March 19, 2024 is the solemnity of St. Joseph, the foster Father of Jesus. On this occasion, Fr. Eric Nicolai preached this meditation to Ernescliff College, Toronto.

Today we go from the Trinity on earth, Mary, Jesus and Joseph, to the Trinity of heaven, Father, son and Holy Spirit.

Matt 1, 20: But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

There, with this vision, we can immediately renew our vocation renew our yes to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, hand in hand with Joseph, who prompts us to do this, because he was so used to doing this in his life, it was a yes that coloured everything he did, a response to a call, a correspondence to a divine invitation, summons from the father to be there for his mission on earth.

Matt 1, 24: …And Joseph awoke from sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, taking his wife to himself…

Obedience made it possible for him to surmount his difficulties and spare Mary.

Music: 'Undertow' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com