Miguel Augusto
This Saturday, March 19, the Universal Church celebrates the Solemnity of St Joseph.
In Macau, devotion to St Joseph is evident not only in the Catholic community but also in the religious institutions and buildings dedicated to him. Among these are the St Joseph’s Seminary and Church, St Joseph the Worker Church and St Joseph’s University. The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Macau, on its World Heritage website, tells us that the old St Joseph’s Seminary – center of formation for numerous Catholic priests – was founded in 1728 and the adjoining church was built in 1758. It is mentioned that the Seminary, together with the College of St Paul, “was the principal base for the missionary work implemented in China, Japan and around the region.”
The ‘silent’ Saint
St Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and foster father of Jesus is said to have been probably born in Bethlehem and died in Nazareth. The meaning of the name Joseph – in Hebrew Yosef – means ‘one who adds’; it can also mean ‘addition of God.’ The information that comes to us about the guardian of the Holy Family is described in the Gospels. He is said to be a ‘silent’ man, for not a word of him is recorded. From what we know from the biblical narrative, God communicated with Joseph by dreams. With deep faith and inner discernment of divine revelation, he moved promptly and followed the instructions he received from on high.
The priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonians), who have St Joseph as their patron, mention in their daily liturgy that the liturgical cult to the earthly father of Jesus has been celebrated at least since the fourth century, when St Helena dedicated a church to him.
The Dehonians add that in the East, from the 9th century on, a feast was celebrated in his honor; in the West, the cult came later. It is also mentioned that in the 12th century, it was celebrated among the Benedictines, as well as by the Carmelites, who spread it in Europe.
In her autobiography, St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), the mystical Carmelite saint and reformer, gives evidence of St Joseph’s powerful intercession.
A saint of our time, St Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975), exalted devotion to St Joseph, and encouraged Catholics to find in St Joseph a model of living the Catholic faith.
Patron Saint of the Universal Church
Pope Sixtus IV in 1479 included the feast of St Joseph in the Breviary and the Roman Missal. Pius IX proclaimed him “Patron of the Universal Church” on 8 December 1870.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the declaration of the Spouse of Mary as Patron of the Catholic Church, on 8 December 2020, Pope Francis called for a “Year of St Joseph” with the Apostolic Letter “Patris corde – With a Father’s heart”.
Exactly a year ago, in March, the Vatican News website, in an article by Lisa Zengarini, suggested that the “Year of St Joseph” was “an opportunity to learn to know him better and, to ask for his help so for us to be able to follow Jesus more closely.” Lisa underlined that it was the message written by the bishops of the Episcopal Conference of the Nordic countries – “A pastoral letter addressed to the faithful, a few days before the beginning of the special Year that the Church was dedicating to the discreet figure of St Joseph, but central in the history of Salvation.”
A curious fact mentioned in that article was that St Joseph was referred to as the protector of migrants and refugees. Like them, he had to flee with his family.
Lisa Zengarini gave voice to an appeal made by the bishops of the Nordic countries that is still very much alive today as we look at the crisis that is being lived in Europe, and the planetary upheaval (wars and pandemic) – to take the example of St Joseph who “invites us to give a worthy welcome, even if only temporary, to those who have been forced to leave their country because of wars, persecutions and hunger.”
On March 19, 2006, on the Solemnity of St Joseph, at Saint Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of St Joseph. The Holy Father recalled that beloved John Paul II was also very devoted to St Joseph, to whom he dedicated the Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos.
In concluding his message, he underlined the example of St Joseph as father and spouse, touching on two realities: marriage and consecrated life – “We all receive a strong invitation to carry out with fidelity, simplicity and modesty the task that Providence has entrusted to us. I think especially of fathers and mothers of families, and I pray that they will always be able to appreciate the beauty of a simple and industrious life, cultivating the conjugal relationship with care and fulfilling with enthusiasm the great and difficult educational mission.
“To priests, who exercise a paternal role over Ecclesial Communities, may St Joseph help them love the Church with affection and complete dedication, and may he support consecrated persons in their joyous and faithful observance of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. […] And may he help every Christian to fulfill God’s will with confidence and love, thereby cooperating in the fulfillment of the work of salvation”
By God’s design, Pope Francis was elected in March 2013. The Holy Father chose the day of the Solemnity of St Joseph to begin his pontificate. A year after taking the chair of St Peter, he said of St Joseph: “He is the model of the educator, the father and the priest.”
The Universal Church celebrates St Joseph twice a year: on March 19, and on May 1, with the invocation “St Joseph the Worker.”
St Joseph, pray for us!
(Image of St Joseph outside the Church of St Joseph at the Seminary, Macau. Photo by Miguel Augusto.)
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