{"id":50827,"date":"2021-11-24T07:09:23","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T12:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/?p=50827"},"modified":"2021-11-24T07:52:59","modified_gmt":"2021-11-24T12:52:59","slug":"pope-saint-joseph-is-protecting-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/pope-saint-joseph-is-protecting-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope: Saint Joseph Is Protecting Church"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>From the Vatican:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8I6QETqhg6c\" width=\"748\" height=\"421\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Pope picked up his catechesis on St. Joseph at the weekly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/audiences\/2021\/documents\/papa-francesco_20211124_udienza-generale.html\" rel=\"external\"><b><u>General Audience<\/u><\/b><\/a>, reflecting on his role in salvation history.<\/p>\n<p>Focusing on how he is presented in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, Pope Francis noted that both evangelists compose a genealogy of Jesus, which begins either with Abraham (as in Matthew) or Adam (as in Luke) and culminates in Joseph and Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>Both Luke and Matthew, said the Pope, present Joseph not as the biological father of Jesus but in any case, as \u201cfully the father of Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrough him, Jesus fulfils the history of the covenant and salvation between God and man.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article__embed article__embed--unwrap article__embed--dark\">\n<div class=\"article__innerTitle\">Servant of Christ<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Pope Francis said Matthew shows us that Joseph represents a central point in God\u2019s plan of salvation, even though he appears discreet and apparently on the margins of the story and of society.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJoseph lives his agency without ever seeking to take over the scene,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone, he added, can find in St. Joseph\u2014who often goes unnoticed or hidden\u2014an intercessor and a guide in difficult moments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe reminds us that all those who are seemingly hidden or in the &#8216;second row&#8217; have unparalleled agency in the history of salvation,\u201d said the Pope. \u201cThe world needs these men and women.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article__embed article__embed--unwrap article__embed--photo\">\n<figure><picture><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vaticannews.va\/content\/dam\/vaticannews\/agenzie\/images\/srv\/2021\/11\/24\/2021-11-24-udienza-generale\/1637746733608.JPG\/_jcr_content\/renditions\/cq5dam.thumbnail.cropped.750.422.jpeg\" alt=\"The Pope greets a father and son at the Audience\" data-original=\"\/content\/dam\/vaticannews\/agenzie\/images\/srv\/2021\/11\/24\/2021-11-24-udienza-generale\/1637746733608.JPG\/_jcr_content\/renditions\/cq5dam.thumbnail.cropped.750.422.jpeg\" data-was-processed=\"true\" \/><\/picture><\/figure>\n<div class=\"photo_embed--Title\">Guardian of the Redeemer<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Pope then turned to the Gospel of Luke, where Joseph is portrayed as \u201cthe guardian of Jesus and Mary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This role extends throughout history to make him also \u201cthe Guardian of the Church\u201d. God, he added, offers St. Joseph as a response to the question Cain put to God after killing his brother: \u201cAm I my brother\u2019s keeper?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJoseph, with his life, seems to want to tell us that we are always called to feel that we are the guardians of our brothers and sisters, the custodians of those placed close to us, of those whom the Lord entrusts to us through the circumstances of life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h2>Patron of the afflicted<\/h2>\n<p>Pope Francis noted that St. Joseph offers our \u201cfluid\u201d modern society a model of how to treat human relations.<\/p>\n<p>The Gospel accounts of Jesus\u2019 genealogy, said the Pope, remind us that \u201cour lives are made up of bonds that precede and accompany us. The Son of God chose to come into the world by way of such bonds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Pope added that his thoughts go out to all those who struggle to find meaningful relationships in their own lives, saying this situation leaves many people feeling alone and lacking the strength to strive ahead.<\/p>\n<h2>Support in difficulties<\/h2>\n<p>Pope Francis concluded his catechesis by offering a prayer to help everyone who struggles with loneliness, adding that they can find in St. Joseph \u201can ally, a friend, and a support.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><i>Saint Joseph,<br \/>\nyou who guarded the bond with Mary and Jesus,<br \/>\nhelp us to care for the relationships in our lives.<br \/>\nMay no one experience the sense of abandonment<br \/>\nthat comes from loneliness.<br \/>\nLet each of us be reconciled with our own history,<br \/>\nwith those who have gone before,<br \/>\nand recognize even in the mistakes made<br \/>\na way through which Providence has made its way,<br \/>\nand evil did not have the last word.<br \/>\nShow yourself to be a friend to those who struggle the most,<br \/>\nand as you supported Mary and Jesus in difficult times,<br \/>\nsupport us too on our journey. Amen.<\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"gsp_post_data\" \r\n\t            data-post_type=\"post\" \r\n\t            data-cat=\"prayer-protection\" \r\n\t            data-modified=\"120\"\r\n\t            data-created=\"1637737763\"\r\n\t            data-title=\"Pope: Saint Joseph Is Protecting Church\" \r\n\t            data-home=\"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the Vatican: The Pope picked up his catechesis on St. Joseph at the weekly\u00a0General Audience, reflecting on his role.<\/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":[964],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-50827","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-prayer-protection","7":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50827","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=50827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50827\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}