Greetings from the Confidentia Shrine,
Soon our journey towards Easter offers us two breaks from the Lenten fast: The Solemnity of St. Joseph and that of the Annunciation. On March 19, we celebrate St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus and universal patron of the Catholic Church. And on March 25, we commemorate the breathtaking event of the Incarnation. What would have happened if Mary of Nazareth would not have answered in the affirmative when the angel brought God’s incredible message to her? And what would have happened to Mary and her child if Joseph would have “silently divorced her”?
Mary and Joseph are excellent examples and teachers to trust in Divine Providence. Pope Francis wrote in Patris Corde, the Letter commemorating the 150th anniversary of Saint Joseph as patron of the Universal Church: “In every situation, Joseph declared his own fiat, like those of Mary at the Annunciation and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.”
There is no word recorded from him in the Scriptures, but we know from the infancy narratives that Joseph acted according to God’s will even if he lacked clarity about the future. The same we can, of course, say about Our Lady. The gospels relate her submission to God’s will not only at the Annunciation but all the way up to the crucifixion. May the example of Jesus’ parents strengthen us on our Lenten journey as we unite with Jesus’ total self-gift to the Father in charity to all.
United with you in prayer and Lenten discipline,
Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary