Righteousness That Comes From Faith

“It was not through the law
that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants
that he would inherit the world,
but through the righteousness that comes from faith.”

Romans 4:13

Because of the nature of the penitential season of Lent, the Church does not usually celebrate the feasts and memorials of the Saints during Lent. This means that on the day of a saint’s feast day there will only be a commemoration because the Lenten weekday takes precedence. However, there are two important days that usually fall during Lent that breaks this “rule.” The Annunciation of Our Lord, the day when the Angel visited Mary and told her should would come to be the mother of Jesus, the Mother of God, thus, the Word becoming flesh. Of course this day will be celebrated with extreme solemnity! But, do you know which is the other feast day? You guessed correctly: the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the foster father of Jesus.

This day of celebration during Lent alone tells us the place of and the regard the Church has for this mostly silent figure, the “Sleeping Giant,” St. Joseph. St. Joseph was, as the Scriptures tell us, a righteous man, meaning one who is in right relationship with God. Someone who is righteous is someone who above all things seeks to do the will of God. St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans that it was not through any law that Abraham was promised any land or descendants, but rather through righteousness, one that comes from faith. It was a covenant that God made with Abraham, a promise founded upon and rooted in love, between the Lover and the beloved, through which the “Beloved Son” of God would come into the world. From Abraham, our Father in Faith to Joseph, a descendant of David and a righteous man in the eyes of God, the promise of God to His people can be seen.

St. Joseph was there when Mary was pregnant with Jesus. He protected Mary and Jesus while traveling to Bethlehem for the census and also during the flight into Egypt. St. Joseph held Jesus, fed Him, and taught Him how to walk, talk, and act, and above all to pray and to love. As St. Bernadine of Siena put it, “He [St. Joseph] was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely his divine Son and Mary, Joseph’s wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him.” The late French Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet drew the connection between Joseph and the Apostles, saying “He accomplished his vocation, for just as the apostles were the ministers of Jesus Christ revealed, so Joseph was the minister and the companion of his hidden life.”

Brothers and sisters: we have in St. Joseph a great intercessor and spiritual father who wants nothing more than to helps us on our journey of faith and discernment, leading us to God. May St. Joseph, the righteous man, pray for us and ask for us the grace of humility and the righteousness that comes from faith.

Place of Our Hope

“Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked… But delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night.”

Psalm 1:1a, 2

In the very first Psalm the tone of the Book, and in fact the whole of the Christian life, is set — blessed is the one who follows not the wicked but rather the one who delights in the law of the Lord. One can either choose good or evil, not both. One can either choose God or the enemy. Naturally one would want to choose good and for the Christian one would want to choose God, but as life would have it and as a consequence of sin, the choice in practicality is not always easy.

Because of the evil one and sin our good intentions and efforts may sometimes result in bad decisions and actions. When we become attached to things in a way that is unhealthy or disordered any good that we may have wanted to do may be undermined. As a human race, we have become attached to sin, sometimes not even seeing it or realizing it. But it is not just happening now. It has been happening for a long time, back to the time of Adam and Eve. When the Prophets tried to get the people to go back on track, they rejected them and even killed them, but sometimes they did listen. The Israelites soon realized that when the listened to God and lived out His commandments they were strong and healthy and happy. However, when they complained against God, made false idols, and strayed away from God, they found themselves weak and overpowered by enemies. In other words when they placed their hope in God, life was good, but when they placed their hope in themselves or even in their adversaries, life was turbulent and endangered. For God is life, and without God there is no life.

Where do we place our hope? Do we entrust our lives to God? To others? To ourselves? Where is the place of our hope? Only when we place our hope in Someone and not something, will we find ourselves peaceful in the midst of trials, joyful in the midst of sorrow, and grateful in the midst of tragedy. Because this Someone is not limited, bound by space or time, but rather eternal, all-powerful, and unchanging, our hope can be assured. When we place our hope in something that is not eternal, like the things we may sometimes place our security in — our jobs, our own means and possessions, and even other people — once those things go or change, our hope will be shaken and our lives questioned. But if we ground, root, and place our hope in the One who is eternal and unchanging, even when things around us crumble and fall, and even when we ourselves stumble and fall, we will be caught, held, and protected in the hands of God. So, brothers and sisters, where is the place of your hope?

Being Plotted Against

“The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said,

‘Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah.
It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests,
nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets. And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue;
let us carefully note his every word.’”

Jeremiah 18:18

One of the most uncomfortable feelings one can experience is being in a place where you know you are not wanted. What makes it even worse is when those people are trying to trap you or sabotage any good you may be trying to do. Have you ever had such an experience or something similar? Maybe a time when you were about to go into a situation where you know you will be disliked or painted as the “bad guy?” What was it? How did you feel? What happened?

The Prophet Jeremiah was only doing God’s work and preaching repentance when the people gathered to plot against him — not just to shoo him out of town but to actually kill him. That is the consequence and fruit of sin: a disordered, irrational, and obstinate way of thinking. Attempts the rationalize bad behavior, convincing yourself that you are doing the right then when you are not. The people were blind to their sins and when the Prophet of God came to them, they rejected him and wanted him destroyed. And about 600 years later, the people did the same to the One God sent to the people: Jesus Christ.

Throughout the Gospels Jesus predicts His passion, telling the disciples that He will be handed over, not by the Romans but by the chief priests and the scribes — His own people, condemned to death, mocked, scourged, and crucified, but will be raised on the third day. Although He was the Son of God, Jesus was not spared the suffering and humiliation. Rather, Jesus embraced it, not because He enjoyed suffering, but because He knew that the Father’s will will be brought to completion through it. He embraced it because it was the only way to face it. It is in embracing our challenges, struggles, and crosses that we come to a deeper knowledge and understanding of the meaning of love and sacrifice. Hence, Our Lord told the Apostles that the one who wishes to be great must be the servant of all.

To lead is to serve. To love is to sacrifice. To follow Christ entails suffering, including being plotted against by those whom we love. But this suffering is not the end. As Christ told His disciples, and as He truly did Himself, what comes after suffering and death is a glorious resurrection. Stay strong during these Lenten days, brothers and sisters, and especially when you are enduring trials or even being plotted against, know that the victory has been won already. Our hope and faith is in the One who has triumphed over sin and death. Resurrection, not death, has the last word.