Feast of Saint Joseph, Mary's husband, who in humility "took the child with him." Anniversary of the inauguration of the pastoral ministry of pope Francis.

Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Matthew 1,16.18-21.24

and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ. This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being an upright man and wanting to spare her disgrace, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.' When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home;

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Joseph, Mary's husband. A descendent of the house of David, Joseph had the task to link Jesus to David's inheritance. He also summarized the figures of the patriarchs who often had received God's revelation in a dream and made the baby Jesus retrace the path of the exodus from Egypt to the promised land, and thus fully inserting him into the history of Israel to make him heir of the promises. A man of silence, Joseph learned about God's will every day and obeyed it. An ancient legend has it that his death took place in a great peace given by Jesus. That is why in the Western tradition people soon began to invoke him to receive a good death as a gift. The Eastern Churches commemorate him together with David and James the Lord's brother in the days after Christmas. Tied to the infancy of Jesus, Joseph reminds us of the indispensable attitude of listening to the Lord that each believer should have especially in those moments of life when difficulty seems to prevail. The Gospel passage of Matthew tells us how Joseph was involved in the mystery of Jesus' birth. The evangelist seems to want to emphasize the irregularity of how Jesus was conceived. He speaks about Joseph and the double serious drama he was living. As a "betrayed" husband he should have officially divorced Mary (in this way Mary would be identified as adulteress and therefore rejected and marginalized by her relatives and all inhabitants of the village). Obviously even Mary had thought of these consequences when she welcomed the annunciation of the angel. And yet, she obeyed. Joseph, on his side, had decided to repudiate his young spouse in secret. But there is a beyond of God that the angel reveals to Joseph. Joseph listens to the angel and understands what is happening around and inside him. Thus, he becomes a disciple of the Gospel. And the angel continues, "You are to name him Jesus." Joseph must recognize and announce who the child is. This is why he is the image of the believer who is able to listen to and to take Jesus with his or her. If we listen to the Gospel, we will be able too to take Jesus as the friend of our days and of our entire lives.