A member of  the Parish Council sat down recently with Father Chumo for a conversation about St. Joseph…

St. Joseph is a man who comes from the line of David.  He’s the husband of Mary and the father of Jesus. He’s never quoted in Scripture.  St. Joseph mentioned the name of Jesus when he was circumcised. He’s silent but contemplative. 

The year is in commemoration of 150 years of St. Joseph since he was declared the patron of the universal church.  He played his role faithfully in God’s plan of salvation in the history of mankind.  We focus on a man who played a critical role to protect Jesus the child and the man.  He is known as a carpenter and a worker.  His main vocation was to be the guardian of the Holy Family, the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus.

He is a model of humility, faith, faithfulness and service.   He was a contemplative and he collaborated in the work of redemption.  St. Joseph is the patron of the unborn, immigrants, workers, employment, carpenters, the Universal Church, the dying.  We pray to him for a happy death.  He is the protector of childhood, spouses,  virgins, family, fathers, and fugitives.  There are also many institutions, countries and organizations who have St. Joseph as a patron. 

The vocation of St. Joseph:  We can learn that Christ is present in each family and we need to recognize the presence of Jesus in each Christian family.  We can learn about parenting, marriages as institutions, handling surprises, perseverance and faithfulness, listening to God when in doubt and in confusion.  We can learn that God is faithful and cannot abandon those who do his will.  God gives grace to fulfill what we are called to do and he gives everything necessary to fulfill it.  From Joseph we can learn not to be afraid when God calls:  “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.“  (Matthew 1:20).  In our parish community, there are so many silent giants of faith.  We shouldn’t shy away from listening to them.  We should consult with silent people and affirm them.  They do many things that are hidden—arrange the sacristy, do the linens, work in the garden.  We need to recognize them, they do a lot behind the scenes. Thank God for the gifts they bring.  We need to pray for them.   We can also learn to embrace and support immigrants—Joseph was from Egypt.  We can learn that faith is constant and it grows in adversity. 

We can come up with permanent themes based on his life that we can reflect upon.  We can prepare engaged couples, help young parents, help people that may have to move due to family needs, we can help people who are in dilemmas because of family.  We can help people in hospice care, form a ministry related to hospice—saying the rosary for them, for example.  We can encourage men to pull together to be custodians of faith and help the family.  We can be drawn to the child Jesus as Joseph was, and sensitive to those who didn’t have good parenting or missed having a good father.  Silent prayers in life are important and contemplation is good.  We can pray for all fathers, fathers of children and also those who have some sort of paternity—the Pope, bishops, priests and deacons.  We can also pray for those who take care of workers and their dignity to inspire all workers to use their God-given talents to the fullest. Joseph was a real worker—humble duties were important. He was a model of hard work and respect. We can emulate his simplicity and faithfulness.

Devotions in the Catholic church, like the one ongoing for St. Joseph, are a powerful and practical way of expressing faith.  Their goal is to bring us closer to Jesus and serve our brothers and sisters in what we undertake. St. Joseph’s life is an inexhaustible treasure of faith in our life.  We cannot in one year exhaust everything  about St. Joseph.  He continues to inspire us our lives with our journey of faith.  The year should make a permanent mark in how we approach ministry and service in our parish.  

We can produce the fruits of the Spirit if we remain with Christ. This is the main theme of the Gospel. Jesus was not the first to use the image of the vine. The prophets used it in the Old testament to describe the infidelity of the people of Israel.  Israel had behaved like wild grapes, so God, the vine dresser was forced to destroy it and plant a new vine. Jesus was the new vine capable of bringing forth the fruit Israel had not achieved: justice, honesty and love. When was it planted,  on Easter Day, when the Father raised His Son from the dead. The vine is made up of a trunk and branches which should bear the fruit. Jesus is the trunk and the disciples are the branches. He continues to produce fruit that the Father likes through us, only if we remain attached to Christ; otherwise we are like dried up branches that die. May we have the grace and joy in abiding in the Lord.

The theme for this Sunday comes from the second reading. God is love and whoever loves is His child. The gospel continues this theme by reminding us of the ONE commandment given by the Master: a love that makes us sisters and brothers of each other and of His. Jesus does not present His love as a model to be imitated, but a life that must continue in his disciples. Jesus gave his love as an example for us and we must try to be like him. Our Baptism has united us to his person and we have become members of His body. He continues to live and act in us: he loves, he heals, he comforts, helps the poor etc. When they see the lives we live they should recognize the risen savior among them. The practice of this commandment does not only make us like Jesus, but invites us to the Father. The first reading is related to this: God has no favorites. He blesses all who practice Justice.