The greatness of St. Joseph

IT’S definitely his humility and simplicity that built up his greatness. And because of these qualities, faith in God’s will and ways was easy for him to follow and comply. In fact, especially in some crucial moments, he attracted some kind of special divine intervention that quashed his doubts and baffled condition. 

 This was shown, for example, when he found out that Mary, to whom he was engaged, was found already with child in her womb before they lived together. (cfr. Mt 1,16.18-21) He at first thought of separating from her. But being a just man, as the gospel narrated, he planned to do it not publicly but privately. 

 That’s when some special divine intervention came in the form of an angel appearing to him in his sleep, clarifying the whole matter to him. And with that, he immediately changed his mind and, without further question, accepted Mary as his wife. 

 St. Joseph is worth emulating, worth giving more and better attention than a cursory, casual one. His condition is very much identifiable with that of the majority of the people all over the world. Like him, many of us do very ordinary simple duties, with hardly any public or social consequence. But the possibility of being great, like St. Joseph, is always there. 

 We need to strengthen our realization about the very intimate and mutual relation between humility and greatness. When one is truly humble and simple, it can only show the greatness of his heart. That mutual relation enables one to do God’s will faithfully, and eventually to share in the very life and nature of God himself. True greatness is never shown in pride and vanity. It is proven and verified in humility and simplicity. 

 This mutual relation between humility and greatness is expressed when we manage to value others, whoever and however they are, above ourselves and when we look after their interest instead of our own. (cfr. Phil 2,3-4) 

 This is what we clearly see in the life of Christ. Let’s call to mind that stunning example of his when he shocked his apostles when he started and insisted to wash their feet at the Last Supper. (cfr. Jn 13,1-17) 

 With humility and simplicity, we, like St. Joseph, would be enabled to see the sacredness of what may appear simply as ordinary duties according to our human standards. By being faithful to these ordinary duties, we, like St. Joseph, can practically manage to touch heaven while here on earth. The many ordinary little things we do can somehow acquire eternal and redemptive value. 

 Of course, it must have helped St. Joseph a lot to be keenly aware of whom he was taking care of. Proximity helps. But that should not be an excuse for us to feel not as lucky as St. Joseph. Christ is always close to us. He is always watching over us and guiding us all the time. We just have to learn how to discern and correspond better to that reality. 

 That’s why it’s important that from time to time we pause and pray so that we can have or regain our spiritual and supernatural bearing, and feel’s Christ’s continuous presence and guidance in our life and in our affairs, and be moved to react accordingly. 

 St. Joseph is showing us that the ordinary things in life, the performance of the duties inherent to our state in life, are the very occasions we can be with Christ and deal with him as we ought. 

 That’s when, like St. Joseph, we can also aspire to greatness in the very simple things of our life!

Never worry about anything

IN this Lenten season when we are encouraged to do some deep reflection and penance if only to grow in our spiritual life, to make ourselves more identified with Christ, we should try to develop a lifestyle of abiding faith and hope such that nothing should worry us. 

 And the reason for this is because Christ, the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity, takes care of everything. All we have to do is to try our best to be with Christ who makes himself ever available to us, providing us with everything that we need. 

 This Christian attitude has basis on what many saints have testified very vividly. St. Paul, for example, has these following testimonies to support that claim: 

 - “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4,6-7) 

 - “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Phil 4,12-13) 

 - “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” (2 Cor 4,8-10) 

 We really need to learn how to think, react and behave according to what our Christian faith teaches us. For this, we need to spend time meditating on these truths of our faith, and to develop the appropriate skills and attitude. We should not dare to live our life, tackling all sorts of conditions, by relying simply on our human powers. 

 What is also helpful is to avail ourselves of the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, where we can have the very body of Christ in us, and hopefully share his very own spirit that animated the souls of all the saints. 

 With Christ, we really would have no reason to fear, nor to wallow in worries, anxieties and sadness. Christ himself has reassured us in this regard: “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16,33) 

 Let’s also remember that these unfortunate states are fertile ground for the enemies of our soul, especially the devil, to take advantage of us. Rather we should learn to convert these unfortunate situations as occasions to go to Christ. 

 About the only reason to fear, worry and be sad is when we lose our faith, when we lose touch with God. We have to pray and pray so that our doubts and fears would not undermine our faith. 

 What also helps is to develop a sporting attitude in life, because, to be realistic about it, we will always have frustrations, disappointments, mistakes, failures, sins and defeats in our life. But we just have to learn how to move on, just like a good sportsman. 

 We should always be cheerful in life, and strive to show it even externally with smiles and happy, warm and encouraging dispositions. Even in our grief and mourning, we should manage to learn how to be serene, knowing that suffering and death have already been redeemed by Christ and are now endowed with redemptive power.

“A clean heart create for me, O God”

THAT’S from Psalm 51,12 that is often used as Responsorial Psalm in some Holy Masses. It’s a psalm that is worth keeping in mind always because in the end our real identity and condition can only be found in our heart. We should try our best that our heart be as clean and pure as possible, reflecting the very heart of Christ that is full of love. 

 We really need to take good care of our heart, which means that we should anchor it on Christ, since we are patterned after him. Thus, in the Book of Proverbs, we have this invitation from God, “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.” (23,26) This invitation should be clear in our mind and heart, and we should do everything to be able to correspond to that invitation properly. 

 Nowadays when our heart is glutted with so many worldly things, it is really a tall order to say, yes, to this invitation. But with God’s grace, which we can always receive with due humility on our part, there is no doubt that we can do it. 

 Obviously, to get a handle on our heart, we first of all need to go to God. Our human powers alone can never be enough. They can even be dangerous, since they are often very limited and, worse, erratic. 

 This is where strict self-discipline is most needed. We cannot deny the fact that we are often dominated by passions inside us and fashions outside us. We have our usual weaknesses of pride, laziness, attachments, etc. Thus, we need to undertake a continuing struggle, using all kinds of spiritual armory to wage this daily battle and aim at nothing less than conquering our heart for Christ. 

 Things may look difficult and unwinnable, but with faith, with persistence and God’s abundant grace, we can actually manage. Besides, there is deep within us a natural longing for God. Remember St. Augustine’s words: “My heart is restless until it finds its rest in You.” The natural attraction of our heart, if not corrupted, is God. 

 If we don’t complicate our heart, we can easily be led to God because he is where all good comes from. If we can just discipline ourselves and allow ourselves to be guided by faith and reason, we can always find God. 

 He is not someone who takes delight in hiding from us. His presence is everywhere. Christ himself assured us: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28,20) 

 And when we manage to keep our heart clean, then we can experience what Christ said in one of the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Mt 5,8) 

 Imagine how it will be when we manage to see God in everything and at all times because we strive to make our heart clean and pure! To be sure, God is never sparing in giving everything that we need to make our heart clear and pure. Things would just depend on how we correspond to what God is giving us. 

 Everyday, we have to see to it that we strive to keep our heart clean and pure. We should never let it float in any which way. We have to see to it that our heart increasingly gets united to God until it is fully identified with him. As said earlier, we have all the means to achieve that goal. 

 Thus, we have to constantly ask the question: “Where do I give my heart? To whom do I give myself completely?” And let’s be ready with the correct answer.