Jesus perfected the laws by carrying them out in a spirit of love. It is love that should helps us carry out and implement the Law. The law of perfect love is what is required.

We must be prepared and ready at all times. The day of reckoning will come. Let us continue to persevere in holiness, and not receive the grace of God in vain. Instead, let us nurture our faith with the Word of God and the grace of the Sacraments.

Joseph was a just man not only because he acted justly, that is, in accordance with the laws of God, but his justice was rooted in his faith in God. It was not only legal justice or human justice. He acted justly because he believed in God and that the laws given by God through Moses were good and therefore must be respected and obeyed. Joseph did not simply trust God but carried out what the Lord asked of him. Indeed, God who is faithful to us requires us to be just by trusting in Him. It requires us to take the leap of faith and entrust our lives into His hands. Today, when we celebrate the Feast of St Joseph, we are called to imitate his justifying faith. We are called to cooperate with God’s plan even when it is difficult or seemingly impossible to do. We must trust in God as Joseph did, relying on His grace and obediently carrying out His will to the best of our ability.

We all have our dreams. They give us hope of finding fulfilment. They push us to go beyond ourselves. They make us creative and resourceful. They give us something to work towards. No great things can be achieved, no great inventions could have happened, if we are without dreams. But what kind of dreams do we have? Often in life, instead of allowing the dreams of God to be fulfilled in us, according to His plans, our human imperfections complicate the plan of God for us. Hence, it is important that our dreams be in line with God’s dream. Otherwise, we will find that we have sought to realize dreams that come from our own insecurities and from the temptations of the Evil One. What the Lord said to the people of His time is also addressed to us. Are we cooperating with His plan for us? Are we allowing Him to reign in our lives? Is Jesus the cornerstone in our life? Are our plans aligned with God’s plan for our community and for the world?

We have plenty of prophets in our days too, appealing to us to trust in God, to turn back to Him and to exercise mercy and compassion for the suffering and those in want.  Yet, we still do not listen or are moved. Indeed, what we need is humility to listen to God’s word.  This explains why Abraham said, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”  What we need is humility and faith, otherwise even the resurrection of Christ cannot convince anyone.

The price of sharing in Christ’s glory is that we become a ransom and a vicarious sacrifice for all. The true honour of a leader is measured by how much he has given himself to society, the poor and all humanity. They are remembered by how much they serve others.

There are many types of love. We have love for our loved ones and family members, the love of friends, love that springs from our passion, and the highest form of love, agape, which is unconditional love. It is a love that is directed towards others, who could even include our enemies. It is the perfection of love. Such a love is truly the love of God. This is what our Lord meant when He said, “You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect." No one in this sense can be perfect because only God is perfect. The perfection is the perfection of love. And the truth is that the failure to arrive at this perfection means that we will never be complete and liberated in life, because we are created for love. One who fails to love, lacks fulfilment. Perfection is when we fulfil the purpose that God has created us to be.

We need to consider carefully the choices we make for ourselves, our children and our society. There is no escaping the fact that even personal choices will have an impact on others. One cannot say that this is my personal decision and it has nothing to do with others. For better or for worse our personal decisions will bear on others. This is why those in leadership and in government must consider seriously not just the immediate benefits of the decisions and policies they make, but they must have the foresight to see far enough how today’s decisions will impact the future trend and development of the people and the country.

We must seek to know our Father more and more so that our confidence in His love and wisdom will not be compromised even when things do not work out the way we think is good for us. Instead, may we accept His holy will since His divine plan for us is what truly brings us real happiness.

The Church cannot be renewed unless we are open to a constant self-renewal born of fidelity to Jesus Christ. Today, let us take heed of the call to conversion and repentance. We pray for humility of heart so that we can hear the gospel anew, listening with attentive ears and a docile heart, so that once again, we are moved to repentance and begin the journey to holiness of life in Christ.