Year of St. Joseph (Part 8)

(An excerpt during the reflection night on St. Joseph by Rev. Fr. Wilfredo de Mesa Jr. OSJ, Parochial Vicar of Sanctuario de San Jose in Green Hills, Manila, via DXGN 89.9 Spirit FM-Davao, April 29, 2021. The Oblates of St. Joseph is a Congregation of priests and brothers who live the spirituality of St. Joseph. They work for the education of the Youth, the parish ministry and the propagation of the devotion to St. Joseph. Part 8 of a series.)

And then, St. Joseph is a creatively courageous father – matatag sa mga pagsubok sa buhay at gumagawa ng paraan upang malampasan ang mga pagsubok sa pamilya. Di po ba we call our fathers ‘haligi ng tahanan’? At ang isang haligi ng tahanan dapat matatag, sapagkat guguho ang bahay kung hindi matatag ang haligi. So, a father is courageous enough to hold a family together, to keep the family from falling apart in the midst of crisis, problems, and challenges. And then, St. Joseph is a working father – nagtrabaho si San Jose para maitaguyod niya ang kanyang pamilya. He is responsible enough to provide for the well-being of the family. Hindi siya iresponsable, hindi siya tamad. So, yan po mga kapatid, St. Joseph is a good steward. Why? Because, as a father, he loved and he took care of Jesus who was entrusted to him by God.

Pangalawa po, dadapo na po tayo ano sa pangalawang bahagi. May isa pang napakahalagang tao na ipinagkatiwala ng Diyos kay San Jose. Ito’y walang iba, kung hindi ang Mahal na Birheng Maria. And for that reason, St. Joseph is called the spouse of the Mother of God. Tingnan po natin ang ating mga sarili, mga kapatid, how are you as a spouse? Ikaw ba’y mabuting asawa? Or could you say that you and your spouse are a perfect couple? Kasi, mga kapatid, when we think of the marital relationship between Joseph and Mary, we imagine the two as a perfect couple. Hindi po ba pag tinitingnan natin si San Jose at si Maria para bang wala silang problema? Hindi sila nagkaroon ng misunderstandings, wala silang conflicts. They had a smooth relationship. We idealize them. And the Holy Family is often presented to us in very pious poses that would always show them in their best element. Pero ganito ba talaga ang relationship ni Mary and ni Joseph? Hindi ba sila nagkaroon na tinatawag natin na family crisis, or relationship crisis? Was there any dysfunction in that family of Nazareth?