St. Joseph, Image of God's Fatherly Love
H. H.
John Paul II
Angelus Message
March 21, 1999
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
1. In popular Christian tradition the month of March is
dedicated to St Joseph, whose liturgical feast we celebrated on
19 March.
Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is patron of the
universal Church and enjoys special veneration among the People
of God, as is also attested by the great number of Christians
who bear his name. Ten years ago I dedicated an Apostolic
Exhortation to his person and mission as Guardian of the
Redeemer and of the Church, which today I would like to offer
again for everyone's reflection during this last year of
preparation for the Great Jubilee, dedicated precisely to God
the Father. In Joseph, called to be the earthly father of the
incarnate Word, the divine fatherhood is reflected in a most
extraordinary way.
2. Joseph is the father of Jesus because he is really Mary's
husband. She conceived virginally through God's action, but the
child is also the son of Joseph, her lawful husband. This is why
in the Gospel both are called the "parents" of Jesus (Lk 2:27,
41).
Through the exercise of his fatherhood, Joseph cooperates, in
the fullness of time, in the great mystery of salvation (cf.
Redemptoris Custos, n. 8). "His fatherhood is expressed
concretely in his having made his life a service ... to the
mystery of the Incarnation and to the redemptive mission
connected with it; ... in having turned his human vocation to
domestic love into a superhuman oblation of self, an oblation of
his heart and all his abilities into love placed at the service
of the Messiah growing up in his house" (ibid.). To this end,
God shared his own fatherly love with Joseph, that love "from
[which] every family in heaven and on earth is named" (Eph
3:15).
Like every child, Jesus learned about life and how to act from
his parents. How could we not think, with deep wonder, that he
must have developed the human aspect of his perfect obedience to
the Father's will particularly by following the example of his
father Joseph, "a just man" (cf. Mt 1:19)?
3. Today I would like to invoke the heavenly protection of St
Joseph on all fathers and on their duties in family life. I also
commend to him Bishops and priests, who are entrusted with the
service of spiritual and pastoral fatherhood in the ecclesial
Family. By concretely fulfilling their responsibilities, may
each of them reflect God's provident and faithful love. May we
obtain this through St Joseph and Blessed Mary, Queen of the
family and Mother of the Church.
© L'Osservatore
Romano
