(Listen to this homily here).
St. Joseph doesn’t have a line in Sacred Scripture. But his actions speak volumes.
First,
in the opening verses of the Gospel according to Matthew, Joseph learns of Mary’s
pregnancy: “Joseph her husband, since he
was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to
shame, decided
to divorce her quietly.” We probably think, “Well that was a nice act, Joseph.”
Not
quite.
In
the mind of a Law abiding Jew, Mary’s pregnancy would have warranted
death! Remember the woman caught
in adultery in John 8? She was
about to be stoned when Jesus stepped in.
Joseph knew that Mary’s baby wasn’t his, and instead of turning Mary in,
he was going to divorce her quietly.
Here
the angel intervenes: “Joseph, son of
David, do
not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that
this child has been conceived in her.”
Even
with 2000 years of reflection, the Annunciation and Immaculate Conception may
be hard to believe. Indeed, they
are both impossible at the natural level.
Now imagine Joseph—who didn’t know the whole Jesus story—be told that
Mary had conceived by the Holy Spirit!
What faith!
Joseph,
like us, was a sinner. Yet look at
the extraordinary faith he had. It
would not be an overstatement to say his faith was radical.
St.
Joseph, patron of the universal Church, pray for us.
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