Page 18 - Reflections on St. Joseph

Redemption and through him, Jesus entered into the Davidic lineage and becomes the heir of the
messianic promises.

In the continuation of the Year of St. Joseph, the “Josephite lexicon”, that appears in the Gospels and
which traces the vivid portrait of our Saint, should inspire us. The existential rereading of this essential
vocabulary favors spiritual growth and spurs our apostolate:

• “Waking up from sleep” (Mt 1.24; 2.14) of the habit and opening our eyes to the essence of our
vocation and mission.
• “Getting up” (Mt 2:13; 20) from mediocrity or falling, means rising to take a path that it is
impossible to do in sitting or lying down.
• “Do not be afraid” (Mt 1,20) but trust in God even when he invites us to take steps that seem too
big for us.

• “To grow in age, wisdom and grace” (Lk 2.40), abandoning the comfort zone and living the
vocation with gratitude and consistency.

• “Doing” more than speaking, following the example of the one who without wandering and
without twisting his nose “did” (Mt 1,24; 2,24) as the angel ordered him.
• “Say yes” to God always also “in the night” (Mt 2:14) and not only sometimes and, mainly,
“during the day”, that is, when it is comfortable.
• “To become righteous” (Mt 1:19) by mending the day after day existence on the light of the Word
of God.

• “Guarding” (Mt 2, 14) one's neighbor and creation without forgetting to guard one's heart, inner
life and contemplative silence.

• “To seek Jesus” (Lk 2:44) in the Scripture, in the poor, in history and to have a fixed appointment
to find him every day in the temple (cf. Lk 2:47).
• "Calling Jesus" (Mt 1:21) means invoking his holy name and praying “ad invicem,” that is, for each
other.
• “Going” (Mt 2,20; 2,23) to proclaim the gospel with our lifestyle and with the word.

• “Take with you” (Mt 1,24; 2,13.14) the life of others by sharing their destiny and helping them
to grow “in wisdom and grace” (Lk 2,40).

Ite ad Joseph

In this moment of challenges that the church and the world faces, it is better to re-propose a famous and
well-known biblical phrase Ite ad Joseph (go to Joseph). In the first place, these words recall the story of
the patriarch Joseph of the Old Testament, who in the time of anguish saved the people from hunger and
death: “So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told all
the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” (Gen 41.55; Ps 105, 16-20).

Instead, in the fullness of time, another Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary, nourishes, guards and
protects the Son of God; and these things, he does not only during the day, when everything is clear and
safe, but also “at night” (Mt 2:14), when obstacles seem difficult to overcome. The mission that God
entrusts to him is to be custos, custodian of Mary and Jesus. And this custody then extends to the Church
(Cf. John Paul II, Redemptoris Custos, 1).

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