Friday, December 29, 2017

Joseph, Silent Strength and Faith

From Zenit:
“Joseph fought within himself; in that struggle, the voice of God is heard: ‘But get up’ — that ‘Get up’ [which is heard] so many times in the Bible at the beginning of a mission — ‘Take Mary, bring her to your home. Take charge of the situation; take this situation in hand, and go forward.’ Joseph didn’t go to his friends to be comforted, he didn’t go to a psychiatrist so that he could interpret the dream. No… He believed. And he went forward. He took the situation in hand. But what must you take in hand, Joseph? What was the situation? What was it that Joseph had to take up? “Two things: fatherhood, and mystery,” Francis answered. Regarding “fatherhood,” Francis observed: This is already implied in the genealogy of Jesus, which explains how He “was thought to be the son of Joseph.”

“He took on a paternity that was not his own: it came from the Father. And he went ahead with that fatherhood and all it signified: not only supporting Mary and the Child, but also raising the Child, teaching Him his trade, bringing Him up to manhood. ‘Take up a paternity that is not yours, but God’s.’ And this, without saying a word. In the Gospel, there is not a single word spoken by Joseph. A man of silence, of silent obedience.” (Read more.)
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1 comment:

julygirl said...

Such a sterling model for those of us who whine, (even inwardly), about having to do something we do not want to do.