Today the Church celebrates with great joy the Solemnity of St. Joseph. This celebration is even more special this year since the Holy Father proclaimed this year as the year of St. Joseph with his Apostolic Letter Patris Corde. In that letter, Pope Francis states that “each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation.” In Scripture, there are no recorded words of St. Joseph, only actions such as: the dream he had, the presentation of the temple, the finding in the temple. It is even interesting that Scripture does not mention the death of St. Joseph. Just as pope Francis said, the life of St. Joseph goes unnoticed, and it is hidden. With this in mind, however, we can see a great paradox in the life of St. Joseph in the readings for today’s Mass.
In the first reading and the psalm, we hear about David’s kingdom. A kingdom that is firm and forever for all the descendants of David. Let us not forget that the Gospels of Luke and Matthew tells us that Joseph is a direct descendant of King David, making Joseph a king too. However, the life of Joseph is not of a king. His life goes unnoticed and hidden. He was a carpenter who had no material goods to the point that his son was to be born at stable. Yet, he was full of spiritual goods. He was a righteous man whose foundation was His faith in God. As the second reading reminds us “It was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that comes from faith.” The great paradox that we find in the life of St. Joseph is that even though he comes from the royal line of David, his life was everything but that of a king. His life was unnoticed and hidden.
The greatness of a king is found in his materials goods and his power. But the greatness of St. Joseph – a king too—was found in doing the will of God, in his justice, in his chastity, is his prudence, in his courage, in his obedience, in his faithfulness, in his patience, in his poverty, in his affliction. That was the greatness of St. Joseph that was unnoticed and a hidden. But because of this, we now celebrate Him throughout the entire Church. The kingdom of Joseph is everlasting because we continue to see it at work even today. But more to it, St. Joseph knew that his life was to be of service to the True King, that King who became like us in order to save us and his give salvation to all who accept it. My friends, the thing we must learn today from this great solemnity is that our hearts must be shaped after the heart of St. Joseph. Why? Because the heart of St. Joseph leads to the things that he loved the most: Jesus and Mary. Today more than ever, our society needs man and women who are willing to live an unnoticed and hidden life. As the Holy Father said, “Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation.” So let us also play an incomparable role in history salvation with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
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