2Sam 7,4-5.12-14.16; Sal 88; Rm 4,13.16-18.22; Mt 1,16.18-21.24
Nel celebrare la solennità di san Giuseppe, quest’anno, vorrei evidenziare tre verbi: accogliere, custodire e cooperare. Sono tre verbi che ben descrivono la relazione intercorsa tra san Giuseppe, la vergine Maria e Gesù, il Figlio di Dio che qui si è fatto carne. Sono tre verbi che ci suggeriscono come essere anche noi autenticamente “giusti” come Giuseppe. Sono tre verbi che ci ricordano anche il servizio di san Giuseppe alla Chiesa universale e al mistero della salvezza.
O Giuseppe di Nazareth intercedi per noi e rendici capaci di accogliere nella nostra vita e nella nostra casa Maria e Gesù e aiutaci ad accoglierci gli uni gli altri con cuore aperto e con amore.
Aiutaci a custodire la nostra fede ma anche la nostra famiglia e la fede dei nostri famigliari, perché le nostre famiglie possano diventare piccole chiese. Aiutaci a custodire i più deboli e i più fragili e quelli che possono essere facilmente scartati dai nostri pregiudizi.
Aiutaci a cooperare all’opera di salvezza proprio come hai fatto tu, senza sprecare parole ma cercando sempre di compiere la volontà di Dio e soprattutto accogliendo, custodendo e donando Gesù come salvatore dell’umanità intera.
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2Sam 7,4-5.12-14.16; Sal 88; Rm 4,13.16-18.22; Mt 1,16.18-21.24
Dear brothers and sisters,
May the Lord give you peace!
In celebrating the Solemnity of St Joseph this year, I would like to highlight three verbs: welcome, watch over and cooperate. These are three verbs that well describe the relationship between St. Joseph, the Virgin Mary and Jesus, the Son of God who became flesh here. These are three verbs that suggest to us how to be authentically "righteous" like Joseph. These are three verbs that also remind us of St Joseph's service to the universal Church and to the mystery of salvation.
2. The first verb, as I said, is to welcome. We have listened to the Gospel of Matthew that recounts the birth of Jesus. Having listened attentively we would note that Joseph is characterized by what he does, not by what he says, in fact the evangelist does not report even a word from Joseph, but only his interior reflections and his actions. At the end of the dream, Joseph does what the angel told him, takes it with him, that is, he welcomes Mary and the baby Jesus that she carries in her womb in a stable way. From here on, in the accounts of the infancy Gospels, we will see that Mary and Jesus are always together with Joseph.
3. The second verb that characterizes Joseph's action is to watch over and to take care of. From the moment Joseph welcomes Mary and the baby Jesus, he becomes their caring guardian. The Latin hymn of the Vespers summarizes this capacity to guard with moving words: "Tu natum Dóminum stringis, ad éxteras / Ægypti prófugum tu séqueris plagas; / amíssum Sólymis quæris et ínvenis, / miscens gáudia flétibus", which means: "You hold the newborn Lord to you, accompany Him as a refugee to the Land of Egypt; having lost Him in Jerusalem, you seek Him and find Him with tears of joy." Joseph watches over and takes care of Mary and together with her of the child Jesus, with the love, care and also concern of a good parent. Watch over and take care of is a beautiful verb because it indicates that we put the most fragile person at the centre of our attention. At the centre of Joseph's action is not his own work, there is no self-fulfillment, there is no personal success. At the heart of Joseph's actions is to guard and take care of Mary and the Child Jesus.
4. The third verb is to cooperate. Joseph is called to cooperate in the divine plan of salvation. As a descendant of David, he cooperated with the Most High himself in inserting Jesus into the royal Davidic lineage. As Mary's husband, he cooperates with her in giving a family and a name to the Saviour of humanity. As Jesus' legal father, he also cooperates with Mary in giving Him a human and religious education, in teaching Him a job and a way of life. Many attitudes that describe the action of Jesus in the Gospels come to Him from Mary, but many others certainly come from Joseph, one above all is the ability to relate to women without prejudice.
5. Welcoming, taking care and cooperating are three verbs that must also characterize our Christian life. Try to think about what it means to learn to welcome one another into our families and communities. Try to think about what it means to learn to protect each other by putting personal interests, career, and success in the background. Try to think what it means to learn to cooperate with God and with one another to make the world in which we live better, to grow our family and our Christian community, to spread the word of the Gospel.
6. Allow me to conclude with a prayer to Saint Joseph:
O Joseph of Nazareth, intercede for us and enable us to welcome Mary and Jesus into our lives and homes, and help us to welcome one another with an open heart and with love.
Help us to guard our faith but also our family and the faith of our families, so that our families may become small churches. Help us to guard the weakest and most fragile and those who can be easily discarded by our prejudices.
Help us to cooperate in the work of salvation just as you did, without wasting words but always seeking to fulfill God's will and above all welcoming, guarding and giving Jesus as the Saviour of all humanity. Amen