Over and over again, the Lenten readings explore the opposition between what rewards come from following the law versus those that come from having faith.
Laws are designed to preserve order and safety in society. People obey laws to avoid punishment from the authorities. Furthermore, while laws may be adaptable, they are designed to endure in their original iteration. Most laws are generally based on widely accepted moral codes.
We become so accustomed to living by a set of laws that we adhere to them without thinking. By and large this is a good thing, but sometimes extraordinary circumstances force us to challenge the law.
Today’s second reading from Romans says:
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.
For this reason, it depends on faith,
so that it may be a gift,
and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants,
not to those who only adhere to the law
but to those who follow the faith of Abraham,
who is the father of all of us, as it is written,
I have made you father of many nations.
Today is the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, who also moved by faith, not law.
While Joseph understood that for Mary to be pregnant before their wedding meant that she had broken Mosaic law, and also that she was therefore subject to stoning, his decision to break their union “quietly” suggests that he was not so slavish to the law as others in his position might have been.
Certainly it was by faith that Joseph accepted the words of God’s angel, who revealed to him that an otherwise inviolable biological law had been “broken,” and that he should accept Mary into his home and raise Jesus as his own son.
Joseph had full knowledge of the law, yet it was his personal faith that made him obedient to God.
Here is a prayer to Saint Joseph with special mention of the clergy in particular and “all who labor for souls” in general:
O glorious St. Joseph, you were chosen by God to be the foster father of Jesus, the most pure spouse of Mary ever Virgin, and the head of the holy family. You have been chosen by Christ's Vicar as the heavenly patron and protector of the Church founded by Christ. Therefore, it is with great confidence that I implore your powerful assistance for the whole Church on earth. Protect in a special manner, with true fatherly love, the Pope and all bishops and priests in communion with the See of Peter. Be the protector of all who labor for souls amid the trials and tribulations of this life, and grant that all peoples of the world may follow Christ and the Church He founded.
Dear St. Joseph, accept the offering of myself, which I now make to you. I dedicate myself to your service, that you may ever be my father, my protector, and my guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me great purity of heart and a fervent love for the spiritual life. May all my actions, after your example, be directed to the greater glory of God, in union with the divine Heart of Jesus, the immaculate heart of Mary, and your own paternal heart.
Finally, pray for me that I may share in the peace and joy of your holy death.
Find this and other prayers at the Contemplatives of Saint Joseph website.
Art above: Saint Joseph and the Child by André Reinoso [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons