JOSEPH, A CREATIVELY COURAGEOUS FATHER  | WORD AND SONGS

“The Gospel does not tell us how long Mary, Joseph and the child remained in Egypt. Yet they certainly needed to eat, to find a home and employment. It does not take much imagination to fill in those details. The Holy Family had to face concrete problems like every other family, like so many [of our families] right now. […] God trusted Joseph, as did Mary, who found in him someone who would not only save her life, but would always provide for her and her child. What are our inner dispositions in the face of problems? Pope Francis writes that “in the face of difficulty, we have two basic options: we can either give up and walk away, or somehow engage with it.” In a time and place when the world walks away, we are all called to engage—to be true to our engagements. We are challenged to keep the faith, believing that God has a way of transforming our difficulties into graces for ourselves and for others. Joseph is set as an example before us of a person who courageously and willingly move out of himself, giving up his own will for God’s, and   lovingly and creatively providing for his wife Mary and his son Jesus. This is the same invitation given to all of us.

Scriptwriter: Sr. Melba Grace Lobaton, fsp