Homily for the Solemnity of St. Joseph
March 20, 2023
Matt 1: 16, 18-21, 24
Salesian HS
Sophomores
The Gospels tell us only a little bit about St. Joseph. He shows up only in the 1st 2 chapters of St. Luke and of St. Matthew. Our gospel this morning was a little bit of St. Matthew.
In that passage St. Joseph was
described as a righteous man, which means he always tried to do what was right
in God’s eyes. We see that in 2 ways in
that gospel reading. 1st, he tried to
separate himself from his promised wife with as little harm to her as possible
as he followed what the Law of Moses required.
2d, when God told him the truth about Mary thru an angel, he obeyed what
the angel told him to do.
So we see that St. Joseph was sensitive
and respectful toward other people.
That’s an example that he sets for us:
respect for others.
And we see that St. Joseph obeyed God’s
laws and God’s directions. What we heard
this morning is the 1st of several examples that St. Matthew records in his
gospel. Obedience is a key component in
St. Joseph’s holiness. That’s true for
you and me, too.
I want to point out 2 other components
of St. Joseph’s holiness. The 1st is
related to his respect for his wife, the Virgin Mary. No doubt when he and Mary became what we’d
call “engaged,” they expected to have a normal married life. But that changed when Mary conceived Jesus
“thru the Holy Spirit,” as we heard.
That meant that she belonged to God in a unique way, a way that required
her to remain a virgin who belonged to God, and St. Joseph had to protect her
and her child without having relations with her as her husband. That was a unique calling for St. Joseph’s
practice of the virtue of chastity. All
of us—you, I, everyone—is called to practice chastity or purity according to
our way of life. Sometimes that’s pretty
difficult. It must have been very
difficult for St. Joseph, married to and living with the most special woman in
the world. His example encourages us to
be pure in the state of life we’re in. We
can pray to St. Joseph to help us meet that challenge.
The 2d other component I want to point
out is St. Joseph’s silence. The Virgin
Mary speaks often in the Gospels. St. Joseph
doesn’t say a word, not one that’s recorded.
Silence is essential for anyone who wants to listen to God. St. Joseph was able to know and to do what
God required because he was listening.
You and I need to observe silence at some moments of the day—whenever we’re
in the chapel is one such occasion!—and give ourselves a chance to be in touch
with God—which we call prayer.
So I leave you with 4 notes about St.
Joseph that are examples for us: respect
for others, obedience, chastity, and silence.
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