SOLEMNITY OF SAINT JOSEPH, SPOUSE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Readings of the day: RB 19 The Proper Amount of Drink to be Provided
Mass: 2 S 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Resp Ps 89; Rm 4:13, 16-18, 22; Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a or Lk 2:41-51a
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took his wife into his home.
While reflecting on today’s feast, I was struck by the words of St Bernardine of Siena from the Office of Readings:
There is a general rule concerning all special graces granted to any human being. Whenever the divine favor chooses someone to receive a special grace, or to accept a lofty vocation, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfill the task at hand.
Inspired, I turned to the Catechism where I read this about the gifts of the Holy Spirit: First, ‘They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them.’ Second, ‘They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations’ (1831). I’ve been thinking about the virtues of Joseph. These come to mind: gentleness, patience, humility, strength of character, discretion, and prudence. What are others? What gifts of the Holy Spirit did Joseph need to fulfill his task at hand? It seems to me dear Joseph needed all seven—wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
Let us ask St Joseph to intercede for us so that we accept our given vocations and be docile to the Holy Spirit. May we be adorned with all the gifts we need to fulfill the task at hand.
Dear fathers, happy Feast of St Joseph!
Follow his example when caring for your children as they grow up in wisdom and grace.
(Pope Francis, Twitter, March 19, 2018)
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