Homily of His Excellency Selim Sfeir Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus 7th Sunday in Advent
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
“O Joseph, rise, doubt no longer. Mary carries Jesus, God’s Word, and she remains still a virgin, yet the mother bearing God’s Son.” – Ramsho
After choosing His Holy Mother, and adorning her with every possible grace and virtue, God chose a very wonderful man to be her guardian, her protector, and her champion: St. Joseph. What an extraordinary yet very ordinary man he was! What a great debt of gratitude we owe to him! It took many centuries for the Church to develop devotion to St. Joseph because in the first millennium of Christianity, the Church had to assert that Jesus of Nazareth was the only Begotten Son of the Father and one in Being (consubstantial) with the Father. This required all the best minds to find the correct vocabulary, and so St. Joseph was eclipsed. But at the right time, the Holy Spirit moved the faithful to discover the mighty and powerful intercession of this holy carpenter of Nazareth.
This Sunday we contemplate St. Joseph faced with a big crisis. We too have events that turn our lives upside down. Instead of getting angry, becoming bitter and resorting to isolation, St. Joseph shows us how to act in the face of difficulties: don’t make hasty decisions, study the situation carefully, and place yourself squarely in the certainty of God’s Mercy (and even take a nap before you make a big decision!). May I also add from personal experience: entrust all your troubles to St. Joseph, for since he never said no to God, God will never say no to him!
Prayer
O good St. Joseph obtain for all the Christian faithful a cheerful keenness to always do the Will of the Father.
Catechism of the Catholic Church #532
Jesus obedience to his mother and legal father fulfills the fourth commandment perfectly and was the temporal image of his filial obedience to his Father in heaven. The everyday obedience of Jesus to Joseph and Mary both announced and anticipated the obedience of Holy Thursday: “Not my will …” The obedience of Christ in the daily routine of his hidden life was already inaugurating his work of restoring what the disobedience of Adam had destroyed.
† Selim Sfeir
Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus