“Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord; they never cease to praise you.”
This verse before the Gospel reading at today’s Mass certainly describes St. Joseph, whose feast day we celebrate today. There is no doubt that his soul dwells in God’s house where he gives praise to God. In heaven, St. Joseph and Our Lady are worshiping the son they raised on earth together! Consider the final line of today’s Gospel, which says that the twelve-year-old Jesus “went down with [his parents] and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them.” Jesus retains an intimate relationship with them, and he allows them to function as powerful intercessors on our behalf. What a great debt humanity owes to the efficacious, perpetual intercession of Our Lady and St. Joseph.
My husband and I belonged to a parish named St. Joseph for many years and, over time, we came to rely on the help and loving concern of our Savior’s foster-father. We are convinced that his intercession helped attain great grace for our family.
When my husband’s father was diagnosed with advanced cancer, he and my mother-in-law came to live with us. For many years, my in-laws had traveled the country, serving others, praying with others, and sharing the love of Christ whenever and wherever they could. Though they had left the Catholic Church twenty-five years earlier, their faith in Christ was radical and inspiring.
Now, with a terminal diagnosis, my father-in-law was approaching his eternal reward. It was a painful, beautiful time, and my husband, though he had always yearned for his dad to return to the Church, rejoiced in his father’s faithfulness to God. Nevertheless, he wanted the absolute best for his dad as he approached the end of his life, so he turned to St. Joseph for help. Every day, my husband would stop by the church and kneel before the Blessed Sacrament asking for the intercession of St. Joseph. He prayed for three things: that his father would be willing to receive the Anointing of the Sick before he died, and that, after he died, he would be given a funeral Mass and then be buried in our parish cemetery.
It is a long story, but, miraculously, all three requests were granted. We believe that St. Joseph’s intercession played a pivotal role in this happy outcome. With St. Teresa of Avila, we say, “Would that I could persuade all men to be devout to this glorious saint, for I know by…experience what blessings he can obtain for us from God.” Thank you, beloved St. Joseph, for your faithful witness, your tremendous role in salvation history, and your on-going, loving intercession.
“Dichosos los que viven en tu casa; siempre, Señor, te alabarán.”
La aclamación antes del Evangelio en la Misa de hoy ciertamente describe a San José, cuya fiesta celebramos hoy. No hay duda de que su alma habita en la casa de Dios donde alaba a Dios. ¡En el cielo, San José y Nuestra Señora están adorando al hijo que criaron juntos en la tierra! Considere la última línea del Evangelio de hoy, que dice que Jesús, con doce años de edad, “volvió con [sus padres] a Nazaret y siguió sujeto a su autoridad.” Jesús conserva una relación íntima con ellos y les permite actuar como poderosos intercesores a nombre nuestro. ¡Qué gran deuda tiene la humanidad con la eficaz y perpetua intercesión de Nuestra Señora y San José!
Mi esposo y yo pertenecimos a una parroquia llamada San José durante muchos años y, con el tiempo, llegamos a depender de la ayuda y la preocupación amorosa del padre adoptivo de nuestro Salvador. Estamos convencidos que su intercesión nos ayudó a alcanzar grandes gracias para nuestra familia.
Cuando al padre de mi esposo le diagnosticaron con cáncer avanzado, él y mi suegra vinieron a vivir con nosotros. Durante muchos años, mis suegros habían viajado por el país, sirviendo a los demás, orando con otros y compartiendo el amor de Cristo cuando y donde podían. Aunque habían abandonado la Iglesia católica veinticinco años antes, su fe en Cristo era radical e inspiradora.
Ahora, con un diagnóstico terminal, mi suegro se acercaba a su recompensa eterna. Fue un momento hermoso y doloroso, y mi esposo, aunque siempre había anhelado que su papá regresara a la Iglesia, se regocijaba en la fidelidad de su papá a Dios. Sin embargo, quería lo mejor para él y cuando se acercaba el final de su vida, recurrió a San José en busca de ayuda. Todos los días, mi esposo pasaba por la iglesia y se arrodillaba ante el Santísimo Sacramento pidiendo la intercesión de San José. Oró por tres cosas: que su padre estuviera dispuesto a recibir la Unción de los Enfermos antes de morir, y que, después de su muerte, se le ofreciera una Misa fúnebre y luego fuera enterrado en nuestro cementerio parroquial.
Es una larga historia, pero, milagrosamente, las tres solicitudes fueron concedidas. Creemos que la intercesión de San José jugó un papel fundamental en este feliz resultado. Con Santa Teresa de Ávila decimos: “Ojalá pudiera persuadir a todos los hombres a ser devotos de este glorioso santo, porque sé por… experiencia propia qué bendiciones puede obtenernos de Dios”. Gracias, querido San José, por tu fiel testimonio, tu tremendo papel en la historia de la salvación y tu continua y amorosa intercesión.
A lover of Jesus Christ, a wife, and a mother of five, Christine is the author of Everyday Heroism: 28 Daily Reflections on the Little Way of Motherhood. She is a graduate of Franciscan University, an instructor for the Institute for Excellence in Writing, and an experienced catechist. Thrilled to have recently become grandparents, she and her husband currently live in Upstate, NY. Visit her author webpage at christinehanus.com
Feature Image Credit: Michael O’Sullivan, unsplash.com/photos/joseph-religious-figurine-xA36Wy213uM
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