On December 8, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady and the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St. Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church, Pope Francis announced a special year dedicated to St. Joseph starting from 8 December 2020 until 8 December 2021.
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WITH A FATHER’S HEART: that is how Joseph loved Jesus, whom all four Gospels refer to as “the son of Joseph”.
We know that Joseph was a lowly carpenter, betrothed to Mary. He was a “just man”, ever ready to carry out God’s will as revealed to him in the Law and through four dreams. After a long and tiring journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, he beheld the birth of the Messiah in a stable, since “there was no place for them” elsewhere. He witnessed the adoration of the shepherds and the Magi, who represented respectively the people of Israel and the pagan peoples.
Joseph had the courage to become the legal father of Jesus, to whom he gave the name revealed by the angel: “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins”. As we know, for ancient peoples, to give a name to a person or to a thing, as Adam did in the account in the Book of Genesis, was to establish a relationship.
Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all.
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Pope Francis describes him as a:
1. A beloved father
2. A tender and loving father
3. An obedient father
4. An accepting father
5. A creatively courageous father
6. A working father
7. A father in the shadows