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| Pope Francis |
I offer
a warm greeting to my brother cardinals and bishops, the priests, deacons, men
and women religious, and all the lay faithful. I thank the representatives of
the other churches and ecclesial communities, as well as the representatives of
the Jewish community and the other religious communities, for their presence.
My cordial greetings go to the Heads of State and Government, the members of
the official Delegations from many countries throughout the world, and the
Diplomatic Corps.
In the
Gospel we heard that “Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took
Mary as his wife” (Mt 1:24). These words already point to the mission which God
entrusts to Joseph: he is to be the custos, the protector. The protector of
whom? Of Mary and Jesus; but this protection is then extended to the Church, as
Blessed John Paul II pointed out: “Just as Saint Joseph took loving care of
Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ’s upbringing, he likewise
watches over and protects Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church, of which the
Virgin Mary is the exemplar and model” (Redemptoris Custos, 1).
How does
Joseph exercise his role as protector? Discreetly, humbly and silently, but
with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity, even when he finds it hard to
understand. From the time of his betrothal to Mary until the finding of the
twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, he is there at every moment
with loving care. As the spouse of Mary, he is at her side in good times and
bad, on the journey to Bethlehem for the census and in the anxious and joyful
hours when she gave birth; amid the drama of the flight into Egypt and during
the frantic search for their child in the Temple; and later in the day-to-day
life of the home of Nazareth, in the workshop where he taught his trade to
Jesus.
How does
Joseph respond to his calling to be the protector of Mary, Jesus and the
Church? By being constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s
presence and receptive to God’s plans, and not simply to his own. This is what
God asked of David, as we heard in the first reading. God does not want a house
built by men, but faithfulness to his word, to his plan. It is God himself who
builds the house, but from living stones sealed by his Spirit. Joseph is a
“protector” because he is able to hear God’s voice and be guided by his will;
and for this reason he is all the more sensitive to the persons entrusted to
his safekeeping. He can look at things realistically, he is in touch with his
surroundings, he can make truly wise decisions. In him, dear friends, we learn
how to respond to God’s call, readily and willingly, but we also see the core
of the Christian vocation, which is Christ! Let us protect Christ in our lives,
so that we can protect others, so that we can protect creation!
The
vocation of being a “protector”, however, is not just something involving us
Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human,
involving everyone. It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created
world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed
us. It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment
in which we live. It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each
and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are
often the last we think about. It means caring for one another in our families:
husbands and wives first protect one another, and then, as parents, they care
for their children, and children themselves, in time, protect their parents. It
means building sincere friendships in which we protect one another in trust,
respect, and goodness. In the end, everything has been entrusted to our
protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God’s gifts!
Whenever
human beings fail to live up to this responsibility, whenever we fail to care
for creation and for our brothers and sisters, the way is opened to destruction
and hearts are hardened. Tragically, in every period of history there are
“Herods” who plot death, wreak havoc, and mar the countenance of men and women.
Please,
I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic,
political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be
“protectors” of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature,
protectors of one another and of the environment. Let us not allow omens of
destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world! But to be
“protectors”, we also have to keep watch over ourselves! Let us not forget that
hatred, envy and pride defile our lives! Being protectors, then, also means
keeping watch over our emotions, over our hearts, because they are the seat of
good and evil intentions: intentions that build up and tear down! We must not
be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!
Here I
would add one more thing: caring, protecting, demands goodness, it calls for a
certain tenderness. In the Gospels, Saint Joseph appears as a strong and
courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which
is not the virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a
capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love.
We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness!
Today,
together with the feast of Saint Joseph, we are celebrating the beginning of
the ministry of the new Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Peter, which also
involves a certain power. Certainly, Jesus Christ conferred power upon Peter,
but what sort of power was it? Jesus’ three questions to Peter about love are
followed by three commands: feed my lambs, feed my sheep. Let us never forget
that authentic power is service, and that the Pope too, when exercising power,
must enter ever more fully into that service which has its radiant culmination
on the Cross. He must be inspired by the lowly, concrete and faithful service
which marked Saint Joseph and, like him, he must open his arms to protect all
of God’s people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity,
especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew
lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the
naked, the sick and those in prison (cf. Mt 25:31-46). Only those who serve
with love are able to protect!
In the
second reading, Saint Paul speaks of Abraham, who, “hoping against hope,
believed” (Rom 4:18). Hoping against hope! Today too, amid so much darkness, we
need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others.
To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them
with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope; it is to let a shaft
of light break through the heavy clouds; it is to bring the warmth of hope! For
believers, for us Christians, like Abraham, like Saint Joseph, the hope that we
bring is set against the horizon of God, which has opened up before us in
Christ. It is a hope built on the rock which is God.
To
protect Jesus with Mary, to protect the whole of creation, to protect each
person, especially the poorest, to protect ourselves: this is a service that
the Bishop of Rome is called to carry out, yet one to which all of us are
called, so that the star of hope will shine brightly. Let us protect with love
all that God has given us!
I
implore the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and
Paul, and Saint Francis, that the Holy Spirit may accompany my ministry, and I
ask all of you to pray for me! Amen.
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