SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH

Solemnity of St. Joseph Year C Matthew 1:16,18-21,24a Today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph the foster father of Jesus. In the gospel Joseph was described as “righteous man.” Allow me to share three points that makes St. Joseph a righteous man. First, he was considered righteous because he was unwilling to expose the shame and irregularities in Mary’s pregnancy. A righteous person is someone who doesnt spread any irregularities in someone’s private life but keep it secretly. Joseph was a rigteous man because his priority was to keep Mary’s dignity unblemished. He never brought dishonour to Mary. Today, when you heard tittle-tattle story and idle talks keep it to yourself. Dont spread it but keep it in your prayers. Nowadays, we need more Christians like that of St. Joseph. Second, St. Joseph was a righteous man because he listen to God. He wanted to run away and left Mary behind but he never did it instead; he took the responsibility of being Jesus’ foster father. Today’s feast is reminding us that running away from our problems is a race we will never win. Like Joseph be strong when everything seems to be going wrong. Challenge the challenges. Trust in God and face your struggles. Joseph's trust in what God was grounded in a willingness to do what God wants. Through dreams he obeyed God without hesitation. Brethren, remember this, the sun always shine on the righteous. Let us imitate St. Joseph! Third, Joseph was a silent type of guy. We dont find any verse in the Bible that Joseph spoke. He is a man of few words. I am challenging you my dear friends, to imitate St. Joseph: speak less and listen more. In this season of Lent, let us try this: decrease the dosage of talking and increase the amount of listening. Silence is a source of great strenght. The quiter we become, the more we can hear the whisper of God. Friends, let your action speaks. Well done is better than well said. St. Joseph, pray for us! Blessings Fr. Jhack