St Joseph, a model for family love

On 19 March, the solemnity of St Joseph, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land celebrated the feast-day of the patron saint of the Universal Church in Nazareth, in the place where according to tradition the Holy Family lived after they returned from Egypt.

The Angelus in the Crypt of St Joseph

At noon, the Franciscan friars, accompanied by some faithful, celebrated St Joseph in the church dedicated to him, next to the Basilica of the Annunciation. The prayer of the Angelus was celebrated with special words, dedicated to St Joseph, in the crypt of the church.

In the afternoon, the Custos of the Holy Land, Fra Francesco Patton, solemnly entered the Basilica. The procession was opened with flags and drums by the local scouts. After stopping to pray in the Grotto of the Annunciation, the Custos presided over a Solemn Mass in the upper part of the Basilica.

The Solemnity of St Joseph: a reminder of consecration and family love

This year, the solemnity of St Joseph has been chosen as the jubilee day for families: an opportunity to reflect on their role in the light of the message of St Joseph and of the Holy Family.

In his homily, Fra Ibrahim Sabbagh, parish priest of the Basilica of the Annunciation, stressed that the family is the place where divine love is manifested. He encouraged the faithful to keep alive “the flame of love in our families,” following the example of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Every family is called to live as a “family pf faith and of prayer, a family of hope and of charity.”

He then highlighted the generous response of St Joseph to the divine call: “a call to a completely new life; a call that turned his existence upside-down, putting him face to face with an unexpected situation, full of responsibility (…). His vocation is essentially a consecration to the Lord trough service to Mary and to his Son Jesus.”

Consecration to St Joseph

At the end of the Mass, there was a moment of consecration to St Joseph with the recital of the prayer with its recently approved new wording:

Prayer of consecration to St Joseph

O Saint Joseph, righteous and industrious man,
God has entrusted to you the Virgin Mother Mary
and her divine son Jesus.
You have guarded and protected them
on the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem,
from Bethlehem to the exile in Egypt
until their return to this city.
Together with Mary your bride
you accompanied the incarnate Son of God
to grow in age, wisdom and grace
in this poor and simple dwelling.
To you we entrust the universal Church once again today.
To you we entrust this City of Nazareth and its families;
the Holy Land, its Christian communities and their pastors;
our fraternities called to guard the Holy Places,
dwelling there in prayer.
O Saint Joseph
together with the Virgin Mary, your spouse
obtain for us the grace
to be docile to the action of the Holy Spirit
that we may follow in the footsteps of Jesus
and come to the Father
and live in the love of the triune God
for ever and ever.
Amen.