November 7, 2021 - Pastor Message
04/25/2024THE YEAR OF ST. JOSEPH THANKSGIVING
“Address one another in psalms, hymns, and inspired songs, praying to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father” (Ephesians 5:19-20).
We enter the final month of our Year of St. Joseph by reflecting together on gratitude. November is the month of Thanksgiving, but we don’t just offer thanks to God once a year. We are called to thank God always and in everything, because everything comes from him. St. Joseph was deeply aware of this, as we see in his actions surrounding the birth of Christ.
Joseph, aware that Jesus was not his son but God’s, took Mary, pregnant out of wedlock, into his home. We don’t know exactly what went through his mind, but faith in the promise of the angel must have been part of it: “Do not be afraid, Joseph, to take Mary your wife into your home, for it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:2021).
Joseph’s faith in God’s promise must have been mingled with gratitude for the gift of salvation in Jesus as he followed the birth of Christ with the prescribed sacrifices at the temple. But he also went beyond the prescribed sacrifices to offer even more, sacrificing his own life, home, livelihood, everything, to protect the child Jesus, moving to Egypt to escape Herod and then moving back again. Doing the backbreaking work of a carpenter to support the Holy Family until he died. His faith in God’s promise knew no limits, nor did his gratitude to God for so great a gift.
This November, let us follow Joseph’s example. May we express our gratitude to God, not just one day a year, but everyday, offering our sacrifice of praise in everything we do, listening to his voice, trusting in his promise, and serving him with our lives, just as Joseph did and still does, praying for all of us. May his prayers win us the grace to do as he did so that we may be as he is, sharers in the great promise of God’s mercy in Christ.
Fr. Marc Stockton
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