welcomes" (n. 4).

Although God's plans exceeded his expectations, he acted with fortitude, taking on with "creative courage" even those that appeared contradictory, unexpected or even disappointing. God often made use of such occasions

to bring out "resources in each of us that we never thought we had" (n. 5).

Custodian of Jesus and Mary, of the Church and of those in need

Concretely, Joseph "knew how to transform a problem into an opportunity, always putting his trust in Providence first. Thus he was able to guard and serve Jesus and Mary (cf. Homily at the beginning of his Petrine ministry, March 19, 2013). And he is now the custodian of the Church, bearing in mind that in the motherhood of the Church the motherhood of Mary is manifested.

Consistently, as Jesus himself expressed (cf. 25:40), Joseph continues to care for the most needy, because in them he continues to see that "Child" who is Jesus and Mary, who (because she is the mother of mercy and spouse of Christ) also identifies with them. "This is why St. Joseph is invoked as protector of the destitute, the needy, the exiled, the afflicted, the poor, the dying"(Patris corde, n. 5).

"From Joseph," the Pope proposes, "we must learn the same care and responsibility: to love the Child and his mother; to love the sacraments and charity; to love the Church and the poor. In each of these realities there is always the Child and his mother" (Ibid.).

model and employer of workers

Since Leo XIII (cf. Encyclical Rerum novarum, 1891), the Church has proposed St. Joseph as model of the worker and patron of workers. In contemplating the figure of St. Joseph, Francis points out in his letter, we can better understand the meaning of work , which gives dignity, and the important place of work in the plan of salvation. On the other hand, today we should all reflect on paternity. 

"The work - writes the Pope - becomes an occasion of fulfillment not only for oneself, but above all for that original nucleus of society which is the family"(Patris corde, n. 6).

And in relation to the current status , he points out: "The crisis of our time, which is an economic, social, cultural and spiritual crisis, can represent for everyone a call to rediscover the meaning, importance and necessity of work in order to give rise to a new 'normality' in which no one is excluded. The work of St. Joseph reminds us that God made man himself did not disdain work. The loss of work which affects so many brothers and sisters, and which has increased in recent times due to the Covid-19 pandemic, should be a call to review our priorities"(Ibid.). 

What does it mean to be a parent?

In the last part of his letter, the Pope stops to consider that Joseph knew how to be a father "in the shadow" (quotation the book of Polish Jan Dobraczyński, La sombra del Padre, 1977, published in Spanish by publishing house Palabra, Madrid 2015).

Today, Francis believes, we need fathers everywhere. In our society, children often seem to have no father. And the Church also needs fathers, both in the literal sense, good fathers of the family, and in a broader sense, spiritual fathers of others (cf. 1 Cor 4:15; Gal 4:19).

But what does it mean to be a father? The Pope explains in a suggestive way: "To be a father means to introduce the child into the experience of life, into reality. Not to hold him, not to imprison him, not to possess him, but to make him capable of choosing, of being free, of going out" (n. 7). And he thinks that the word "most chaste", which he places next to Joseph in the Christian tradition, expresses that "logic of freedom" that every father must have in order to love in a truly free way.

From "self-sacrifice" to gift of self

Francis observes, introducing a decisive reflection, that St. Joseph would not consider all this as a "self-sacrifice", which could give rise to a certain frustration; but, with greater maturity, as a gift of self, as the fruit of trust in God. That is why St. Joseph's silence does not give rise to complaints but to gestures of trust.

So it is. The current language, typical of a culture in which the Christian perspective fails, no longer sees in sacrifice the gift of self, but only a costly path, and does not discover its connection with life and joy. At the same time it needs parents who give themselves generously to the Education of their children.

"The world - he points out - needs fathers, it rejects masters, that is: it rejects those who want to use the possession of the other to fill their own emptiness; it rejects those who confuse authority with authoritarianism, service with servility, confrontation with oppression, charity with assistance, force with destruction" (Ibid.).

Francis invites us to overcome this (merely human) logic of sacrifice and rediscover the gift of self, with all its beauty and joy, as the path to happiness and fulfillment staff. We must change our logic, for "the logic of love is always a logic of freedom" (Ibid.).

At the present moment educational , this proposal of the Pope, as the fruit of the contemplation of St. Joseph, is a powerful light source: to reject the logic of possession and exchange it for the logic of love, which consists in giving oneself. In the case of parents, at the service of the care, the Education and the true freedom of the children entrusted to them by God.