The whole year of celebration dedicated to St Joseph has brought me back to the early years of my childhood. The father figure has a twofold significance: one, every child has a father from whom he would learn the formative foundation for his/her whole life; and the other, the father’s presence or absence will shape the child in one way or another.
The call from Pope Francis asking the Church to go back to the example of St. Joseph made me revisit the first years of my life. I grew up without my father who died when I was only three years old. Having grown up without his physical presence somehow drew me to find his company in the Father and in many other good men. For sure, St Joseph was one of these people. As the Pope states: “Fathers are not born, but made. A man does not become a father simply by bringing a child into the world, but by taking up the responsibility to care for that child." (PATRIS CORDE 7). Many took responsibility for me, and I have been very thankful to them all.
The image of St. Joseph in the Gospel appears as a silent man but not absent from the life of Jesus. Indeed, Joseph's wordless presence must bring us to the center of his life – Jesus. One can imagine all sorts of ways Joseph did in his entire life to protect, educate according to the Law, teach a trade of work and a language, etc., during the growing up years of Jesus. We can consider without hesitation the fact that many of Jesus' teachings came from no other source but from what He learned at home with his Father. With him, Christ became a man. (cf. PC 7)
The precious information coming from the Gospel saying that “he was a just man" (Mt 1:19) carries within it all that we can say about him. Knowing that to call someone a just person in the whole Scriptures has a profound connection with his relationship with God, the only "Just." In Joseph’s relationship with God, we can notice that he did not try to force an interpretation of the Gospel passage, in the words of Mary in the Temple: “Your father and I have been looking for you.” (Lk 2:48) He is the ‘just man’ we see as ‘just a man’ who is “Just” before God and looking for Him in the Son.
Another fact that came to my mind in this year's celebration is our tradition of making the nativity scene with my sister in our early years together. Every year, we had to do the same thing of preparing the nativity scene where we had a baby Jesus in a small manger in gesso, already chipped off and faded. For Mary, it was easy to transform one of my sister's dolls by adorning it with a white cloth on its head; then the absent one was Joseph again. The nativity scene was in some ways analogous with our own lives. However, the love of the Father never deserted us. Every year, one man who happened to be named Joseph regularly came to bring us a pack of candies and a bottle of soda. That was our Christmas celebration, undoubtedly a manifestation of a father in our lives.
It took Church many years, even centuries, to realize the importance of St. Joseph in its history and mission. Only 150 years ago, he was declared patron of the whole Church. From the Fathers' writings to the last documents of the popes about St. Joseph, we can see how this process has developed through time. The Church and each one of us passed by the same paths. As we discover more and more about Jesus, we also learn more about the people around Him. Getting closer to Him, one can realize how people like Joseph has shaped His life: the life we try in all ways to imitate. Together with Pope Francis, we can conclude with this prayer:
Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen.
