JOSEPHITE SPIRITUALITY SEEDS
Monthly publication of the International Josephite-Marellian Center


God's Service, in Imitation of St. Joseph
February 2020

1. Welcoming
2. Reflection and Sharing
3. Commitment of the Month:
 

“Saint Joseph Marello did not write a treatise on Saint Joseph, but lived and taught a true Josephite spirituality in letters and writings of homiletical nature and spiritual direction. We can say, without a doubt, that the platform of Marellian spirituality is certainly the figure of Saint Joseph. Saint Joseph was the model in the sequel to Christ, to which everything must converge. The virtues of St. Joseph became, in his teaching, the concrete way to walk the road to Christ. He summed it up in a clear program: "God's service in imitation of St. Joseph."

(Mario Guinzoni, Oblate of St. Joseph. 
Marellian Footprints. Chapter II. Saint Joseph)

We conclude the previous edition of “Josephite Spirituality Seeds” by asking that the Holy Spouses Joseph and Mary accompany us in this noble and important effort to build the civilization of love through the reconstruction of Christian families.

Continuing that reflection, we will see that this our “service to God” will be all the more effective the more we do it by imitating the virtues of St. Joseph, as St. Joseph Marello taught us.

Pope St. John Paul II, in turn, shows us that God wanted to begin the work of salvation in a family - the Holy Family of Nazareth - and wants to carry out this work through the family. Families who strive to live the virtues of the Holy Family of Nazareth and learn to walk in their company are able to change the world and make it more according to God's will, the Pope teaches us. Let's see:

“At the culmination of the history of salvation, when God reveals his love for humanity through the gift of the Word, it is precisely the marriage of Mary and Joseph that brings to realization in full "freedom" the "spousal gift of self" in receiving and expressing such a love. «In this great undertaking which is the renewal of all things in Christ, marriage - it too purified and renewed - becomes a new reality, a sacrament of the New Covenant. We see that at the beginning of the New Testament, as at the beginning of the Old, there is a married couple. But whereas Adam and Eve were the source of evil which was unleashed on the world, Joseph and Mary are the summit from which holiness spreads all over the earth. The Savior began the work of salvation by this virginal and holy union, wherein is manifested his all-powerful will to purify and sanctify the family - that sanctuary of love and cradle of life»."   (St. John Paul II. Redemptoris Custos, 7)

Pope John Paul II trusted St. Joseph so much that he clearly stated that “following his example, whoever offers himself to God, sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit, is in a position to transform the world so that it becomes a dwelling ever more worthy of Christ.”  (St. John Paul II. Address to the Pilgrims of the Diocese of Kalisz, Poland, 11/06/1997) Let us hear:

“The Church always needs the intercession of Saint Joseph. His protection is an effective defense against the dangers that arise and, even more, a great support to carry out the tasks of the new evangelization. Today, in the period of direct preparation for the great jubilee of the year 2000, when the task of evangelization acquires a particular relevance, I urge everyone to entrust this work with perseverance to the intercession of Saint Joseph. The incessant prayer and the fixed gaze on the very high model of holiness of the poor carpenter of Nazareth, whom the Gospel calls a righteous man (cf. Mt 1:19), can be for us a source of deep spirituality.”

“The total sacrifice, whereby Joseph surrendered his whole existence to the demands of the Messiah's coming into his home, becomes understandable only in the light of his profound interior life. It was from this interior life that "very singular commands and consolations came, bringing him also the logic and strength that belong to simple and clear souls, and giving him the power of making great decisions-such as the decision to put his liberty immediately at the disposition of the divine designs, to make over to them also his legitimate human calling, his conjugal happiness, to accept the conditions, the responsibility and the burden of a family, but, through an incomparable virginal love, to renounce that natural conjugal love that is the foundation and nourishment of the family. This submission to God, this readiness of will to dedicate oneself to all that serves him, is really nothing less than that exercise of devotion which constitutes one expression of the virtue of religion.”  
(St. John Paul II, Redemptoris Custos, 26)

 “In today's world, full of contradictions and tensions, the believer finds himself every day facing the need to choose. So, ask your own conscience what is fair, what you should accept and what you should reject. This is the question about the divine design that can be scrutinized only by those who are endowed with a deep inner life. And then, it takes a lot of weight and strength, a great love for God and man, to accept the weight of responsibility that springs from the answer to that question. It is also necessary the availability of the will to devote himself to the service of God. Saint Joseph teaches us all this. Imitating his example, whoever gives himself to God, sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit, is capable of transforming the world, so that it becomes an increasingly worthy abode of Christ. On the threshold of the third millennium this testimony of delivery is necessary. Man needs it, often misplaced among false promises of easy happiness. There is a need for this dedication in family, social, political and cultural life, so that all men can find in the Son of God the source of true hope. That Saint Joseph, whom you will venerate in the sanctuary of Kalisz, may become a teacher and spiritual guide for each of you. Hopefully, I would like for all the graces of this availability to fulfill the will of God, which was the reason for his particular choice.”  (St. John Paul II. Address to the Pilgrims of the Diocese of Kalisz, Poland, 11/06/1997)

Reflection and Sharing

Share on the words of Pope St. John Paul II: “Saint Joseph teaches us all this. Imitating his example, whoever gives himself to God, sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit, is capable of transforming the world, so that it becomes an increasingly worthy abode of Christ. On the threshold of the third millennium this testimony of delivery is necessary. Man needs it, often misplaced among false promises of easy happiness. There is a need for this dedication in family, social, political and cultural life, so that all men can find in the Son of God the source of true hope. That Saint Joseph, whom you will venerate in the sanctuary of Kalisz, may become a teacher and spiritual guide for each of you. Hopefully, I would like for all the graces of this availability to fulfill the will of God, which was the reason for his particular choice.”

Commitment of the Month

Exercise yourself in doing God's will on a daily basis. Talk in your community about preparing well for the month of March, St. Joseph's Month.