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Saint Peter's Square
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Solemnity of Saint Joseph
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Solemnity of Saint Joseph
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I thank the Lord that I can celebrate this Holy Mass for the
inauguration of my Petrine ministry on the solemnity of Saint Joseph, the spouse
of the Virgin Mary and the patron of the universal Church. It is a significant
coincidence, and it is also the name-day of my venerable predecessor: we are
close to him with our prayers, full of affection and gratitude.
I offer a warm greeting to my brother cardinals and bishops, the
priests, deacons, men and women religious, and all the lay faithful. I thank
the representatives of the other Churches and ecclesial Communities, as well as
the representatives of the Jewish community and the other religious communities,
for their presence. My cordial greetings go to the Heads of State and
Government, the members of the official Delegations from many countries
throughout the world, and the Diplomatic Corps.
In the Gospel we heard that “Joseph did as the angel of the Lord
commanded him and took Mary as his wife” (Mt 1:24). These words already
point to the mission which God entrusts to Joseph: he is to be the custos,
the protector. The protector of whom? Of Mary and Jesus; but this protection
is then extended to the Church, as Blessed John Paul II pointed out: “Just as
Saint Joseph took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus
Christ’s upbringing, he likewise watches over and protects Christ’s Mystical
Body, the Church, of which the Virgin Mary is the exemplar and model” (Redemptoris
Custos, 1).
How does Joseph exercise his role as protector? Discreetly, humbly
and silently, but with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity, even when he
finds it hard to understand. From the time of his betrothal to Mary until the
finding of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, he is there at
every moment with loving care. As the spouse of Mary, he is at her side in good
times and bad, on the journey to Bethlehem for the census and in the anxious and
joyful hours when she gave birth; amid the drama of the flight into Egypt and
during the frantic search for their child in the Temple; and later in the
day-to-day life of the home of Nazareth, in the workshop where he taught his
trade to Jesus.
How does Joseph respond to his calling to be the protector of Mary,
Jesus and the Church? By being constantly attentive to God, open to the signs
of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans, and not simply to his own. This
is what God asked of David, as we heard in the first reading. God does not want
a house built by men, but faithfulness to his word, to his plan. It is God
himself who builds the house, but from living stones sealed by his Spirit.
Joseph is a “protector” because he is able to hear God’s voice and be guided by
his will; and for this reason he is all the more sensitive to the persons
entrusted to his safekeeping. He can look at things realistically, he is in
touch with his surroundings, he can make truly wise decisions. In him, dear
friends, we learn how to respond to God’s call, readily and willingly, but we
also see the core of the Christian vocation, which is Christ! Let us protect
Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others, so that we can protect
creation!
The vocation of being a “protector”, however, is not just something
involving us Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply
human, involving everyone. It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the
created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi
showed us. It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the
environment in which we live. It means protecting people, showing loving concern
for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who
are often the last we think about. It means caring for one another in our
families: husbands and wives first protect one another, and then, as parents,
they care for their children, and children themselves, in time, protect their
parents. It means building sincere friendships in which we protect one another
in trust, respect, and goodness. In the end, everything has been entrusted to
our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God’s
gifts!
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| The Fisherman's Ring is placed on the finger of Pope Francis by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals - Picture: REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini |
Whenever human beings fail to live up to this responsibility,
whenever we fail to care for creation and for our brothers and sisters, the way
is opened to destruction and hearts are hardened. Tragically, in every period
of history there are “Herods” who plot death, wreak havoc, and mar the
countenance of men and women.
Please, I would like to ask all those who have positions of
responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of
goodwill: let us be “protectors” of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed
in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment. Let us not allow
omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world! But to
be “protectors”, we also have to keep watch over ourselves! Let us not forget
that hatred, envy and pride defile our lives! Being protectors, then, also
means keeping watch over our emotions, over our hearts, because they are the
seat of good and evil intentions: intentions that build up and tear down! We
must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!
Here I would add one more thing: caring, protecting, demands
goodness, it calls for a certain tenderness. In the Gospels, Saint Joseph
appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see
great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak but rather a sign of
strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine
openness to others, for love. We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness!
Today, together with the feast of Saint Joseph, we are celebrating
the beginning of the ministry of the new Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Peter,
which also involves a certain power. Certainly, Jesus Christ conferred power
upon Peter, but what sort of power was it? Jesus’ three questions to Peter
about love are followed by three commands: feed my lambs, feed my sheep. Let us
never forget that authentic power is service, and that the Pope too, when
exercising power, must enter ever more fully into that service which has its
radiant culmination on the Cross. He must be inspired by the lowly, concrete
and faithful service which marked Saint Joseph and, like him, he must open his
arms to protect all of God’s people and embrace with tender affection the whole
of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those
whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the
stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison (cf. Mt 25:31-46).
Only those who serve with love are able to protect!
In the second reading, Saint Paul speaks of Abraham, who, “hoping
against hope, believed” (Rom 4:18). Hoping against hope! Today too,
amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women
who bring hope to others. To protect creation, to protect every man and every
woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of
hope; it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds; it is to
bring the warmth of hope! For believers, for us Christians, like Abraham, like
Saint Joseph, the hope that we bring is set against the horizon of God, which
has opened up before us in Christ. It is a hope built on the rock which is God.
To protect Jesus with Mary, to protect the whole of creation, to
protect each person, especially the poorest, to protect ourselves: this is a
service that the Bishop of Rome is called to carry out, yet one to which all of
us are called, so that the star of hope will shine brightly. Let us protect
with love all that God has given us!
I implore the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saints
Peter and Paul, and Saint Francis, that the Holy Spirit may accompany my
ministry, and I ask all of you to pray for me! Amen.
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