Mar 21st, 2021 Motjari meeting Fr. Foeckler’s lecture note

[정하상성당]

Motjari Meeting March 21st, 2021 

 

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

On the last Friday, we celebrated a solemnity. A solemnity is a feast day of the highest rank celebrating a mystery of faith like the Trinity, an event in the life of Jesus, St. Mary, his legal father Joseph, or another important saint.

 

Pope Francis made this year “The Year of St. Joseph.” He always has great devotion on St. Joseph. He added St. Joseph in the Eucharistic prayer. 

In the courtyard where Fr. Foeckler lives, they have a statue of St. Joseph (picture)

 

Why is St. Joseph so important? Why the pope made a year for him?

 

Gospel from the Friday

 

Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a

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.

 

 

Why is he special to God?

Joseph is the righteous man, and that’s how he had been described in New Testament.

Old testament/ New testament have different way of saying someone is just and holy. 

The power of the Holy Spirit made St. Joseph be just.

 

Jesus= Son of the Eternal Judge, the son of St. Mary, and the foster son of St. Joseph

 

God wanted to Jesus have a family. Joseph was the one betrothed, God sent an angel to Joseph and told him about Jesus. Joseph as his legal father, needs to give his “son” the name Jesus, which means the savior of his people. In Jewish tradition, the father officially gets to name his son. They experienced things as a family.

 

They went to Bethlehem together, because Joseph was David’s descendant. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The family were visited by magi. The magi were told by the angel not to go back to Herod. Joseph got another dream to go to Egypt, stayed there until after Herod’s death. When the time came to go back, he was told not to go Bethlehem but Nazareth.

 

Mary remained virgin, Joseph remained chasted. The chasted spouse of the virgin mary.

There are three titles about Joseph:

 

• Patron of the Universal Church
• Patron of the unborn child
• Patron Saint of fathers
• Patron Saint of workers
• Patron Saint of travelers
• Patron Saint of migrants
• Patron of the dying and of a happy death

 

He was a carpenter. Jesus was known to be a son of a carpenter. Joseph was a father, a worker, a carpenter, and a provider. A Provider for the holy family where to live, foods, a shelter. He protected the holy family. He protected the virgin Mary. He wanted not to shame Mary. He kept the secret that he was not the biological father of Jesus. There is good comparison to Herod who killed a lot of people including his wife and several of his sons. Joseph was fleeing to Egypt with Jesus and Mary to protect them from Herod’s killing spree of first born sons around the Israel.

 

Litany(lists of virtue) of St. Joseph (Please see the attached file.)

 

(Now that more stories coming up, I was losing my attention. Please feel free to join in completing the stories below.)

 

St. Joseph the just

 

Don’t pay attention to your dream, because you are asleep. Saint-sake, they can pay attention to their dreams because they can assure God talks them in their dream. Samuel was called three times in his dream, when to Eli to ask if Eli called Samuel. Twice Eli returned Samuel to his bed, only on the third time, Eli realized that the LORD called Samuel, thought him to say, ’Speak, for your servant is listening.'” (1 Samuel 3:7-10) If it’s God’s call, He will insists.

 

Angel Gabriel told Zachariah in a temple while he was praying with incense on. He was so afraid that he didn’t get the message right, thus angel had to make him mute, so he would know he got a message from angel about a baby who will be St. John. Angel also showed up to Elizabeth, told her about St. Mary.

 

In the St. Mary’s annunciation, Mary asked how because she was virgin. The question was legitimate, the angel didn’t make her mute like Zachariah, but answered her.

 

To Joseph, angels didn’t show up like he did to Zachariah because he was a man of character.  We don’t know everything about St. Joseph. Joseph was very attentive to the God. He always did what God expected him to do. His action shows that he has good relationship with God.  The fact that God talked always in his dream meant he had good relationship with God.

 

Doctor of the Church=St. Teresa of Avila, a Carmelite nun

The church named her in the 16th century Doctor of prayer. She took St. Joseph the teacher of her prayer. St. Joseph becaome the The official patron of the church

 

Another point

 

St. Joseph was a provider. There’s a story of St. Joseph as a carpenter now. When Spanish conquistadors arrived SantaFe New Mexico about 100 years ago. The Little Sisters of the Poor ware building a chapel. A man showed up, brought a wood, built a staircase without a single nail, disappeared when the job was done. The wood seems not from anywhere near, but from Palestine. The sisters from Little Sisters of the Poor told Fr. Foeclker the story. They believe the man was St. Joseph himself.

 

Also once, the sisters put a beer can in front of the statue of the St. Joseph, since the beer was one of the most needed items form the old men under their care. One man  laughing in a train thinking about the sister’s prayer putting actual beer can there. The passenger next seat was curious why he is laughing, the man told the sister’s story and prayer. The next seat passenger happened to be a guy from Miller.

 

Coal. Coal train? truck toppled over next to where the sisters needed the coal. 

 

Little sister from Rome

They were praying for vocation. One of the sisters was making very simple form of a rag doll, made a mistake in hasty preparation, drew only four fingers in the left hand. That year, the sisters had one applicant from Rome, who happens to have only four fingers on one hand.

 

Universal church

 

St. Joseph was the foster father. St. Joseph provide for Jesus, Jesus would do the same favor for him. Ask for his help. St. Joseph prays for everybody else.

 

When Jesus was 12 years old, he left behind in Jerusalem. 

 

St. Joseph must have been 10-15 years older than Mary. He was there when Jesus was lost when he was 12, but he wasn’t there when Jesus started his public life in 30 years old.

He must have died between those times. He died next to those two most holy people on Earth. St. Joseph is the patron of happy death.  God entrusted two most holy people to St. Joseph. 

We became sons and daughters of God, because a whole family. St. Joseph is still watching over the family.

 

Litany of St. Joseph again.

 

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