As we celebrate St Joseph, we give thanks for an upright man, faithful to God’s designs and his care of Mary and Jesus. Here’s today’s reflection from Mass.
BIBLE READINGS: The readings for St Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, can be found here
One of the most famous, arguably notorious stage directions is from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale where at the end of Scene 3 in Act III, have: “Exit, pursued by a bear.”
It marks the dramatic exit of the character Antigonus, who is chased off stage to his death by a bear, signalling a shift in the play from dark tragedy to comedy. No one knows how it would have been portrayed in Shakespeare’s times. It could have been a real bear (bear baiting was popular at the time) or a man in a costume. But today, it is still used to much comic effect in the theatrical world.
Today as we celebrate St Joseph husband of the blessed Virgin Mary, the gospel reading gives us his exit notes. The reading provides a rare snapshot of the boyhood of Jesus, and it is the last time we see Joseph. Traditionally, he is is believed to have been much older than Mary when they married and so had died when Jesus was a young man. Apart from later third-person mentions, (for example, when some speak of Jesus they say, “We know his mother and father,” and “Is not this the son of Joseph the carpenter?”) he has left the stage after playing such an important part in being guardian of Jesus as a child during those hidden years of his life.
Joseph is depicted as being an upright man, wanting to do the right thing for Mary and for Jesus. He is faithful to what God calls him to do, the designs of God being revealed to him in dreams. Like Mary, he is often surprised by Jesus, as he discovers what it means to attend to him and devote his whole life life to him. As guardian of Jesus, so too he is guardian of the church, the Body of Christ, watching over us, and strengthening us by his prayer.
Mass today is at S Dyfrig and S Samson Church at 10am
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