"We can have recourse to many saints as our intercessors, but go especially to Joseph..."
- St. Teresa of Avila
The solemnity of St. Joseph takes place today. However, the scriptures are somewhat silent as to the details of St. Joseph's blessed life. Father Steve tells us how this biblical lack of fanfare is both appropriate and sanctifying, relating the story of Jesus' earthly father to our mission within the life of the Church.
Today the Church celebrates the solemnity of Saint Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the guardian of the Christ-child.
The Gospels are very clear that Joseph is not the father of the Lord Jesus. The child born of the Virgin Mary is God and has no earthly father. The body of Christ's human nature is created by what the scriptures describe as "the power of the Holy Spirit." If this explanation confounds us, we are rightly confounded. Christ is like us inasmuch as shares with us a human nature and lives a real human life. And yet, Christ is unlike us inasmuch as he is the singular instance in which a divine nature and a human nature share communion in a divine person.
Simply expressed, Christ is God and man. It is because of Christ's willingness to accept a human nature with all its limitations that we are able to participate in his divine nature. This participation, a gift given to us by Christ, is the most profound mystery of the Faith.
The mind can apprehend this mysterious revelation, even appreciate the "why" of it, but cannot fully understand the "how" of it all.
We can imagine that Joseph himself did not fully understand the circumstances surrounding Christ's conception and birth, but he was able to love what he did not fully understand. It is in this love that both his faith and his sanctity are revealed...
The solemnity of St. Joseph takes place today. However, the scriptures are somewhat silent as to the details of St. Joseph's blessed life. Father Steve tells us how this biblical lack of fanfare is both appropriate and sanctifying, relating the story of Jesus' earthy father to our mission within the life of the Church.
Today the Church celebrates the solemnity of Saint Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the guardian of the Christ-child.
The Gospels are very clear the Joseph is not the father of the Lord Jesus. The child born of the Virgin Mary is God and has no earthly father. The body of Christ's human nature is created by what the scriptures describe as "the power of the Holy Spirit." If this explanation confounds us, we are rightly confounded. Christ is like us inasmuch as shares with us a human nature and lives a real human life. And yet, Christ is unlike us inasmuch as he is the singular instance in which a divine nature and a human nature share communion in a divine person.
Simply expressed, Christ is God and man. It is because of Christ's willingness to accept a human nature with all its limitations that we are able to participate in his divine nature. This participation, a gift given to us by Christ, is the most profound mystery of the Faith.
The mind can apprehend this mysterious revelation, even appreciate the "why" of it, but cannot fully understand the "how" of it all.
We can imagine that Joseph himself did not fully understand the circumstances surrounding Christ's conception and birth, but he was able to love what he did not fully understand. It is in this love that both his faith and his sanctity are revealed...
Today, WOF blog contributor and seminarian Christopher Kerzich reflects on the message of Pope Benedict XVI at the recent 46th World Day of Communications. Christopher uses the Pope's insight to discern what it really takes to be a "great conversationalist."
A priest mentor one told me he was often complimented as being a great conversationalist when he focused on listening and not speaking during conversations. This was such an odd concept to me. How could one be an exceptional conversationalist if he doesn’t speak? Maybe I grew accustomed to conversations with the tempo of a Formula One race or to the daily race of sending emails, texts or Facebook messages. How easy has it become for us to simply bide our time until the next time we can communicate? I’m not a monk so why do I need silence in my life? Am I listening or mentally crafting my response to what was said? We have all come up against these questions presented by Pope Benedict XVI in his 46th World Day of Communications message.
The message, titled “Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization,” explores this often overlooked aspect of communication, “the relationship between silence and word.” The Holy Father writes that when word and silence are mutually exclusive, “communication breaks down, either because it gives rise to confusion…or it creates an atmosphere of coldness.” It is when they complement each other that communication is valuable. Looking at these concepts in our own lives, many of us can see conversations that happened, but we are completely oblivious to the point or what was actually being communicated between the lines...