Venerable Fulton J. Sheen spoke of three rings in marriage: the engagement ring, the wedding ring and the suffering. Those who are married know this to be true. Marriage is a combination of joys, hardships, love, fights, sacrifices and trials.
A Christian’s relationship with God is that of a spousal relationship—a spiritual marriage. It requires mutual love, sacrifice and faithfulness. Those who are spiritually espoused to God need to be faithful in good times and in bad, in health and in sickness, in riches and in poverty. Today we reflect on St. Joseph as a model of faith and his faithfulness to his wife and to his ‘son’—God!
Faith is one of the three cardinal virtues (faith, hope, and charity). But what exactly is faith? How is it defined? The Letter to the Hebrews gives us a good definition: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrew 11:1). Although we do not see him with our naked eyes, Christian faith acknowledges who Jesus is, adheres to his teaching, and trusts in his promises.
St. Joseph knew who Jesus was and held fast to his words even when on many occasions, his mind and senses were unable to completely understand what his son meant. He never doubted the identity of Jesus. To the world, Jesus appeared like an ordinary child, but to St. Joseph, he was nothing ordinary, he knew he was God. He adored him in the cradle, in their home in Nazareth, in the Temple in Jerusalem and as a grown man in his workshop. Imagine his awesome feelings that, in Jesus, he was gazing upon God.
St. Joseph remained faithful to Jesus and Mary both in good and bad times—refusing to reject Mary over the issue of her pregnancy; being a responsible husband and father at the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and a brave defender of his family when their life was threatened.
He remained faithful in health and in sickness and finally dying in the arms of Jesus. He was faithful to Jesus in riches and in poverty—Jesus was identified by his villagers as the ‘carpenter’s son’!
Faithfulness to Jesus has never been easy and our own lives are no exception. The world does not want us to trust Jesus, hope in his promises, or love him. In many parts of the world today, professing faith in Jesus could land one’s life at stake. We could be ridiculed and mocked by the world, and even by family and friends.
Should we endure rejection and ridicule for our love for Jesus, remember, he is worth it. Should we suffer loss and failures out of love for the truth, if you are spoken ill of because of your stance against the norms of the secular world, run to the patronage of St. Joseph. Be steadfast, trusting, and fearless in our faith.
“It is precisely the fearless faith of St. Joseph that the Church needs today in order to courageously dedicate herself to the urgent task of the new evangelization.” — Pope St. John Paul II
