By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON, Jr.
A relatively young priest is in a hospital visiting some of his parishioners. He is walking down the hallway, and a nun stops him and says, “Father, can you go into this room? There’s a man on his deathbed. He’s been here for days. We’ve asked priests to go in, but he chases everyone away. He doesn’t want to talk about Jesus. But he’s dying. Could you please visit him?”
The priest goes in and introduces himself to the patient. The guy erupts and starts cursing at him. He is so angry: “I don’t want anything to do with you. Get out of here!” The priest says, “Okay” and goes out into the hall. The nun is still there. She says, “Could you go back in?” The priest replies, “He doesn’t want anything I have to offer.” “Just give it another chance,” pleads the nun.
The priest reluctantly re-enters the room. “I’m not going to ask if you want to go to Confession. I’m not going to ask if you want Holy Communion. But is it okay if I just sit here next to your bed and pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy?” The old man replies, “I don’t care. Do whatever you want.”
The priest sits down and begins softly praying the words of the Chaplet: “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world….” Suddenly the man bursts out, “Stop it!”
Startled, the priest looks up and asks, “Why?” “Because there is no mercy for me!” “Why do you think there is no mercy for you?” asks the priest. “It doesn’t matter,” responds the old man.
But the priest persists: “Why do you think there is no mercy for you?”
“I’ll tell you. . . . Twenty-five years ago, I was working for the railroad. My job was to lower the crossing guard arm when a train would come to prevent cars from going on the tracks. But one night I was drunk. I didn’t lower the crossing guard arm, and a couple and their three young children were on the tracks as a train came, and they were all instantly killed. That was my fault. So there is no mercy for me. I have failed. It is over.”
The priest just sits there staring at the rosary in his hands. Finally he asks, “Where was this?” The man tells him the name of the Polish town. The priest looks up and says, “Twenty-five years ago, my mom and my dad were taking my little siblings on a trip. I couldn’t go with them. They were driving through this small town. For some reason the railroad crossing guard arm wasn’t lowered. As they were crossing the tracks, a train came and killed them all. I lost my whole family that night.”
The priest gazes intently into the man’s face, and he says, “My brother, God forgives you. Not only that, but I also forgive you.”
The man realizes that God’s mercy is for him. The priest asks, “Would you let me hear your Confession and give you the Eucharist?” The man makes his Confession and receives Holy Communion. Two days later he dies. Mercy wins. His failure is not final.
The story goes on, however. It’s kind of cool. After giving the man Communion, the priest goes into the hallway in search of the nun. He can’t find her. The administration tells him, “We don’t employ any nuns at this hospital.” For years the priest does not know who this nun is. Eventually he goes to the town of Vilnius, which is where St. Faustina lived. He goes to the convent to say Mass for the nuns there. He sees a painting on the wall of St. Faustina, and he says, “I met that nun a couple of years ago.” “No, Father, you did not,” replies one of the nuns. “She’s been dead since 1938.”
The priest then realizes it was Sr. Faustina who told him to go into the patient’s room, told him to go back again into that room.
The story above may leave some feeling a bit skeptical, but these “God-incidents” are an important part of faith and happen all around us. The sad realization, however, is that many have become immune to these “God-incidents.” Society has convinced so many that God and the supernatural are mere fairy-tale encounters. Continuing down this path, society risks a severe decrease in the belief of God and destroys the essence of human existence.
A Pilgrimage
How can we avoid this path of destruction society has placed before us and save the spiritual life? St. Joseph can help us to do this.
The spiritual life is a pilgrimage along the path to the heavenly Kingdom. Within the course of our pilgrim way, we are given special gifts to assist us. These gifts are called virtues. A virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good. The life of St. Joseph is filled with virtuous moments and examples we can use in our own lives. Let us reflect on the life of St. Joseph.
The first virtue we will examine is humility. Nowhere in the Bible do we hear a word from this saintly man. Even though he never spoke, he spoke volumes. St. Joseph’s spirituality was evident in his works and actions. St. Joseph teaches us humility is next to Godliness. Today society is consumed with noise. This noise distracts human souls and often can lead to chaos in a person’s life. St. Joseph teaches us that we must have moments of quiet to hear the Word of God. To do this demands humility.
When the Angel Gabriel appeared to St. Joseph in a dream, St. Joseph didn’t speak but humbled himself and listened intently to the angel’s message. Afterward he did as the angel commanded and took Mary into his home. St. Joseph teaches us that our actions speak louder than our words and a humble heart is necessary to hear the word of God.
The second virtuous aspect of St. Joseph was reverence. St. Joseph was the foster-father of Jesus and as a father he would have taught Jesus how to pray the Jewish prayers. This requires the virtue of reverence. The virtue of reverence instills in us a dependency on God. The virtue of reverence assisted St. Joseph in the extraordinary role he played in the history of salvation. He was both the spouse of Mary, the Mother of God, as well as the foster-father of Jesus, the Son of the living God. St. Joseph taught Jesus to speak and to address God as “Abba” — meaning “father.”
St. Joseph’s example of prayerful reverence can help us to look beyond buying, having, and possessing. He can help us to realize that true joy and happiness do not come from having things, but in possessing God. To hold the Child Jesus in our arms and in our hearts is worth more than all the money and possessions of the entire world. Good St. Joseph can teach us this simple but profound lesson!
Endurance
The third virtue exemplified in the life of St. Joseph is that of fortitude, or courage. Fortitude is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This gift is also known as courage or, as St. Thomas Aquinas refers to it, as endurance. Fortitude enables us to stand up for what is right in the sight of God. St. Joseph gave us a wonderful example of this in the infancy narrative.
When the Angel Gabriel appeared to him two times, both in a dream, he was courageous and did as the angel had commanded. St. Joseph exercised his willingness to defend the faith. This willingness may include rejection, persecution, verbal abuse, or even physical harm. This gift strengthens our willingness to battle for the faith. Fortitude is the gift of the Holy Spirit that enabled many to become martyrs for the faith.
This gift is especially important today as we live through such difficult times. May we grow in fortitude and courage. In a society where too many men shirk their obligations toward their wives, children, and family, St. Joseph shines as a model of courage and fortitude. He traveled many miles in the cold and wind, only to meet rejection, until he found refuge in an animal shelter for the birth of Christ. Faced with so many difficulties, St. Joseph stood tall and confronted the obstacles with manly courage. May the men of the present generation lift their gaze to the gentle but courageous man of God — good St. Joseph!
St. Joseph both protected and provided for the Holy Family. He was a hard worker — exercising the trade of a carpenter. He earned the bread he made with the sweat of his brow. He thought not of himself but of how he could best provide for and protect the family that God had entrusted to his care.
After the birth of Christ, St. Joseph was warned in a dream to flee Bethlehem. This was because King Herod decreed that all the boys, two and under, were to be slaughtered. We celebrate this on the Feast of the Holy Innocents, which is December 28. St. Joseph protected Jesus from the insanity of King Herod, securing our redemption in Christ Jesus.
The Holy Family, united in Mary, Joseph, and the Christ Child, is recognized, honored, and loved. Thus, they complete within us our desire to know them. May St. Joseph open your hearts to the immense treasures that God has in store for you this Easter Season. The Lord can do amazing things with our lives if we let Him. Maybe He is planning to change your life! May this Easter Season be a time of exploration. Open your hearts, minds, and souls! Let Jesus rise from the depths of your heart this Easter!
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