3/19/2015 – Solemnity of St Joseph – Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a

       Our Happy Hearts group has the tradition of celebrating the solemnity of St Joseph on the Friday closest to his feast day – March 19.  So this Friday, March 20, we will celebrate St Joseph and will have a lunch of Italian food following the mass and the midday stations of the cross in keeping with the tradition that is celebrated by many faithful Italian American Catholics on this special day.

        It is in the midst of our holy season of Lent.  In fact, in little more than a week, we will celebrate Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion and then move into our commemoration of Holy Week.  But, today, we celebrate the celebration of St Joseph, the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  We hear a reading about Joseph from the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel today.  Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant during their engagement but before they lived together; he was unwilling to expose her to shame, so he decided to divorce her quietly. Although Joseph was a devout Jew and dedicated follower of God’s holy law, he was not rigid or dogmatic about his adherence to the law.  Joseph realized that God’s law must be applied with kindness and compassion, that it must be interpreted with love, and that the very spirit of God’s law must not be violated. So, following the instructions of the angel, he takes Mary into his home and raises Jesus as his child.  I bet we all wish at times in our life we can have an angel whispering instructions in our ear or coming to us in a dream. Yet, the proper formation of our conscience, regular attendance at mass, and full participation in our community of faith we help us discern how God is leading us and guiding us in our decisions.  This is particularly instructive to us in our Lenten journey, as we examine our live to really see how we are trying to live as Christ’s disciples.

      I always associate the solemnity of St Joseph with the Italian American Catholic community; this day is as much a part of their identity as St Patrick’s Day is for Irish Americans.  In Sicily and in Italian American communities, the practice is to set the Table of Saint Joseph for this special day in his honor.  Pasta, vegetables, fish, eggs, pastries, fruit and wine are prepared and the poor are invited into the home to share in this special meal.  According to tradition, on the island of Sicily, there was a drought that destroyed the harvest and created a great famine.  The Sicilians prayed to Saint Joseph, the Patron Saint of the Family.  The prayers were answered when the famine and the drought receded. This great banquet of the Table of St Joseph remembers his intercessions for these Sicilian families in time of need and continues to gives thanks to him.

       Our Catholic traditions are an important part of our faith.  And here in Mississippi, especially in the Delta, Italian Americans who immigrated from Sicily have had a great influence on the development of Catholicism in our diocese and for the Catholic traditions we continue to observed.  We give thanks for that heritage, for the faith and steadfastness of those Italian Catholic families to continue in their faith despite great discrimination and hardship.  And we give thanks for St Joseph and for his intercessions. 

3/19/2014 – Solemnity of St Joseph – Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24A

      Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Joseph, the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  In many cultures, this is an important solemnity in the midst of our journey during the sacred season of Lent.  Scripture does not tell us a lot of details about Joseph.  It says that he was a righteous man in today’s Gospel – expressing how he faithful stood by the Virgin Mary and faithfully filled his role as foster father of Jesus.  We can imagine that when Joseph learned of Mary’s pregnancy it was one of the darkest hours of his life.   We don’t hear of Joseph from the time Jesus started his public ministry – perhaps Joseph passed away before that time.  Yet, we can assume that Joseph was instrumental in forming Jesus in his faith, in preparing him for his public ministry and his proclamation of God’s kingdom.  I see both Joseph and Mary as such wonderful examples of faith for us – both of them were truly the first disciples who believe in Christ and his ministry even before that ministry began.  In fact, I often tell men who come to me for confession to pray with Joseph and to ask for his prayers and friendship to help them overcome what they are struggling with.  It is interesting to note that devotion to St Joseph grew in the 15^th and 16^th century, with saints such as Teresa of Avila promoting a devotion to him. 

      The tradition of St Joseph’s table that our Happy Hearts group celebrates today goes back to Italy many centuries ago. There are various stories told that explain this tradition.  One story holds that on the island of Sicily during the Middle Ages, the inhabitants prayed to St Joseph to intercede during a terrible time of famine that was caused by a drought. They prayed for the rains to come, and when the drought was ended, they prepared a special banquet in thanksgiving to St Joseph for answering their prayers.  This became a tradition in Sicily, when they invited the poor and the less fortunate to join in the feast.  In the late 19^th and early 20^th century, Sicilian immigrants brought this tradition to the United States, where it has become one of the biggest devotions in Italian American communities throughout our country. 

      Today, as we celebrate this wonderful tradition, let us ask for the prayers for Blessed St Joseph for our community, for the poor and the sick, that his intercessions brought them healing and strength.  And may St Joseph help all of us as we continue on our Lenten journey.