SOLEMNITY OF SAINT JOSEPH - SPOUSE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY - Gospel (Matthew 1:16. 18-21. 24)

“When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him.” (Mt 1:24)

FIRST READING - 2 Sam 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16

A reading from the Second Book of Samuel

The LORD spoke to Nathan and said:

"Go, tell my servant David,

'When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,

I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,

and I will make his kingdom firm.

It is he who shall build a house for my name.

And I will make his royal throne firm forever.

I will be a father to him,

and he shall be a son to me.

Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;

your throne shall stand firm forever.'"

SECOND READING from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans - Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22

Brothers and sisters:

It was not through the law

that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants

that he would inherit the world,

but through the righteousness that comes from faith.

For this reason, it depends on faith,

so that it may be a gift,

and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants,

not to those who only adhere to the law

but to those who follow the faith of Abraham,

who is the father of all of us, as it is written,

I have made you father of many nations.

He is our father in the sight of God,

in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead

and calls into being what does not exist.

He believed, hoping against hope,

that he would become the father of many nations,

according to what was said, Thus shall your descendants be.

That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a

From the Gospel according to Matthew

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.

Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.

When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,

but before they lived together,

she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.

Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,

yet unwilling to expose her to shame,

decided to divorce her quietly.

Such was his intention when, behold,

the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

“Joseph, son of David,

do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.

For it is through the Holy Spirit

that this child has been conceived in her.

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,

because he will save his people from their sins.”

When Joseph awoke,

he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him

and took his wife into his home.

SOLEMNITY OF SAINT JOSEPH - SPOUSE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY - Gospel (Matthew 1:16. 18-21. 24)

Dear People of God,

In today’s Word of God, God tells all humanity to look at the example of the faith of our ancestors Abraham and Saint Joseph, two individuals chosen by God and placed in His plan of salvation.

It is through their belief in God's love and mercy that they both obeyed Him entirely and without hesitation when they heard His command.

The ancestor Abraham was appointed by God to cooperate in His plan of salvation. God appointed him as an example of faith and righteousness.

Through the Old Testament and the letters of Saint Paul, humanity knows that Abraham has the strongest faith among all humankind, a gift from God to humanity. Through the ancestor Abraham, humanity learns the lesson of faith.

Abraham always believed, trusted, and hoped in God in all circumstances and events of life. It can be said that he hoped even in the hopelessness of life.

Abraham fully believed in God's promise to give him many descendants, even when his wife was past childbearing age. He believed God's promise to make him the father of many nations while having only one son, whom God required him to sacrifice to God.

God tested Abraham very severely to measure his obedience to God's will. He demanded absolute obedience from patriarch Abraham and all His children. Those with absolute faith will overcome those tests, like the patriarch Abraham, who becomes the father of all believers.

When Jesus was born to become a human being, there was a man named Joseph, a descendant of Abraham. Joseph had strong faith in God, believing in God’s love and providence.

As he followed God's plan, God continually gave Saint Joseph difficulties and challenges to test his faith. Saint Joseph was called a righteous man of God:

-Because Saint Joseph listened to and obeyed the will of God.

Moreover, he lived a pure and chaste life, always forgiving others. Specifically, when Mother Mary became pregnant with the Son of God through the power of the Holy Spirit, Saint Joseph did not know what had happened to Blessed Mother Mary. He tried to escape quietly to avoid her being stoned. This was an example of charity and forgiveness in the righteous person of Saint Joseph.

-What is even more outstanding about the righteous man Saint Joseph is that he listened to the word of God and put it into practice. He welcomed Blessed Mary into his home and raised Jesus.

Saint Joseph cooperated with Mother Mary and Jesus in God's plan of salvation.

This was a blessing that God placed in Saint Joseph, a great privilege bestowed upon him. Because of Saint Joseph's obedience, loyalty, and faithfulness until his last breath, he fulfilled his responsibility as the foster father of Jesus, the Son of God who came to earth to become a human being.

To this day, God wants everyone in the world to know Saint Joseph's glorious name so that he can intercede for anyone who comes to pray to him. Especially in God’s Holy Land, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary, named the Mother of Healing for the whole world, God also appointed Saint Joseph as the patron saint of all the sick and sinners in the world.

Anyone who comes to pray with absolute trust and confidence in God and follows the example of Saint Joseph's virtues—living a pure, chaste life, living in obedience, poverty, trust, and absolute confidence in God—will receive the healing grace.

God also calls on all humanity to look up to and live by the example of Saint Joseph, fulfilling the duties that God gives to each person right here on earth to be rewarded by God with the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Thanks be to God. Amen.