Saint Joseph, pray for us

To mark the 150th anniversary of his proclamation as Patron of the Catholic Church by Blessed Pius IX on 8 December 1870, Pope Francis has declared 2021 to be a year dedicated to Saint Joseph. According to the Gospels, he was a carpenter and a righteous man. He was declared Patron of Workers by Venerable Pius XII, Guardian of the Redeemer by Saint John Paul II, and is often invoked as Patron of a Good Death. Saint Joseph was the legal father of Jesus. Celebrating Saint Joseph is an opportunity to reflect on our spiritual fatherhood. One day, the Apostles asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus told them to pray thus: ‘Our Father’. In the Old Testament, God is recognised much more as the Creator, the Judge, the Mighty One and Valiant in battle, the God of hosts, yet also the Merciful One. Jesus, who is the perfect revelation, teaches us that God is Father: ‘Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven’ (Mt 5:16). In the parable of the Prodigal Son, God’s character as Father is even clearer: he loves his children with mercy (Luke 15:11–32). God is our Father; it is he who created us. ‘You are indeed children: God has sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son, who cries out, “Abba! Father.” You are therefore no longer a slave but a son’ (Gal 4:6).

Jesus says not to call anyone ‘father’ (Mt 23:9). In this way, he does not want anyone to feel proud, superior to others, or to set themselves up as God, the giver of life, following the example of the Roman emperors who were deified. But Jesus does not reject either physical fatherhood or spiritual fatherhood as a sharing in God’s fatherhood. Since God is our Father, he gives us the capacity to be fathers too. ‘ I bow my knee before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name’ (Eph 3:14–15). In the Old Testament, Elisha calls Elijah ‘father’ (2 Kings 2:11–14). Saint Paul also regarded himself as a father to the communities he founded and to those to whom he proclaimed the Gospel: ‘You do not have many fathers. It is I who, through the Gospel, have begotten you in Jesus Christ. I therefore urge you: follow my example’ (1 Cor 4:15–16); ‘My little children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you’ (Gal 4:19). If we call priests ‘fathers’, it is because they bring us into being and guide us in the life of Christ. Throughout the history of the Church, people have been called spiritual ‘fathers’ for the spiritual guidance they have provided to Christians.

Do we not also have people whom we have sponsored for the sacraments? Do we not have people who have come to know Christ or returned to the Church because of us? Do we not have people whom we have invited, evangelised or whom we guide spiritually? Moreover, as parents, we have a spiritual responsibility towards our biological children. In this way, we share in God’s fatherhood, like Saint Joseph, and cooperate in his work of saving humanity. Pope Francis points out that Saint Paul VI observes that Saint Joseph’s fatherhood was expressed in concrete terms by the fact that ‘he made his life a service, a sacrifice to the mystery of the Incarnation and to the redemptive mission associated with it; by exercising the legal authority vested in him over the Holy Family to make a total gift of himself, his life and his work to it; by transforming his human vocation to domestic love into a superhuman self-offering—of his heart and every capacity for love—placed at the service of the Messiah who took root in his home’. Thus we are members of the Body of Christ and responsible for the spiritual lives of others. We are even responsible for groups, branches, committees, communities and ministries within the Church. We are fathers to a multitude of people, following the example of Saint Joseph.

The example of physical fatherhood can help us to understand certain aspects of spiritual fatherhood. There are parents who have had children whom they have subsequently abandoned. I know a married man who was, nevertheless, very committed to the Church. He made me the godfather of one of his sons. He was appointed head of the extended family in his village and decided to neglect his own family in order to take other wives and thereby cement his reputation. The irresponsibility of some fathers leads them to provide only the bare minimum for their children, thus leaving them with a great sense of material and emotional deprivation.

Can we not also recognise that we are spiritually irresponsible, at least at times? Do we pray regularly for our spiritual children, our godchildren? Do we give them enough spiritual nourishment? Do we not often leave them to their own devices? ‘Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant whom the Master has put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master, on arriving, finds doing his duty’ (Mt 24:45–46). Often, we are so focused on our own lives that we forget our spiritual children. Saint Joseph endured much suffering to protect the lives of Jesus and Mary. Saint Paul was deeply concerned for the communities he had founded and the towns he had evangelised, which is why he wrote so many letters to them. We are spiritual fathers to our families, for the family is the primary community responsible for evangelising its members. We are fathers to our groups and communities. They need us.

God would have us take Saint Joseph’s fatherhood as an example in this year marking the 25th anniversary of the Word of God groups. Fortunately, this is a task accompanied by blessed promises. We will find joy in giving of ourselves to others, for there is far more joy in giving than in receiving (Acts 20:35). Pope John Paul II said that faith grows when it is shared. If we strive to nurture the faith of others as good fathers do, our own faith will grow too. So, when our faith falters, might we not say that it is also because we have become less attentive to our spiritual children? Finally, when we care for God’s children, we bring joy to our Father, for he does not desire the death of the sinner but his conversion (Ezek 33:11). He wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Tim 1:4). He rejoices over a sinner who repents. Let us seek ways to nourish ourselves and grow spiritually. This requires effort, study and ongoing formation. Above all, it requires that we put the Word of God into practice always and everywhere, so that Jesus, living within us, may impart his life to his children. ‘Hail, guardian of the Redeemer, spouse of the Virgin Mary. To you God entrusted his Son; in you Mary placed her trust; with you Christ became man. O blessed Joseph, be a father to us too, and lead us along the path of life. Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage, and defend us from all evil. Amen” (Prayer by Pope Francis). Happy New Year.

Henri Bayemi