{"id":50685,"date":"2021-11-17T07:29:30","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T12:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/?p=50685"},"modified":"2022-01-18T13:11:32","modified_gmt":"2022-01-18T18:11:32","slug":"pope-begins-new-series-on-joseph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/pope-begins-new-series-on-joseph\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Begins New Series On Joseph"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the Vatican:<\/em><\/p>\n

Pope Francis began a new cycle of catecheses on St Joseph at his weekly\u00a0Audience<\/u><\/b><\/a>\u00a0on Wednesday, explaining that \u201ctoday, as never before, in this time marked by a global crisis,\u201d St Joseph can offer us \u201csupport, consolation, and guidance.\u201d As the year of St Joseph draws to a close, the Pope said he hoped his reflections might \u201cfurther help us to allow ourselves to be enlightened by his example and by his witness.\u201d<\/p>\n

A man full of faith<\/h2>\n

The Holy Father set the stage for his teaching with a reflection on the biblical context of the life of St Joseph. Recalling the figure of Joseph, the son of Jacob, in the Old Testament, Pope Francis noted that the name \u201cJoseph\u201d \u2013 Hebrew for \u201cmay God increase, may God give growth\u201d \u2013 is \u201ca wish, a blessing based on trust in God\u2019s providence and referring especially to fertility and raising children.\u201d This, he said, \u201creveals an essential aspect of Joseph of Nazareth\u2019s personality. He is a man full of faith in God, in His providence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pope Francis went on to consider the places associated with St Joseph, especially Bethlehem and Nazareth, which \u201cassume an important role in our understanding\u201d of the saint.<\/p>\n

Bethlehem, he said, means \u201chouse of bread\u201d or, in Arabic, \u201chouse of meat,\u201d both expressions that are full of significance in light of the Incarnation and the Eucharist. Bethlehem also recalls the story of Ruth, the great grandmother of David the king, from whom Joseph traces his descent; as well as the prophecy of Micah, who foretold the coming of the Messiah from Bethlehem.<\/p>\n

While Jerusalem was \u201cthe city loved by the Lord, the \u2018holy city,\u201d it was Bethlehem and Nazareth, both outlying villages, \u201cfar from the clamor of the news and the powers of the time\u201d that are most associated with Saint Joseph. \u201cThe choice of Bethlehem and Nazareth tells us that the periphery and marginality are preferred by God,\u201d Pope Francis said. \u201cFailure to take this fact seriously is equivalent to not taking seriously the Gospel and the work of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going to the peripheries<\/h2>\n

Jesus, the Pope emphasized, goes out especially in search of those on the peripheries, not only sinners, but also \u201cthose who have done no evil but have suffered it: the sick, the hungry, the poor, the least.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, as then, the Pope said, \u201cthere is a center and a periphery\u201d in society; and, as in the time of Jesus, \u201cthe Church knows that she is called to proclaim the good news from the periphery.\u201d Here St Joseph can be an example, reminding each of us to accord special importance \u201cto what others cast aside.\u201d In this sense, the Pope said, St Joseph \u201cis truly a master of the essential: he reminds us that what truly matters does not attract our attention, but requires patient discernment to be discovered and appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pope Francis asked us to pray for Joseph\u2019s intercession, \u201cthat the whole Church might recover this insight,\u201d adding, \u201cLet us start again from Bethlehem, let us start again from Nazareth.\u201d<\/p>\n

And to all those living on the geographical or existential peripheries, the Pope had this message: \u201cMay you find in Saint Joseph the witness and protector to whom you can look.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prayer to St Joseph<\/h2>\n

Concluding his catechesis, Pope Francis offered the following prayer to St Joseph:<\/p>\n

Saint Joseph,
\nyou who always trusted God,
\nand made your choices
\nguided by His providence
\nteach us not to count so much on our own plans
\nbut on His plan of love.<\/p>\n

You who come from the peripheries
\nhelp us to convert our gaze
\nand to prefer what the world discards and marginalizes.<\/p>\n

Comfort those who feel alone
\nand support those who work silently
\nto defend life and human dignity. Amen.<\/p>\n

[Return to\u00a0<\/span>www.spiritdaily.com]<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Pray always for purity and love<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the Vatican: Pope Francis began a new cycle of catecheses on St Joseph at his weekly\u00a0Audience\u00a0on Wednesday, explaining that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1500],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-50685","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-devotion","7":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50685\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}