Texts taken from the “On Your Word” Missal March-April 2024

Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary (feast)
proper

FIRST READING

From the Second Book of Samuel (2 Sam 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16)
In those days, this word of the Lord came to Nathan: “Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: ‘When your days are fulfilled 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. He 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.’” – The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the First Reading

We leave earthly patterns and enter into God's way. David's lineage will not simply be a dynastic line like that of the Savoys or the Windsors, but a historical lineage in which God, the eternal and unchanging One, will take on flesh and blood to become the universal King, Lord of Heaven and earth. Jesus does not descend from the clouds already thirty years old and raised in the mysterious realities of heaven, but will descend from the human line of kings after David, which ends with Joseph. There everything comes to a halt, and Joseph contemplates the divine incarnation of Christ in Mary's virginal womb. Joseph merely gives Jesus his name, and he will indeed be “son of David” according to the Israelites of his time. A great river of humanity, gathering up everything that came before it (including stories of sins and misery on the part of the various kings), reaches the meek carpenter of Nazareth; in him the entire Davidic story reaches its fulfillment. After him there will be no more descendants of King David, but only children of God, those who welcome the divine King, Jesus Christ, into their hearts. 

SECOND READING

From the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Romans (Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22)
Brothers and sisters, it was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir to 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 only to those who adhere to the law but also to those who follow the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 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 had been said: “So numerous will your descendants be.” That is why it was credited to him as righteousness. – The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the Second Reading

Inheritance is not usually gained through particular acts of faith. When someone is a child, it is normal that upon the father's death they receive, through a testamentary inheritance, all the property of the family home, or share it with their siblings. A child inherits because they are a child. With God, things work differently: to inherit eternal life, faith is also necessary. The example of the great Abraham is not accidental: he was promised an enormous and fruitful lineage, yes, but at the same time God asked him to place immense trust in him and, to test it, subjected him to a series of continuous and incredible trials (just think of the request to sacrifice Isaac). Without faith, one can indeed lose everything, but Abraham preserved the inheritance because he had faith more than anyone else. This passage can be applied to Saint Joseph: by lineage he was “son of David,” but to inherit the Kingdom of God he was asked for great faith: faith to believe in the divine Incarnation of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary, faith to live in total dependence on Jesus and Mary, finding all his glory in this continuous and hidden service. 

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew (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. The Gospel of the Lord. 

Commentary on the Gospel of the Day

In the great mystery of Christ's Incarnation, Saint Joseph's participation took place through faith, which was tested so that it might be purified and grow. The angel of the Lord could have appeared to Joseph in a dream immediately, when nothing could yet be seen in the Most Holy Mary. Certainly it would have been a surprise for him, but he would have immediately welcomed the great news, because Joseph was a saint. Instead, God allowed him to become aware of Mary's pregnancy when her pregnant womb became visible, without the Virgin or any angel having told him anything about it. He then plunged into darkness, struggled within himself, and finally decided to end his relationship with the Most Holy Mary, without denouncing her to the Sanhedrin. He did not lose faith in God, but found himself unable to understand God's way of acting. This can happen to us many times too… He was overcome with sadness, but did not carry out what he had been considering, because the angel finally told him everything. It was an outpouring of joy. Thus, this was the threefold movement: joy at the divine plan, inner confusion and trial in faith, revelation of the true design, and even greater joy.

OR:

From the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 2:41-51a)
Each year, Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up according to the festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances. But not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. All who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. – The Gospel of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the Day

To lose a child in Jerusalem at that time could have meant never finding him again. At Passover, the entire nation flooded into the capital, and the chaos was unimaginable. There were no cameras, flyers to distribute, appeals to broadcast on TV or over the internet, loudspeakers… none of that. How could it happen that the child whom the Eternal Father had entrusted to Joseph had disappeared? Had he been an ordinary child, it would already have been a tragedy, but knowing who Jesus truly was, it must have been utter despair for Joseph. How could he then have presented himself to the Eternal Father at the moment of death, saying that he had lost the child entrusted to his care? And if we imagine the mortal anguish, we can also presume the explosive happiness of seeing him again in the temple! Thus, this was the threefold movement in Joseph's life of faith: 1) Possession of Christ in the peace of the home in Nazareth; 2) confusion in Jerusalem and the resulting total despair: without Christ, nothing makes sense anymore; 3) finding him again and joy even greater than before.
Every Christian life readily experiences these three movements, which in Joseph were absolute.