In his weekly catechesis on the Head of the Holy Family, Pope Francis spoke on two of the great qualities of St. Joseph: his justice, and his union with Our Lady.
Newsroom(06/12/2021 13:30, , Gaudium Press) Pope Francis continued his catechesis on St. Joseph at the Papal Audience on Wednesday, 1 December.
This time the Pontiff touched on two important qualities of St. Joseph: He is just, as described in St. Matthew’s Gospel, and he is Mary’s spouse!
St. Joseph was submissive to the Law, but he also loved Mary. The Law allowed him to denounce her, but “his love for Mary and his trust in her showed him a way to save the fulfilment of the law and the honour of his wife,” and so he decided to depart from her in secret, Pope Francis explained.
In difficulties, Providence shows us the meaning of things
The Angel then revealed to St. Joseph the divine plans for Our Lady’s pregnancy and entrusted him to protect her, and the Child as well. This shows us that in certain circumstances of life, “Providence takes shape and gives meaning even to the pain that strikes us,” Francis explained.
The Pope went on to say that sometimes it is difficult to accept that life is not as we imagine it to be, and applied this reality to the relationship between couples:
“To love is not to expect from the other that they will correspond to our imagination, but it is to choose with all freedom life as it presents itself to us.” He added that St. Joseph is an example of this reality in his acceptance of Mary.
Prayer to St. Joseph
As usual, the Holy Father ended his catechesis by reciting a prayer to St. Joseph:
St. Joseph,
you who loved Mary with freedom, and chose to renounce your imagination to make room for reality,
Help each one of us to allow ourselves to be surprised by God and to welcome life not as an unforeseen event from which to defend ourselves, but as a mystery that hides the secret of true joy. Amen.
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
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