Di Andrea Gagliarducci CITTÀ DEL VATICANO , 19 marzo, 2015 / 10:30 AM (ACI Stampa).- Perché Dio ha scelto San Giuseppe come padre putativo di suo Figlio? Perché era un uomo pratico, oltre che giusto. La straordinaria, logica, semplice e allo stesso tempo teologicamente fondata spiegazione dalla scelta l’ha data il Papa emerito Benedetto XVI, in una di quelle omelie che – come ha rivelato l’arcivescovo Georg Gaenswein, suo segretario particolare – tiene ogni domenica nella cappella del Monastero Mater Ecclesiae, dove risiede. Un rapporto, quello tra Joseph Ratzinger e il suo santo, strettissimo e vivo. Un rapporto che è bello ricordare nel giorno dell’onomastico del Papa emerito, che per una felice coincidenza coincide con l’anniversario della Messa di Inizio del Ministero Petrino di Papa Francesco. Ogni domenica, alle nove e mezza del mattino, il Papa emerito celebra, l’arcivescovo Gaenswein concelebra vestendo spesso una casula gemella a quella di Benedetto XVI, e assistono alla Messa le quattro Memores Domini e i pochissimi altri che riescono ad entrare nella cappellina, che può contenere massimo 12 persone. Durante la settimana, Benedetto XVI appronta il testo della sua omelia su un quadernetto, a mano, nella sua grafia minutissima e precisa. Ma poi, l’omelia la pronuncia a braccio, con la sua memoria di ferro che è rimasta lucidissima, e piena di idee. E in una di queste memorabili omelie – raccontate ad ACIStampa da chi ha avuto il privilegio di essere presente – tratteggiò proprio la figura di San Giuseppe. Aveva detto Benedetto XVI: “Perché Dio ha scelto Giuseppe? Perché Giuseppe era un uomo giusto, pio. Ma anche perché Giuseppe era un uomo pratico. D’altronde, ci voleva un uomo pratico per organizzare la fuga in Egitto, ma anche per organizzare il viaggio a Betlemme per il censimento, e per provvedere a tutte le necessità pratiche di Gesù”. E’ un tassello che si aggiunge ai tanti riferimenti alla figura di San Giuseppe di chi è stato pieno il pontificato di Benedetto XVI. Il 19 marzo del 2006 era una domenica, e il Papa ricordò la figura del suo santo sottolineando che “la grandezza di San Giuseppe, al pari di quella di Maria, risalta ancor più perché la sua missione si è svolta nell'umiltà e nel nascondimento della casa di Nazaret. Del resto, Dio stesso, nella Persona del suo Figlio incarnato, ha scelto questa via e questo stile - l'umiltà e il nascondimento - nella sua esistenza terrena”. Nei primi Vespri della festa di San Giuseppe del 2009, Benedetto XVI tratteggia quasi con stupore teologico la figura di San Giuseppe. “San Giuseppe – disse Benedetto - manifesta ciò in maniera sorprendente, lui che è padre senza aver esercitato una paternità carnale. Non è il padre biologico di Gesù, del quale Dio solo è il Padre, e tuttavia egli esercita una paternità piena e intera. Essere padre è innanzitutto essere servitore della vita e della crescita. San Giuseppe ha dato prova, in questo senso, di una grande dedizione. Per Cristo ha conosciuto la persecuzione, l’esilio e la povertà che ne deriva. Ha dovuto stabilirsi in luogo diverso dal suo villaggio. La sua sola ricompensa fu quella di essere con Cristo.” Chi era San Giuseppe? Il 19 marzo del 2011, Benedetto XVI spiegò che “san Giuseppe era giusto, era immerso nella Parola di Dio, scritta, trasmessa nella saggezza del suo popolo, e proprio in questo modo era preparato e chiamato a conoscere il Verbo Incarnato - il Verbo venuto tra noi come uomo -, e predestinato a custodire, a proteggere questo Verbo Incarnato; questa rimane la sua missione per sempre: custodire la Santa Chiesa e il Nostro Signore". E nell’omelia del 19 marzo 2009, Benedetto disse: “Giuseppe è, nella storia, l’uomo che ha dato a Dio la più grande prova di fiducia, anche davanti ad un annuncio così stupefacente” Ma la figura di San Giuseppe diventa centrale proprio nel periodo di Natale, quando Giuseppe diventa un personaggio importante nelle scritture. Il 30 dicembre 2012, giorno della Sacra Famiglia, Benedetto XVI chiede che "il silenzio di Giuseppe, uomo giusto (cfr Mt 1,19), e l’esempio di Maria, che custodiva ogni cosa nel suo cuore (cfr Lc 2,51), ci facciano entrare nel mistero pieno di fede e di umanità della Santa Famiglia. Auguro a tutte le famiglie cristiane di vivere alla presenza di Dio con lo stesso amore e con la stessa gioia della famiglia di Gesù, Maria e Giuseppe”. Giuseppe, per Benedetto XVI, è anche una figura da cui imparare. Nell’Angelus del 18 dicembre 2005, alla vigilia del suo primo Natale da Papa, Benedetto XVI invitò i fedeli a “lasciarsi contagiare dal silenzio di San Giuseppe.” “Ne abbiamo tanto bisogno, in un mondo spesso troppo rumoroso, che non favorisce il raccoglimento e l’ascolto della voce di Dio. In questo tempo di preparazione al Natale coltiviamo il raccoglimento interiore, per accogliere e custodire Gesù nella nostra vita”. San Giuseppe, uomo pratico, uomo dell’obbedienza silenziosa, uomo della storia e uomo giusto: sulla sua figura Benedetto XVI ha costruito anche la sua personalità, fedele all’idea che i santi di cui si porta il nome devono essere modello per la vita.
Pope Francis' devotion to St Joseph -- a detail
"I would like to tell you something very personal. I have great love for Saint Joseph, because he is a man of silence and strength. On my table I have an image of Saint Joseph sleeping. Even when he is asleep, he is taking care of the Church! Yes! We know that he can do that. So when I have a problem, a difficulty, I write a little note and I put it underneath Saint Joseph, so that he can dream about it! In other words I tell him: pray for this problem!"
Pope Francis, Meeting with Families, Mall of Asia Arena, Manila,
Friday, 16 January 2015
The Rosary and contemplation
And in this month of May, I would like to recall the importance and beauty of the prayer of the Holy Rosary. Reciting the Hail Mary, we are led to contemplate the mysteries of Jesus, that is, to reflect on the key moments of his life, so that, as with Mary and St. Joseph, He is the center of our thoughts, of our attention and our actions . It would be nice if, especially in this month of May, we could pray the Holy Rosary together in the family, with friends, in the parish, or some prayer to Jesus and the Virgin Mary! Praying together is a precious moment that further strengthens family life, friendship! Let us learn to pray more in the family and as a family!
Dear brothers and sisters, we ask Saint Joseph and the Virgin Mary, who teach us to be faithful to our daily tasks, to live our faith in the actions of everyday life and to give more space to the Lord in our lives, to stop to contemplate His face.
--Pope Francis, Audience, 1 May 2013
Giving some space for the Lord
In the silence of daily events, St Joseph, together with Mary, have one common center of attention: Jesus. They accompany and nurture, with commitment and tenderness, the growth of the Son of God made man for us, reflecting on everything that happened. In the Gospels, St. Luke twice emphasizes the attitude of Mary, which is also that of St. Joseph: "She kept all these things and pondered them in her heart" (2,19.51). To listen to the Lord, we must learn to contemplate, feel His constant presence in our lives and we must stop and converse with Him, give him space in prayer. Each of us, even you boys and girls, young people, so many of you here this morning, should ask: how much space do I give to the Lord? Do I stop to talk with him? Ever since we were children, our parents have accustomed us to start and end the day with a prayer, to teach us to feel that the friendship and the love of God accompanies us. Let us remember the Lord more in our daily life!
--Pope Francis, Audience, 1 May 2013
St Joseph teaches youth how to be responsible
St Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the certainty that God never abandons us. And then I would like to speak especially to you young people: be committed to your daily duties, your study, your work, to relationships of friendship, to helping towards others; your future also depends on how you live these precious years of your life. Do not be afraid of commitment, of sacrifice and do not look with fear towards the future; keep your hope alive: there is always a light on the horizon.
--Pope Francis, Audience, 1 May 2013
St Joseph and Fatherhood
"There is no doubt that the episcopate is an office, but a bishop must resist with all his strength any tendency to become a mere official. He must never forget that he is a father. As I said earlier, Cardinal Sapieha was so greatly loved because he was a father to his priests. When I wonder who could serve as a help and a model for all those called to fatherhood--whether in the family or in the priesthood, or even more so in the episcopate--it is Saint Joseph who comes to mind. ...
"We know that Jesus addressed God with the word 'Abba'--a loving, familiar word that would have been used by children in first-century Palestine when speaking to their fathers. Most probably Jesus, like other children, used this same word when speaking to St Joseph. ...
"... For his part, Saint Joseph offered the child growing up beside him the support of a healthy masculinity, a clear understanding of human problems, and courage. ...
"For Saint Joseph, life with Jesus was a continuous discovery of his own vocation as a father. He became a son in the flesh. Isn't this, perhaps, an example of the type of fatherhood that is proposed to us, priests and bishops, as a model? Everything I did in the course of my ministry I saw as an expression of this kind of fatherhood--baptising, hearing confessions, celebrating the Eucharist, preaching , admonishing, encouraging."
(John Paul II, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, pp 137, 139-140)
ST JOSEPH
Speaking to the crowd and to his disciples, Jesus declared: "You have only one Father" (Mt 23:9). There is but one fatherhood, that of God the Father, the one Creator of the world, "of all that is seen and unseen". Yet man, created in the image of God, has been granted a share in this one paternity of God (cf. Eph 3:15). Saint Joseph is a striking case of this, since he is a father, without fatherhood according to the flesh. He is not the biological father of Jesus, whose Father is God alone, and yet he lives his fatherhood fully and completely. To be a father means above all to be at the service of life and growth. Saint Joseph, in this sense, gave proof of great devotion. For the sake of Christ he experienced persecution, exile and the poverty which this entails. He had to settle far from his native town. His only reward was to be with Christ. His readiness to do all these things illustrates the words of Saint Paul: "It is Christ the Lord whom you serve" (Col 3:24).
What is important is not to be a useless servant, but rather a "faithful and wise servant". The pairing of the two adjectives is not by chance. It suggests that understanding without fidelity, and fidelity without wisdom, are insufficient. One quality alone, without the other, would not enable us to assume fully the responsibility which God entrusts to us.
Dear brother priests, you are called to live out this fatherhood in the daily tasks of your ministry. In the words of the conciliar Constitution Lumen Gentium: "As their fathers in Christ, priests should care for the faithful whom they have spiritually begotten by Baptism and instruction" (No. 28). If this is the case, how can we not continually return to the very foundation of our priesthood, the Lord Jesus Christ? Our personal relationship with Jesus is constitutive of the way we wish to live our lives. He has called us his friends because everything which he learned from the Father he has made known to us (cf. Jn 15:15). In living out this deep friendship with Christ you will discover true freedom and deep joy.
The ministerial priesthood entails a profound relationship with Christ who is given to us in the Eucharist. Let the celebration of the Eucharist be truly the centre of your priestly lives; in this way it will also be the centre of your ecclesial mission. Throughout our lives Christ calls us to share in his mission, to be his witnesses, so that his word may be proclaimed to all. In celebrating this sacrament in the Lord’s name and in his person, the person of the priest cannot occupy centre stage; he is a servant, a humble instrument pointing to Christ, who offers himself in sacrifice for the salvation of the world. As Jesus teaches us, "the leader must become as one who serves" (Lk 22:26).
Origen writes that "Joseph understood that Jesus was superior to him even as he submitted to him, and, knowing the superiority of his charge, he commanded him with respect and moderation. Everyone should reflect on this: frequently a lesser man is placed over people who are greater, and it happens at times that an inferior is more worthy than the one who appears to be set above him. If a person of greater dignity understands this, then he will not be puffed up with pride because of his higher rank; he will know that his inferior may well be superior to him, even as Jesus was subject to Joseph" (Homily on Saint Luke XX, 5; S.C. p. 287).
(Benedict XVI, Reflection on St Joseph, Vespers, Cameroon, 18 March 2009)