Jasmin Yiu
Last Saturday, June 26, was the feast of St Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei. A Solemn Mass was held at S. Domingos Church, celebrated by His Excellency Bishop Stephen Lee.
Bishop Lee preached the homily in Chinese and English, and emphasized the importance of vocation, which reflects our relationship with God. “‘Duc in altum, Cast out into the deep.’ This is what Jesus said to his disciples, who said they hadn’t caught any throughout the night, but they would still obey Jesus’s words by casting out the nets; just like children listening to their father. The most important thing for a father is to guide his children to discover and receive their vocation.”
He explained that the relationship between Jesus and his disciples was like father and son. Jesus guided them, called them, taught them, corrected them, and they reacted with obedience and filial piety. This can also be an inspiration to us. In fact, according to the teachings of St Josemaria, we are all children of God after baptism, and this Divine Filiation should be the root of our spiritual life.
The Bishop quoted Pope Francis’s words in Patris Corde, Apostolic Letter of the Year of St Joseph, saying we are all children of God. “The Holy Father highlighted the fatherhood of St Joseph. We, too, can reflect on this and meditate on the relationship with God and Jesus, the relationship of Divine Filiation.”
He added that St Josemaria also dwelt a lot on St Joseph’s life, especially his vocation as a father of Jesus on earth, where he cared for Jesus wholeheartedly with his fatherly love. “The entire life of St Joseph is a calling, to become the foster father of Jesus, the head of the Holy Family. This is the divine mission and vocation of St Joseph. Though Jesus is not his biological son, he loves Jesus completely with a father’s heart.”
The Bishop cited the book Christ is passing by, where St Josemaria describes at length the paternal and filial relationship that existed between St Joseph and Jesus. “St Joseph sanctifies his ordinary life, which is also a life of a father and a carpenter, earning a living and teaching Jesus, teaching him to talk in the language, guiding him to walk…St Joseph became the model of little Jesus.”
In the year of St Joseph, by meditating on St Joseph’s life and the teaching of St Josemaria, we learn how to do our work in detail and with all our heart, glorifying God by giving our best.
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