Happy New Year!
This time of year, it’s hard not to be swept up in resolution fever. Whether individually, as a couple, or a family, we can’t help but want to dream about how this year can be different, better, freer, more joy-filled.
Enter Saint Joseph.
Almost lost in the busyness of mid-December, Pope Francis announced a Year of Saint Joseph (Dec. 8, 2020 – Dec. 8, 2021) and released a short but powerful reflection entitled With a Father’s Heart. The letter has three stated goals: “to increase our love for this great saint, to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtues and his zeal.” We enjoyed reading it (finally!) this past week, and are happy to share three highlights:
- “Go to Joseph.” We love this popular expression which Pope Francis wove into the reflection. Why not call this phrase to mind throughout the day as we serve and lead our families? When we’re losing our patience…when the day is going sideways…let’s “go to Joseph” with a quick prayer and a step toward this great saint who is already “so close to our own experience”!
- “Confront reality” with your own “fiat.” We appreciated how Pope Francis pointed out the vexing challenges Joseph faced. Life didn’t unfold for him like he had planned: the circumstances of his marriage, receiving messages from angels in dreams, exile in Egypt… Instead of running from these realities, Joseph “declared his own ‘fiat,’” “set aside his own ideas,” and “accepted personal responsibility.” Faced with our own unique challenges today, we can follow St. Joseph and do likewise.
- “Our world today needs fathers.” With a Father’s Heart is an inspiring and much-needed overview of what constitutes authentic fatherhood, including tenderness, obedience, acceptance, creativity, silence, trust, courage, hard work, self-sacrifice, and chastity. We came away from reading it with a renewed sense of urgency for our need to “go to Joseph,” learn from his witness, and more courageously confront the trends which threaten our families today.
Sure, the calendar tells us that this is 2021. But at a more profound level, this is the Year of Saint Joseph. This year presents us with a unique opportunity to “increase our love” for St. Joseph, “implore his intercession,” and “imitate his virtues and his zeal.”
“Show, don’t tell,” goes the old adage. But in the case of St. Joseph’s role in our families, we can do both. Let’s show his virtues by living them out. Let’s tell our families about his life, his witness, and his role in salvation history.
And if you haven’t made any resolutions yet, take With a Father’s Heart to prayer and see where the Lord leads you!
St. Joseph, glory of home life, pillar of families, pray for us!
Heaven In Your Home Toolkit
Here is the Vatican article describing the Year of St. Joseph, and the text of the apostolic letter itself.
Have you tried praying the Litany of St. Joseph? Perhaps incorporating it into your prayer life this year could be one way for you to participate in this Year of St. Joseph.
“This Year, Meet Your Spiritual Father, Saint Joseph” (OSV News) includes three practical suggestions, including having a statue, icon or image of St. Joseph visible in your home.
In “The Father We Need,” (Catholic Thing), Fr. Paul Scalia writes, “Time to ‘go to Joseph.’ (Gen 41:55) From him, the father of Jesus, we learn the true meaning of fatherhood and the incomparable worth of a man who faithfully fulfills that mission.”
Have you considered consecration to St. Joseph? Fr. Donald Calloway has written the popular Consecration to St. Joseph (Amazon, $14) and in this 16-min. video with Scott Hahn, he explains “Who St. Joseph Was and Why You Need to Know Him.“
In “St. Joseph Shows the Way” (Columbia) Soren writes about 5 qualities of this great saint.
“Trinity House Café is an exciting and encouraging model of the local Church going on the offense in an unassuming yet effective and attractive way. As a platform for evangelization literally located at the corner of Church and Market Streets, Trinity House embodies the call to be a Church not in ‘maintenance mode,’ but rather in a permanent state of mission.” – George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center For all in this New Year, that the Lord would “fill the months ahead with the bright hope that is ours in the coming of Christ” (Prayer for the New Year, cf. USCCB)
For safety and healing for all those impacted by the current surge in COVID-19, and for all medical personnel;
For the ministry of Trinity House Community, including the staff of Trinity House Cafe, and all individuals and families who are seeking to reflect the life of the Trinity in their homes.
Soren & Ever Johnson
Founders & Directors
Trinity House Community
Making Home a Little Taste of Heaven
