Happy Father’s Day
Sunday 21st June 2020
‘In England, if you
live by yourself or are a single parent with dependent children – in other
words, if there is only one adult in your home – you can expand your support
network so that it includes one other household of any size. This is called
making a ‘support bubble’ and means you are able to meet indoors or out, be
less than 2 metres apart and stay overnight as you could if they were members
of your own household.’ (www.gov.uk)
I’m sure there are many families who have found
this both comforting and healing. I’m looking forward to my mum’s roast beef
dinner – I’ve already put my order in! However, though the ‘support bubble’
initiative will be welcomed by many, others are still struggling despite the
easing of lockdown restrictions. Loneliness, anxiety, depression and other
mental health issues still abound in many peoples lives at this moment in time.
You may know a neighbour, a relative,
friend or colleague who is going through a bad time. For a person who is
suffering, just to know that there is somebody thinking and looking out for
them can make a huge difference.
Our own Holy Father, Pope Francis, shared a
beautiful devotion a few years ago with the Church about how he finds peace and
reassurance during difficult times.
He has this statue (below) on his desk in the
Vatican.
This statue is known as ‘Sleeping Saint
Joseph’. As we know St. Joseph faced many difficulties yet despite how overwhelming
they seemed to be, he continued to trust in God. When he found out that Mary,
his wife, had conceived by the Holy Spirit he felt unworthy to be her husband
because she had been chosen by the Lord. Feeling unworthy to be near Mary,
Joseph decided to divorce her informally. While silent in sleep God spoke to
him.
‘Joseph
son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because she has
conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and
you must name him Jesus...’ (Mt 1:20b-21)
His dilemma about leaving the woman he loved and
cared for so much was resolved. The mental anguish of his decision was ended by
God who soothed and calmed him through the vision in his dream. St. Joseph did
not doubt or even err on the side of caution after God spoke to him. No. The carpenter
from Nazareth trusted God so completely and unconditionally that he acted on
the Lord’s words immediately.
‘When
Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took
his wife home and, though he did not have intercourse with her, she gave birth
to a son; and he named him Jesus.’ (Mt 1:24-25)
The next difficulty that St. Joseph had to struggle
with was becoming a refugee. King Herod, through fear and greed for power,
ordered the murder of all boys age two and below. Again when St. Joseph was
silent in sleep, God spoke to the foster father of His Son.
‘Get
up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay
there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do
away with him.’ (Mt 2:13)
Again St. Joseph’s response to God was immediate.
He did not question or try to compromise with God about leaving his homeland,
his business, his friends and family. No. He just went. He just practised the
Faith he professed. He lived those words that Jesus was to teach his disciples,
‘Not my will but Your will be done.’
‘So
Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him,
left
that night for Egypt...’ (Mt 2:14)
When we worry, fret and are anxious sleep becomes
disturbed and we feel restless. As we see from the Gospel, this never happened
to Saint Joseph. Despite the dilemmas he was facing he still slept. He slept so
soundly and undisturbed that he was able to hear God speak to him and reassure
him about what his servant must do next. How on earth did St. Joseph, a man of
flesh and blood, sleep so peacefully? Simple. His love, trust and knowledge of
God permeated every fibre of his being. Faith was so deeply rooted in his heart
that through suffering and daily challenges, God the steadfast rock and anchor
of his life, gave him hope and certainty.
The Holy Father, when he has worries and concerns, simply writes them on a piece of paper and places that paper under the ‘Sleeping Saint Joseph’ on his desk.
"I
have great love for Saint Joseph, because he is a man of silence and strength.
On my table I have an image of Saint Joseph sleeping. Even when he is asleep,
he is taking care of the Church!" (Pope Francis)
God not only gave St. Joseph to be the foster
father of His Son, but to be our spiritual father as well. He is the official
patron saint of the Church. He is our protector and defender. He is our
Heavenly Father’s gift of what a dad should be. Brothers and Sisters if you are
struggling and finding life difficult then pray to St. Joseph. He saved the
lives of Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother from the evil of Herod, he looked
after them and loved them so dearly and devotedly, he wills and wants to do the
same for us as his adopted children.
Happy
Father’s Day Saint Joseph!
We have had the official news this weekend that our
diocesan inspection for re-opening church for silent private prayer will take
place on Thursday 25th June.
I would like to say a big ‘Thank You’ to all those
parishioners who have freely come forward and offered their time to help
re-open church as volunteer stewards, cleaners and gardeners. You will be
contacted by Jennifer, Karen and Navada once the inspection is completed and we
will be able to engage more formally and practically with the government and
diocesan directives and conditions.
Over these last three months of lockdown we have
walked through Holy Week together, reflected on the Easter Gospel’s, mediated
with our online Rosary and prayed a parish Novena to the Holy Spirit. As our
spiritual lives as Catholics is having to adapt and many people are exploring
different ways of prayer I thought we could, as a parish, begin to look at the
Bible. Though we are unable to attend Mass at the moment, God our Father still
wants to speak to us through His Holy Word. For some people praying with the
Bible will be second nature, for others it may have been a long time since they
picked it up and read it. Many will approach it as a totally new experience.
Whatever your knowledge of Scripture I hope over the next few weeks we all
learn something new or a reminded of something forgotten. Whatever our past,
present or future the Lord is waiting to speak to us personally.
God
Bless and keep praying
Fr. O’Brien