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Homily for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, January 1, 2020, at St. Ann Catholic Church

As we come to the end of the gloriously peaceful Octave of Christmas in which we’ve meditated upon our Lord’s Incarnation and birth, Holy Mother Church reminds us today of the indispensable role of His virginal and immaculate Mother.

To be sure, Our Lady is no ordinary mother, for she is the only woman who experienced the joys of motherhood while keeping a virgin’s honor – and not only at our Lord’s conception, but as well through His birth and even after His birth. And so important is this belief in our Lady’s perpetual virginity that it is one of the four dogmatic Marian teachings – teachings that we, as Catholics, are absolutely bound to believe and hold as true.

While many of our Protestant brethren may scoff at this belief – not to mention the lukewarm, the atheistic, and agnostic of the world – those of us formed in authentic Catholic belief and piety have no qualms believing in the absolute purity of Our Lady.

Knowing her exalted status and position in the economy of salvation, knowing as we do that man would not be redeemed without her fiat at Nazareth, we understand her perpetual virginity as something perfectly fitting with her sublime dignity. Why wouldn’t the mother of our Lord be the holiest and purest member of humanity? Yet as we come to this particular New Year, you’ll forgive me if I do not focus so much on Our Lady today as I do on the one whom God gave to Our Lady to protect her honor.

I speak, of course, of good St. Joseph, who in this Year of our Lord 2020, enjoys a special honor in our diocese. Beginning with today’s feast, we now enter into the Year of St. Joseph, a time to reflect more deeply on his virtues and his place in the economy of salvation. It’s a year, as well, to entrust ourselves, our families, our parish, and our entire diocese more confidently into St. Joseph’s capable hands, ever trusting that he who was given charge of Jesus and Mary during their lives on earth, will take just as good of care of us! Whereas St. Joseph’s role on earth was to lead, protect, provide, guide, and love his spouse and his earthly Son, he does the same now for the Body of Christ from Heaven – which is why he’s the Patron of the Universal Church and why we can trust him with our needs!

To this end the great mystic, St. Teresa of Ávila, once said of St. Joseph: “I do not remember that I have ever asked anything of him which he has failed to grant.” Truly, despite his humble occupation as a carpenter, St. Joseph was no ordinary man. A direct descendent of King David, St. Joseph was of noble lineage. But even more important than his noble ancestry was his noble character. For while St. Joseph’s lineage fulfilled the prophesy that the Messiah would come from the House of David, it was ultimately because of his humility and virtue that St. Joseph was chosen by God to be our Lord’s earthly father.

Fittingly, many saints and theologians have made great claims about the sanctity of St. Joseph. In fact, both St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas taught that St. Joseph was a virgin, asserting thereby that it was virtue, and not the loss of virility from old age, that enabled good St. Joseph to live in perfect continence with the most beautiful of all women. Yet though a virgin, like Our Lady, St. Joseph was a parent nonetheless. He was fruitful in a way superior to normal procreative means, yet a true father nonetheless.

In fact, St. Josemaria Escrivá defends the true fatherhood of St. Joseph, stating: “Our Lord was not born of the seed of Joseph. Yet of the piety and charity of Joseph a son was born to him, of the Virgin Mary, and this was the Son of God.” In other words, St. Joseph’s fatherhood of Jesus is not a fatherhood according to the flesh, but a fatherhood according to holiness. The virility of St. Joseph finds it origins in his charity. Yet his unique fatherhood is no less authentic, for it stems from his authentic marriage to the Blessed Virgin Mary and from his unique role in the economy of salvation.

Thus, St. Joseph’s unique fatherhood is not something any man could hope to achieve. It’s something entirely particular to him, as is ever fitting for the one designated by God from all eternity to provide the paternal solicitude and care to Christ. Because of St. Joseph’s unique role in the life of Jesus, many saintly popes, theologians, and doctors of the Church have even stated that St. Joseph never committed an actual sin in his life, venial or mortal. In fact, some have even gone so far to state that, though St. Joseph was conceived with original sin like the rest of us, God cleansed him of all sin immediately afterwards by the future merits of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. Thus, much like Our Lady, St. Joseph was able to live the entirety of his life in perfect purity, inflamed with love for God.

While this is not a teaching of the Church or something that one must believe, it’s a theological speculation that makes a lot of sense. Should not the earthly father of Jesus enjoy certain privileges just like His mother? Should not the one who would guide the Savior in His manhood not enjoy a touch of divinity? Doesn’t it make sense that the earthly father of our Lord be extraordinarily holy? Ultimately, what I want you to understand is that St. Joseph is no ordinary saint. And because he fulfilled perfectly his very unique and special role in the economy of salvation, St. Joseph now enjoys a very special place in Heaven and is therefore a powerful intercessor. Truly, the gift of his unique paternity was a gift not only to the members of the Holy Family, but to us as well – a paternity that he exercises generously as the Patron of the Universal Church. And so we have every reason to trust in his paternal care.

My dear brothers and sisters, our good bishop has seen fit to designate this year as the Year of St. Joseph for our diocese. I believe this to be an act of providence, especially considering both the state of the Church and the state of our country. There can be no doubt that the evil one is having a field day right now with so many Church leaders, with so many of our elected officials, with the media and with so many elements of our society. Our world is in need of divine help.

With this Year of St. Joseph, we are being invited by our bishop to place our trust in the saint whom God the Father trusted above all else: St. Joseph. Let’s do the same with great confidence and love. If St. Joseph can guide, protect, and provide for our Lord and His Immaculate Mother, he can guide, protect, and provide for us as well. So in this new year, let’s all make a commitment to pray to St. Joseph every day, entrusting all our cares and worries to him, while also striving to imitate his virtues.

St. Joseph, pray for us!

Sacred Scripture describes St. Joseph as “a Just man” (Matthew 1:19) which can also be translated as “righteous,” “upright,” or, “he who is virtuous in all things.” If we want to learn from St. Joseph, we must begin by imitating the virtues he practiced daily in his quiet, hidden life.

The monthly themes for the Year of St. Joseph are taken from St. Joseph’s virtues and titles as prayed in the Litany of St. Joseph (see below).

January – Most Valiant Protector of Church

St. Joseph had the entire Church under his protection since the Holy Family was the Church. Our Lady is the Mother and Image of the Church, the Holy Spirit the soul of the Church and Christ the Church’s head. To Joseph this treasure was entrusted and by his wit, his obedience and his sacrifice he valiantly defended them.

February – Joseph Most Chaste

Chaste love requires that one wills the good to another without taking the other to oneself as one’s own. To Joseph was entrusted the Divine Child and His fairest Mother. Chaste in body but also in heart, Joseph loved freely which created the interior tranquility of order in the Holy Family.

March – Joseph Most Just

Joseph was first and foremost just unto God, rendering to Him what was His due. Since all things are due to God, Joseph was perfectly religious in prayer, in labor, and in love giving to God, even as an infant, the energy of his whole life.

April – Lover of Poverty

Joseph could count on nothing in this world to be his stay. Neither his trade nor property were employed in his first years as father of the Divine child. He had to abandon all that was his and provide for them in whatever way was possible as they were on pilgrimage to Bethlehem, to Egypt, and finally to Nazareth.

May – Model of Workers

We must not simply intend love, we must labor to fulfill love’s demands. Beneficence, laboring for the good of another, in Joseph’s case was direct labor for God. Working in Adam’s curse by the sweat of his brow was replete with purpose as it was all done to feed, to clothe, to shelter God Himself.

June – Joseph Most Obedient and Head of Holy Family

All authority is borrowed except for the Author himself. One can only be a just head of a family, be it natural or religious, if one is first obedient to the Word himself. Joseph’s perfect obedience rendered him the perfect Head of the Holy Family.

July – Joseph Most Faithful

Fidelity connotes steadfastness. In the vicissitudes of life, one needs steadfast love, that is, fidelity, when encountering confusion, suffering, and failure. The image of Joseph finding a place in which the Child could be born was his movement in all of life. Failure simply meant one went on in fidelity and found by failure what God had intended for the fruitfulness of His will.

August – Mirror of Patience

Patience is willingness to suffer. A patient is one who suffers a malady not by choice whereas a patient man is one who suffers volitionally rather than relinquish the vocation given him. Joseph was patient because of his love. He was willing to suffer anything, even the loss of Our Lady and the Divine Child by being the first to die.

September – Joseph Most Prudent

Prudence is the mother of virtues which depends upon the practical wisdom gained by experience matched with an agile mind to make decisions in the here and now. Each time Joseph knew the will of God he acted decisively, swiftly, and accurately. He acted neither rashly nor timidly, but prudently.

October – Terror of Demons

Demons hate humility, suckled as they are on the vice of pride. Joseph’s humility is what terrifies the demons. He is entrusted with power and authority not simply because of his internal strength but because of his complete reliance upon and fidelity to God.

November – Patron of Dying and Solace of the Afflicted

What a blessed death to see God before you die and for God Himself to tell you to go. This was Joseph’s gift from his Son, who would hand his father over to His Father. Thus has Christ entrusted Joseph to have particular intercessory power for all those on the moment of death.

December – Chaste Guardian of Virgins and Pillar of Families

Due to his chastity and vocation, Joseph has further been entrusted to continue his mission of guarding the pure ones of God and of the integrity of the family. This power flows through him now as a reward of his perfect fidelity. All religious and families should have recourse to this most powerful intercessor.

“Let us love Jesus above all, let us love Mary as our mother; but then, how could we keep from loving Joseph, who was so intimately united to both Jesus and Mary? And how can we honor him better than by imitating his virtues? Now, what else did he do in all his life but contemplate, study, and adore Jesus, even in the midst of his daily labors? Behold, therefore, our model.”

–St. Madeleine Sophie Barat

The Italian tradition of a St. Joseph Table is among the devotions being encouraged during the Year of St. Joseph in the diocese.

The “Tavola di San Giuseppe” (“St. Joseph’s Table” or “St. Joseph’s Altar”) originated in Sicily, which claims St. Joseph as its patron. It is practiced on March 19, the feast of St. Joseph. March 19 is also Father’s Day in Italy, which is fitting as St. Joseph was the foster father of Jesus.

This celebration featuring a makeshift shrine is a symbolic “thank you” and renewal of the Sicilian people’s devotion to St. Joseph.

It is a shared or communal celebration, in which the riches of food are given as alms to the poor and no one can be turned away. It has three aspects: veneration, special recognition of St. Joseph during Mass and at the “table”; the table, both a kind of “altar of reverence” and a communal celebration; and the poor, with the intention that the gathered food will help people in need.

Here’s how to set up your own St. Joseph Table at home or at your parish:

STEP 1: Choose a date and invite guests. If March 19 is not possible, celebrating a day or two before or afterwards is OK. It is ideal to host the celebration after Mass. Invite guests, especially children to dress up and play the parts of the Holy Family, the Apostles and angels. Guests should bring decorations or food items for the table.

STEP 2: Set up the table. Place a table in a prominent location of your home or church. On the table, arrange at least two display tiers using durable boxes or small shelves. (The three tiers represent the Holy Trinity, and the ascent from earth to heaven.) Cover the table and tiers with a white tablecloth.

STEP 3: Decorate the table. Place a statue of St. Joseph on the top tier. On the other tiers, display flowers (white lilies, in particular), candles, statues, rosaries and holy cards. The setup should be solemn and festive – use your imagination! Vigil lights of green, brown and yellow (representing St. Joseph’s clothing) can be placed all around, and the table can be surrounded by palms reminiscent of the Holy Land.

STEP 4: Set out a basket to collect prayer intentions and alms for the poor. You might collect canned goods for a food pantry or have a cash donation basket.

STEP 5: Prepare the menu. One traditional main dish in Sicily is “Carpenter’s Pasta” – pasta made with bread crumbs sautéed in butter to resemble sawdust – but you can include fish, soups or other pasta. Cheese isn’t used, symbolic of the food shortage experienced in the origin legend of the tradition. Sesame-coated artisan breads in symbolic shapes are a key centerpiece of the table and the menu. Don’t forget to include dessert: cakes, biscotti and cookies embellished with almonds are common. For menu ideas, go to www.yearofstjoseph.org.

STEP 6: Gather and place specific foods on the table. Special breads, fruits, vegetables, baked goods, pasta, wine and olives are all traditional items found on a St. Joseph’s Table. But as it is Lent, omit any meats and cheeses. Arriving guests should place their items on or around the table.

STEP 7: Bless the St. Joseph Table. Before or at the start of your celebration, invite a priest or deacon to bless your table, or pray together as a family.

STEP 8: Eat. The three children representing the Holy Family eat first, and they sit at a small table reserved just for them. Food is served buffet style.

STEP 9: Pray. After the meal, pray together as a group, seeking St. Joseph’s intercession. Pray the Litany to St. Joseph or use the diocese’s St. Joseph Prayer Book for other ideas. To end the celebration, offer guests a small gift such as a St. Joseph holy card. When possible, deliver the items collected for the poor to conclude the devotion.

— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter. www.yearofstjoseph.org and Tom Sperrazzo contributed.