As we celebrate the feast of St Joseph today, I thought about the connection that Pope Francis has to him. One of the first things that happened after Francis became pope was that Joseph was permanently added to the saints mentioned in Eucharistic prayer at mass. Francis’ connection starts early in his life, since it was in the church of St Joseph in Buenos Aires, Argentina, when, in 1953, at the age of 17, Pope Francis, who was then known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, discerned his vocation and decided on his intention to become a priest. It was actually on the feast of St Joseph six years ago in 2013 when Pope Frances was inaugurated as the head of our Church.
There is a statue that is popular of St Joseph that Pope Francis has popularized in recent years. He has had this statue since he was rector of the Jesuit seminary of San Miguel in Argentina. The statue shows St Joseph sleeping. We hear today in the Gospel of how Joseph, which he was asleep, received the message from the Angel in a dream to receive Mary into his house as his wife and to raise Jesus as his son. Later in the Gospels, Joseph receives another message from God while he is asleep, warning him about the danger of King Herod, as he is moved to action protect with loving care Mary and Jesus from this danger. The pope places under the statue of sleeping Joseph a list of his prayers and petitions. He invites St Joseph to join him in offering the prayers to God, to help solve these difficult situations of those in need. He calls upon the love, mercy, and attention of Joseph to help in getting answer from God for these prayers. This devotion to St Joseph, popular in Latin America, sees St Joseph helping us and protecting us, even while he is asleep.
So, as we celebrate the feast of St Joseph today in the midst of our Lenten journey, we ask him to pray for us.
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