This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, where we remember not only Jesus born of Mary, but also remember St. Joseph, the guardian and protector of the Holy Family, and his role in the life and redeeming work of Jesus.

On Dec. 8, 1870, Pope Pius IX formally declared St. Joseph as patron of the Universal Church (which can be read HERE). In honor of this event 150 years ago, Pope Francis has declared this new year as a “Year of St. Joseph.” Pope Francis said the coronavirus pandemic has heightened his desire to reflect on St. Joseph, as so many people during the pandemic have made hidden sacrifices to protect others, just as St. Joseph quietly protected and cared for Mary and Jesus. He also said he wanted to highlight St. Joseph’s role as a father who served his family with charity and humility, adding, “Our world today needs fathers.”

Here is an excerpt of Pope Francis’ words in a letter Patris Corde (with a father’s heart). The letter can be read in its
entirety at this link.

“My desire to do so increased during these months of pandemic, when we experienced, amid the crisis, how “our
lives are woven together and sustained by ordinary people, people often overlooked. People who do not appear in
newspaper and magazine headlines, or on the latest television show, yet in these very days are surely shaping the decisive events of our history. Doctors, nurses, storekeepers and supermarket workers, cleaning personnel, caregivers, transport workers, men and women working to provide essential services and public safety, volunteers, priests, men and women religious, and so very many others. They understood that no one is saved alone… How many people daily exercise patience and offer hope, taking care to spread not panic, but shared responsibility. How many fathers, mothers, grandparents and teachers are showing our children, in small everyday ways, how to accept and deal with a crisis by adjusting their routines, looking ahead and encouraging the practice of prayer. How many are praying, making sacrifices and interceding for the good of all”.[6] Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all. The greatness of Saint Joseph is that he was the spouse of Mary and the father of Jesus. In this way, he placed himself, in the words of Saint John Chrysostom, “at the service of the entire plan of salvation”.[7]

And he closes his letter with this prayer:

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen.

Peace,
-Fr. Kevin