Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is a special feast for the universal Church as Pope Pius IX had proclaimed St. Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church in 1870. Devotion to St. Joseph has only continued to grow since then. In fact, one of the first papal acts of Pope Francis was to include the name of St. Joseph in every Eucharistic Prayer, instead of his name only being mentioned in the first one, the Roman Canon. The importance of St. Joseph in salvation history and in the life of the Church cannot be overstated. The Church looks to St. Joseph, not only for his continual intercession for the people of God and for his paternal protection and guidance, but also as a model of Christian fatherhood, discipleship, and virtue.
In 2020, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the declaration of St. Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter entitled Patris Corde, “A Father’s Heart.” In this letter, the Holy Father recounts many ways that St. Joseph acts as a father, not only toward his adopted son Jesus, but also toward the Church. As we know Mary is the mother of Our Lord and is also the Mother of the Church. She is our Mother in the order of grace. St. Joseph is not only the foster father of Jesus, but he is also our father by extension. The love of St. Joseph for Mary and Jesus overflows to all of us as God’s beloved children in Christ. In his Apostolic Letter, Pope Francis describes St. Joseph as beloved, tender, loving, obedient, accepting, creatively courageous, and a working father. I would like to focus specifically on St. Joseph as an obedient father, since obedience is perhaps one of his most striking characteristics based on the scraps of information we glean from the Gospels.
The Holy Father says in his letter: “In every situation, Joseph declared his own ‘fiat,’ like those of Mary at the Annunciation and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.” What is particularly interesting about this is that no words of Joseph are recorded in the Scriptures. We know that Mary says audibly, “Be it done unto me according to your word” and Jesus says, “Not my will but yours be done,” yet Joseph does not utter a verbal “fiat.” So, how can it be that Joseph declares his own fiat when he says nothing at all? The answer is, as the saying goes, “Actions speak louder than words.” St. Joseph is a man of action. His fiat is expressed more through his actions than through his words. He is a righteous man who is attentive to the Word of God as it comes to him through the message of an angel. When the Lord tells him to do something, he does not stall, delay, procrastinate, complain, murmur, ask questions, raise objections, or doubt what he is told. He obeys immediately in perfect trust and obedience to the Word of God.
“In every situation, Joseph declared his own ‘fiat,’ like those of Mary at the Annunciation and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.” -Pope Francis
Meditation upon Joseph’s openness, his obedience to God, and his diligent care for his family can be fruitful for all of us. We know very little about Joseph’s background, his own family of origin, or his previous experiences, which presents an opportunity to reflect upon our own aspirations in light of St. Joseph’s actions. Perhaps Joseph had plans to be a simple family man with many children of his own. Perhaps he dreamed of beginning his own carpentry business in which he could train his children to continue with the trade. The thought of becoming a refugee in Egypt for an extended period would probably have never crossed his mind. It is likely that he would have expected to spend his entire life in or near his hometown. Yet, despite any of these potential aspirations, his heart is primarily focused on the Lord and on doing His holy will. He willingly lays aside his plans so that he might readily respond to the Word of the Lord. His trust in the Lord is so strong that he willingly responds to the Lord without question.
Joseph may have been silent in the Scriptures, yet his example of obedience speaks volumes. When he is told to take Mary as his wife despite discovering that she is with child and deciding to divorce her quietly, he obeys immediately. When he is told to take Mary and Jesus into Egypt to escape king Herod, he does so without question or complaint, knowing that this would involve difficulty and hardship. In fact, Pope Francis points out that any difficulties that Joseph faced were surmounted by his obedience to God. Joseph’s strength is not merely physical in nature, but spiritual. It is his faith in the Lord God that proved to be his true strength.
During this season of Lent, we look to the intercession and the example of St. Joseph as we repent of our own sinfulness and our selfishness and turn to the Lord asking for His mercy. We look to Joseph’s example of obedience and ask him to teach us to imitate his solid faith. He shows us that obedience means placing our complete trust in the Lord and in his Word and acting upon His Word in faith, hope, and love. St. Joseph shows us how to exercise our faith through a genuine love for God, for our families, our neighbors, our loved ones, and even our enemies.
– Fr. Matthew Mary, MFVA