Marana tha!
The death of Joseph (with the Virgin Mary and the Christ). Stained glass window in the southern chapel of the church Saint-Pierre Saint-Paul in Ablis, Yvelines, France.
The inscriptions in the bottom say MR CARREAU CURE D’ABLIS ANNEE 1866 (left corner), ITE AD JOSEPH AMAVITEUM DOMINUS (centre), LORIN PEINTRE VERRIER CHARTRES (right corner). The phylacteries on the left say SANCTE JOSEPH/IMMAGO DEI PATRIS/LILIUM PURITATIS/SOLATOR AFFLICTO. The phylacteries on the right say ZELATOR ANIMARUM/CONJUXMARIAE/DEFENSOR AGONISANTUM/ORA PRO NOBIS. The phylactery below the angels say BEATI MORTUI QUI IN DOMINO MORIUNTUR.
Work by N. Lorin, 1866.
Joseph: A True ‘Man’s Man’
By Deacon Keith A. Fournier
http://www.catholic.org/saints/story.php?id=28785
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary; of whom Jesus was born, he who is called Christ.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins”. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.
Matthew 1:16 – 24
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Today, much of the Christian Church commemorates a Feast day entitled “Joseph the Husband of Mary”. From antiquity, Christians have cherished Joseph as a model of genuine manly virtue. Since the fourteenth century there has been a specific day set aside in the Roman calendar to honor him. He is viewed as the “Patron” of the universal Church, of all husbands and of social justice. In an age that has lost its way, given over to the selfish pursuit of illusory pleasure, Joseph should again be lifted up as a model, particularly to men who desire to follow Jesus Christ.
In popular language we sometimes use an expression to refer to men who are comfortable “in their skin” and content with being men. We say of such a man “He is a man’s man”. Well, Joseph is a true “man’s man.”
Joseph was a man for others. Though the Scriptures say little about Joseph, even that absence speaks volumes. Why? Because to Joseph, he was not the one who was important, others were. He loved Mary above himself and his behavior was “just” as a result of his love. He was prepared to “do the right thing” when she was found to be with child. How refreshing this upright manly behavior is in an age where men often cower in the face of difficulty.
Joseph was a man of faith and courage. Along with loving his betrothed, he loved His God courageously. He had a close, intimate personal relationship with the God of His Fathers. In fact, this “just” man was, in a sense, the last Patriarch, completing the lineage. Through his response of faith, He would receive the great gift promised for all men and women and hold in His arms the One that His fathers had only longed to see. God’s messenger, an angel, visited Joseph in a dream. He was ready to receive. He was disposed not only to the encounter but to the invitation it presented to pour himself out in love and for Love. He heard the message and, without hesitation, did what the Lord commanded! How refreshing such manly faith and courage are in an age of cowardice and rebellion.
Joseph was a humble man. There was not an ounce of false bravado or “machismo” in this servant of God. Named after the great Patriarch who was sold into slavery in Egypt; he bore the name with similar humility. As the Old Testament Joseph embraced his lot, rejecting the temptation to bitterness or “victim-hood” and actually came to rule Egypt, forgiving the very brothers who had sold him into slavery; so too this son of the Covenant embraced the One who would establish the New Covenant on the altar of Calvary. In so doing, Joseph is a patron and a model to all men who choose to walk the way of the cross. Joseph poured Himself out -of himself - and became filled with the love and life of God. He gave himself fully to God through accepting his unique and specific vocation as a guardian of the Redeemer. The child Jesus, God in the flesh, was given to Joseph. A Carpenter, Joseph taught this child how to work with wood. That was, after all, what he had to give. During these so-called “hidden years”, Jesus was with Joseph and Joseph was with Jesus. Joseph uniquely participated in the mystery of Gods plan of redemption through simply being the man he was called to be. How challenging in an age of narcissism and inordinate self-love.
Over two millennia, the mission of Jesus has continued through His Body on earth, His Church. He has entrusted the work of that mission to all men and women who accept the invitation to empty themselves - of themselves – in order to be filled with the very life and love of God. Through the Fount of living water called Baptism, he invites each of us into His new family. He still gives His message to men who, like Joseph, cultivate ears to hear and exercise authentic manly virtue. He still invites men to turn the ordinary into extraordinary. He is truly looking for a “few good men” like Joseph who will work in the workshop of the world that he created in order to recreate it anew in His Son..
In this age of the “anti-hero”, men should rediscover this true hero, this “man’s man” named Joseph. We need to follow his example by courageously, humbly and faithfully loving Jesus Christ.
Reading 1
Rv 22:1-7
John said:
An angel showed me the river of life-giving water,
sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God
and of the Lamb down the middle of the street,
On either side of the river grew the tree of life
that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month;
the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations.
Nothing accursed will be found anymore.
The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,
and his servants will worship him.
They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun,
for the Lord God shall give them light,
and they shall reign forever and ever.
And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true,
and the Lord, the God of prophetic spirits,
sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon.”
“Behold, I am coming soon.”
Blessed is the one who keeps the prophetic message of this book.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 95:1-2, 3-5, 6-7ab
R. (1 Cor 16: 22b, see Rev. 22: 20c) Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great king above all gods;
In his hands are the depths of the earth,
and the tops of the mountains are his.
His is the sea, for he has made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
End-times! Today is the last day of the present liturgical year. It has not come upon us suddenly: for a while now the readings have had an ominous note, a kind of foreboding.
It is important to celebrate the end of things, and not just the beginnings. If we don’t celebrate the end, it will not fully end, and therefore there will be no fresh beginning. Say goodbye to many things today! Make it your practice, all day long. Goodbye, goodbye! You are making space for a new creation. God is going to do a new thing.
I knew a man who would defend fanatically everything he had ever identified with in any way, while all the rest he regarded as rubbish. It did not matter at all that this identification was often purely accidental, or very superficial or only imagined; once he put his ego into something, no external force could separate them. If, for example, he had visited a place where no one else in the company had been, that became the only place in the world worth visiting; if he read a book, that alone promoted it to a classic; if he had shaken some politician’s hand, that politician became the saviour of the nation. He was a man who was unable to die to himself, unable even to die to anything he ever said or did or thought. He was a man with a keen interest in the Liturgy. He celebrated, of course, this end-season every year – for more than sixty years – yet he never learned a single thing about ending, about dying to oneself and to all things. Still…he died!
Do we see God’s gifts in the same way? Are we always looking for a way to give back, keeping an accounting of a tit for tat? One problem with that approach is that we can never repay God for all of his gifts, there is just no way that He can be outdone or matched in the splendor of his gifts. Another problem is that God gives us gifts to be enjoyed and we are missing out on that enjoyment if we are wrapped up in trying to see how we can repay him.
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus warns us not to let our anxieties or fruitless pleasure-seeking get in the way. He tells us to be vigilant, not in a fearful and anxious way but in a joyful anticipation of the day when we will “stand before the Son of Man”
Tomorrow is the beginning of Advent, it is a time when we anticipate the coming of the Lord and the gifts that are associated with that coming. Advent can also be a time of too many Christmas parties, or of anxieties and depression that get in the way of the true joy and celebration of the season. The readings for today can be pulled together as a reminder to enjoy the gifts that God has given us in the form of family and friends, but to save some time to enjoy the best gift of all, his loving presence with us no matter what.
