Dec 13, 2025 Written by 

He is entrusted with the Mystery

2. "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:20-21).
We find these words in the first chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew. They - especially in the second part - sound similar to those heard by Miriam, that is, Mary, at the moment of the Annunciation. In a few days - on 25 March - we will commemorate in the liturgy of the Church the moment when those words were spoken in Nazareth "to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary" (Lk 1:27).
The description of the Annunciation is found in the Gospel according to Luke.
Later, Matthew notes again that, after Mary's marriage to Joseph, "before they came to live together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit" (Mt 1:18).
Thus, the mystery that had begun at the moment of the Annunciation was fulfilled in Mary, at the moment when the Virgin responded to Gabriel's words: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38).
As the mystery of Mary's motherhood was revealed to Joseph's consciousness, he, "being a just man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, resolved to divorce her quietly" (Mt 1:19), as Matthew's account continues.
And it was then that Joseph, Mary's husband and already her husband before the law, received his own personal "Annunciation".
During the night, he heard the words we quoted above, words that are both an explanation and an invitation from God: "Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife" (Mt 1:20).
3. At the same time, God entrusts to Joseph the mystery whose fulfilment had been awaited for many generations by the line of David and the whole "house of Israel", and at the same time entrusts to him everything on which the fulfilment of this mystery in the history of the People of God depends.
From the moment these words entered his consciousness, Joseph became the man of divine election: the man of a special trust. His place in the history of salvation was defined. Joseph entered this place with simplicity and humility, in which the spiritual depth of man is manifested, and he filled it completely with his life.
"When Joseph awoke from sleep," we read in Matthew, "he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him" (Mt 1:24). These few words say it all. They describe Joseph's entire life and fully characterise his holiness: "He did." Joseph, as we know him from the Gospel, is a man of action.
He is a man of work. The Gospel has not preserved any of his words. Instead, it describes his actions: simple, everyday actions, which at the same time have a clear meaning for the fulfilment of the divine promise in human history; works full of spiritual depth and mature simplicity.

[Pope John Paul II, homily, 19 March 1980]

121 Last modified on Saturday, 13 December 2025 05:48
don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

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St John Chrysostom urged: “Embellish your house with modesty and humility with the practice of prayer. Make your dwelling place shine with the light of justice; adorn its walls with good works, like a lustre of pure gold, and replace walls and precious stones with faith and supernatural magnanimity, putting prayer above all other things, high up in the gables, to give the whole complex decorum. You will thus prepare a worthy dwelling place for the Lord, you will welcome him in a splendid palace. He will grant you to transform your soul into a temple of his presence” (Pope Benedict)
San Giovanni Crisostomo esorta: “Abbellisci la tua casa di modestia e umiltà con la pratica della preghiera. Rendi splendida la tua abitazione con la luce della giustizia; orna le sue pareti con le opere buone come di una patina di oro puro e al posto dei muri e delle pietre preziose colloca la fede e la soprannaturale magnanimità, ponendo sopra ogni cosa, in alto sul fastigio, la preghiera a decoro di tutto il complesso. Così prepari per il Signore una degna dimora, così lo accogli in splendida reggia. Egli ti concederà di trasformare la tua anima in tempio della sua presenza” (Papa Benedetto)
And He continues: «Think of salvation, of what God has done for us, and choose well!». But the disciples "did not understand why the heart was hardened by this passion, by this wickedness of arguing among themselves and seeing who was guilty of that forgetfulness of the bread" (Pope Francis)
E continua: «Pensate alla salvezza, a quello che anche Dio ha fatto per noi, e scegliete bene!». Ma i discepoli «non capivano perché il cuore era indurito per questa passione, per questa malvagità di discutere fra loro e vedere chi era il colpevole di quella dimenticanza del pane» (Papa Francesco)
[Faith] is the lifelong companion that makes it possible to perceive, ever anew, the marvels that God works for us. Intent on gathering the signs of the times in the present of history […] (Pope Benedict, Porta Fidei n.15)
[La Fede] è compagna di vita che permette di percepire con sguardo sempre nuovo le meraviglie che Dio compie per noi. Intenta a cogliere i segni dei tempi nell’oggi della storia […] (Papa Benedetto, Porta Fidei n.15)
But what do this “fullness” of Christ’s Law and this “superior” justice that he demands consist in? Jesus explains it with a series of antitheses between the old commandments and his new way of propounding them (Pope Benedict)
Ma in che cosa consiste questa “pienezza” della Legge di Cristo, e questa “superiore” giustizia che Egli esige? Gesù lo spiega mediante una serie di antitesi tra i comandamenti antichi e il suo modo di riproporli (Papa Benedetto)
The Cross is the sign of the deepest humiliation of Christ. In the eyes of the people of that time it was the sign of an infamous death. Free men could not be punished with such a death, only slaves, Christ willingly accepts this death, death on the Cross. Yet this death becomes the beginning of the Resurrection. In the Resurrection the crucified Servant of Yahweh is lifted up: he is lifted up before the whole of creation (Pope John Paul II)
La croce è il segno della più profonda umiliazione di Cristo. Agli occhi del popolo di quel tempo costituiva il segno di una morte infamante. Solo gli schiavi potevano essere puniti con una morte simile, non gli uomini liberi. Cristo, invece, accetta volentieri questa morte, la morte sulla croce. Eppure questa morte diviene il principio della risurrezione. Nella risurrezione il servo crocifisso di Jahvè viene innalzato: egli viene innalzato su tutto il creato (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)

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