If you were like me and couldn't quite get up at 3:30am to watch the inaugural mass of Pope Francis, here is his homily from that mass.
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER POPE
FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Solemnity of Saint Joseph
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Solemnity of Saint Joseph
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I thank the Lord that I can celebrate this Holy Mass for the inauguration of
my Petrine ministry on the solemnity of Saint Joseph, the spouse of the Virgin
Mary and the patron of the universal Church. It is a significant coincidence,
and it is also the name-day of my venerable predecessor: we are close to him
with our prayers, full of affection and gratitude.
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.
© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice
Vaticana
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