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Solemnity of St. Joseph (Mar 19)

March 19, 2025

Fr. John Colacino C.PP.S.

OPENING HYMN

Come now and praise the humble saint

of David's house and line,

the carpenter whose life fulfilled

our gracious God's design.

For him there was no glory here,

no crown or martyr's fame,

for him there was the patient life

of faith and humble name.

But now within the Father's grace

where saints and angels throng

beside his spouse, before the Son,

he sings the glorious song.

COLLECT

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that by Saint Joseph's intercession
your Church may constantly watch over
the unfolding of the mysteries of human salvation,
whose beginnings you entrusted to his faithful care.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

FIRST READING 2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16

The LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
“Go, tell my servant David,
‘When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
It is he who shall build a house for my name.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.’”

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29

R/. The son of David will live for ever.

The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness,
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness. R/.

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.” R/.

“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.” R/.

SECOND READING Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22

Brothers and sisters:
It was not through the law
that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants
that he would inherit the world,
but through the righteousness that comes from faith.
For this reason, it depends on faith,
so that it may be a gift,
and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants,
not to those who only adhere to the law
but to those who follow the faith of Abraham,
who is the father of all of us, as it is written,
I have made you father of many nations.
He is our father in the sight of God,
in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead
and calls into being what does not exist.
He believed, hoping against hope,
that he would become the father of many nations,
according to what was said, Thus shall your descendants be.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.

VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL Ps 84:5

GOSPEL Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.

MEDITATION (Pope St. John XXIII)

Very often, St. Joseph has been called the silent saint. That is because he never speaks in Scripture. What he does is work to fulfll God’s will fully and exactly. If he thinks of calling off his marriage to Mary, it is because that seems God’s will, as expressed by the Law of Moses. But then he is reminded in a dream that Mary is pregnant—or so she says—by the Holy Spirit. He is reminded he has to trust her faith and her honesty and so he changes his mind and dedicates the rest of his life to caring for her and Jesus. It stirs me deeply to imagine Joseph’s endless little deeds of caring for his family. Everything he does is seen as a way of fulflling God’s will for those he helps. Think of what this taught Jesus and how it affected what Scripture calls his growth in wisdom! This silent teaching will transform all we do daily if we follow it. We are shown what following God truly means and how much more there is to its meaning than the merely earthly results that work achieves. God chose to teach us this through Joseph. Joseph also teaches a great lesson in serenity and trust. He had no more special revelations than any other person might have. He had to fgure out what God was asking of him by carefully considering what he dreamed about. So, he accepted Mary into his home as his wife, then carried Jesus and Mary into Egypt and then used his skills to earn a living for them there. He didn’t complain. When he dreamed the time had come to go back to Nazareth and start over once again, he did that without complaint. Whatever he concluded was God’s will for him “now” he did generously and lovingly. Most of us fear upsets in our lives. Joseph was ready to accept any change, no matter how unexpected it might be so long as he could see it as a way of doing God’s will. A person of faith, as he shows us, doesn’t hesitate in the face of fear and even uncertainty, let alone in the face of strangeness and situations never faced before. That is genuine trust in God. If God wants this or that, then God can be trusted to show us how to use our skills and abilities to obey God and accomplish what God commands despite personal limitations. Thinking of all this, we see how faith makes us humble and how we fnd confdence precisely through that humility. Joseph lived as a collaborator with God in carrying out God’s Plan of Salvation. He didn’t have to understand anything more than that God was asking him to do this or that. We kneel in reverence before the hidden glory of Joseph’s family—before its real treasures of humility, self-sacrifce, openness to learning, and responsiveness in love. There was also acceptance of trials and sufferings and unquenchable trust in God, no matter what was asked. How many people need these riches even more than food and drink and better housing? Let’s not forget that we are asked by God to share these inner treasures along with the more ordinary ones. We are called to share them frst by living them, by deeds more than by mere words.

INTERCESSIONS

All fatherhood in heaven and on earth has its origin in God. Let us turn to him and pray:
Our Father in heaven, hear our prayer.

All-holy Father, you revealed to St. Joseph your eternal plan of salvation in Christ,
  - deepen our understanding of your Son, true God and true man.

Father in heaven, you feed the birds of the air and clothe the fields with the fruit of the earth,
  - give all your children their daily bread to sustain soul and body.

Maker of the universe, you have entrusted your creation to our safekeeping,
  - may all who work receive a just reward for their labors.

God of all righteousness, you want us all to be like you,
  - May St. Joseph inspire us all to walk always in your way of holiness.

Look kindly on the dying and dead, and grant them your mercy,
  - through the intercession of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

O God, ever faithful to your covenant, you strengthened Saint Joseph to embrace the mystery of your will and to welcome your Word, made flesh of the Virgin Mary. Keep your Church also steadfast in faith, ready to trust in your promises and eager to fulfil your saving purpose. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. (ICEL; 1998)

OFFERTORY (John Michael Talbot)

Hear, my son, your father’s teaching
Reject not your mother’s song

A graceful crown, a royal diadem
Will they be for the crowning of your soul
Crying aloud is the voice of Wisdom
In open squares and the streets of your soul

So the sinners entice you and say
“Come along.” Hold back your foot from their path
For their way is quick to shed blood
And death will come back on them each and everyone

Happy the man who finds Wisdom
Her profit is better than silver or gold
When you are young, disdain not discipline
And you’ll be honored when you grow old

She is like the tree of life
By Wisdom all of the earth was founded
The depths break open, the clouds poured down rain
Let not lady Wisdom escape you

Hear, my song, your Father’s teaching
Reject not Wisdom’s song

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