{"id":198,"date":"2019-03-01T19:43:39","date_gmt":"2019-03-01T19:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ourcharism.org\/?p=198"},"modified":"2021-05-30T00:23:37","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T23:23:37","slug":"saint-joseph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourcharism.org\/index.php\/2019\/03\/01\/saint-joseph\/","title":{"rendered":"Saint Joseph"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

San Luis, Argentina, March 1st<\/sup>, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod placed him at the head of his family\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Redemptoris Custos<\/em>, 8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Fathers, Brothers, Seminarians and Novices, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you know, on the 19th<\/sup> of this month we will celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, guardian of God the Father\u2019s most precious treasures: the Incarnate Word and His Most Holy Mother. This Feast was introduced into the calendar of the Church of Rome by Pope Sixtus IV in 1479, and in 1621 it was inserted into the calendar of the Universal Church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This solemnity, of long-standing tradition in the whole Church, is very near and dear to us for several reasons: the feminine branch of the Institute \u2013 the Sisters Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matar\u00e1 \u2013 was founded on March 19th<\/sup>, 1988; this blessed Saint has granted us countless favors and freed us from great dangers. But principally, Joseph of Nazareth \u201cshared\u201d in the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word like no other human being except Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saint Joseph \u201cmade his life a service, a sacrifice to the mystery of the Incarnation and to the redemptive mission connected with it\u201d and his example especially interests us, who are called \u201cto live the mystery of the Incarnate Word in all its profundity.\u201d Indeed, our vocation entails generous dedication to the service of Jesus Christ, the only King that deserves to be served, and occupying ourselves with the sweet task of loving the Mother of God, honoring her, rejoicing and suffering with her, working, praying, and resting with her, just like Saint Joseph did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, this Holy Patriarch is honored as the \u201chead and defender of the Holy Family.\u201d Since we are men like him and members of a Religious Family, the illustrious example of the Husband of the Mother of God stands exalted before us, since we also have the qualified and preferential task of seeing that all the members of our Religious Family \u2013 the Sisters Servants of the Lord and the Third Order \u2013 are formed in the genuine spirit of our Religious Family and, therefore, it is up to us to safeguard our Institute\u2019s Patrimony with great fidelity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why I want to dedicate this circular letter to pointing out the eminent place \u2013 after that of the Virgin Mary \u2013 that Saint Joseph\u2019s worthy example of holds for each member of our Religious Family, especially in his role of service to the mystery of the Incarnation \u2013 manifested particularly in his faith and total docility to the divine will \u2013 and, afterwards, the unparalleled example that he offers to us as head of the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Saint Joseph <\/strong>did<\/em><\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin\u2019s name was Mary<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With these words, the evangelist, Saint Luke, presents Saint Joseph as Mary\u2019s husband and, in this way, God involves him in the mystery of Mary\u2019s maternity and, therefore, in the saving plan of the Incarnation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us<\/em>. This was Mary\u2019s mystery. Joseph did not know this mystery. But since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly<\/em>. <\/em>It was then that Joseph, Mary\u2019s spouse, received \u201chis annunciation\u201d when the angel told him in a dream: Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saint Matthew the Evangelist continues: When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him<\/em>. Everything is in these few words. The whole decision of Joseph\u2019s life and the characteristic of his holiness. Saint Joseph \u201cdid\u201d<\/em>. This man of great nobility of heart and endowed with special trust, did<\/em>. The simplicity of the Gospel lets us see the availability of Saint Joseph\u2019s will to do what God asked of him, to accept God\u2019s plans, even though he was unable to completely understand this great mystery. The Magisterium declares that, in acting in this way, Saint Joseph showed \u201ca readiness of will like Mary\u2019s<\/em>.\u201d From this and without more ado, we can argue that Saint Joseph was a man of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat he did is the clearest \u2018obedience of faith\u2019,\u201d<\/sup> claims Saint John Paul II. Since Saint Joseph accepted as truth coming from God the very thing that Virgin Mary had already accepted at the Annunciation<\/em> and immediately did what was asked of him. This is how Joseph of Nazareth became the trustee of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God, together with the Virgin Mary, when entrusted with the responsibilities of an earthly father with regard to Mary\u2019s Son. This is why the putative father of the Redeemer is for all a model of life in faith and of faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saint Joseph, believing God\u2019s Word with living faith, lived the mystery of the Incarnation uniquely, being the Spouse of the Mother of God and adoptive father of the Son of God. Even more, he consecrated the rest of his life to this mystery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In him we meet a man \u2013 an authentic heir of Abraham\u2019s faith \u2013 who looks at the future with faith and courage, who does not follow his own projects, but trusts in the infinite mercy of the One who guides the events of history according to His mysterious saving plan, and with his trust placed solely in God, carries out his mission to the full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discretion with which Saint Joseph carried out his mission \u2013 in the silence and simplicity of daily life \u2013 makes his faith stand out even more, a faith that consisted in always listening to the Lord and trying to understand His will in order to carry it out with his whole heart and strength. This is why the Gospel defines him as a righteous<\/em> man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much there is to learn from Saint Joseph, who, following God\u2019s plans with a firm will, put his whole life at the service of Christ and His Most Holy Mother, because, as the Apostle said: faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, by professing our vows in this Religious Family, we have consecrated our lives to the august mystery of the Incarnation of the Word. This mystery is \u201can unsurpassable event greater than the creation of the world.\u201d Therefore, we also need a firm, unshaken, eminent, heroic faith, full of promptness, full of ardent zeal to spread the faith, but without bitterness and harshness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he accepted God\u2019s plans, Saint Joseph did not know where they would take him. For example, he never imagined that he would have to flee to Egypt with the Child and His Mother because Herod would search for the Child in order to kill him; nor the labors and sorrows that he would have to endure in order to provide for his family; nor his renunciation, through an incomparable virginal love, of natural conjugal love. Nevertheless, Saint Joseph \u2013 a man of great faith \u2013 did not hesitate \u201cto put his liberty immediately at the disposition of the divine designs, to make over to them also his legitimate human calling, his conjugal happiness, to accept the conditions, the responsibility and the burden of a family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the adventure of the faith. \u201cBy faith man freely commits his entire self to God.\u201d \u201cThis is the very reason why faith is singled out from other graces, and honored as the especial means of our justification, because its presence implies that we have the heart to make a venture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, in the same way that He did it with Saint Joseph, with His Apostles, and all through history with each soul, God invites each one of us and our Institute as a whole through the mouth of Sacred Scripture mirrored in our proper law: we shall live by faith<\/em>. And moved by this faith and compelled by the august example of Saint Joseph, we must \u201caccomplish great works, extraordinary undertakings involving a great deal of adventure, vertigo, danger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When James and John asked Christ for the gift to be with Him in eternal life, He responded: Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?<\/em> That is to say, Jesus reminded them that they have to make ventures, and they responded with a firm: We can<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere then a great lesson is impressed upon us, that our duty as Christians lies in this, in making ventures for eternal life without the absolute certainty of success,\u201d as Blessed John Henry Newman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf then faith be the essence of a Christian life, [\u2026] our duty lies in risking upon Christ\u2019s word what we have, for what we have not; and doing so in a noble, generous way, not indeed rashly or lightly, still without knowing accurately what we are doing, not knowing either what we give up, nor again what we shall gain; uncertain about our reward, uncertain about our extent of sacrifice, in all respects leaning, waiting upon Him, trusting in Him to fulfil His promise, trusting in Him to enable us to fulfil our own vows, and so in all respects proceeding without carefulness or anxiety about the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this moment, and by God\u2019s providential and merciful plan, our Institute is in a phase of taking on great projects that demand that we venture ourselves in faith for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls, which implies \u2013 as you understand \u2013 no little sacrifice for all and a great spirit of faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this characterizes us: \u201cdocility and readiness in the execution of the Holy Spirit\u2019s requests,\u201d like the Blessed Virgin, like her most chaste spouse, Saint Joseph; \u201calways [working] against the temptation to delay, against the fear to sacrifice and totally surrender, and against the temptation to recover what we have given.\u201d That is why our proper law explicitly warns us so that we do not fall into the temptation to act with this attitude of \u201cclerks\u201d who so impede or slow this holy venturing for Christ. Rather, let us be today and always like Saint Joseph, \u201cmen of action, with broad vision and with decisive and generous hearts, [\u2026] who, because of their soul\u2019s nobility, smile with joy in knowing that Jesus Himself tells them: Duc in altum!<\/em>\u201d and \u201cHe Himself impels them toward great ideals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFaith being a virtue is a habit,\u201d said Ven. Archbishop Fulton Sheen, \u201cnot an acquired habit like swimming, but an infused habit given to us by God in Baptism. Being a habit, it grows by practice. The ideal is to reach a point in practice, where, like Our Lord on the Cross, we witness to God even amidst abandonment and the agony of a crucifixion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this practice of the faith, the religious missionary of the Incarnate Word \u2013 be he a monk, priest, or brother \u2013 must always be available to carry out God\u2019s will, wherever Divine Providence takes him and whatever office His Goodness is pleased to confide to him or take away from him. He must even be ready to be sent somewhere else and, like Saint Joseph, be brought among hardships to an unknown land: Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you\u2026 <\/em>[and Saint Joseph<\/em>] took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt <\/em>[and<\/em>] stayed there until the death of Herod<\/em>; because ours is the \u201cavailability for the service of the universal Church.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the great graces that we have received in our formation is that it was instilled in us to be always ready to go \u2013 at the request of our superiors \u2013 to anywhere in the world that there is a need. In fact, it is very consoling to perceive how this willingness admirably remains in the overwhelming majority of our religious, who have no preference about going to one place more than another, leaving their assignment totally and very freely in the hands of their Superior. It is always good to reflect on this, and nourish this promptitude and availability of the soul for the mission, above all for those who might think that they are indispensable to their mission, and for those whose age has \u201caccustomed\u201d them to a way of life that is difficult for them to leave behind and who adopt an attitude that makes it difficult for the superiors to present them new assignments. Often, back in the Seminary, we heard that our life \u2013 consecrated to God and committed by vow to the missionary adventure \u2013 is like \u2018making out a blank check to God\u2019, which means keeping \u201chis soul is constantly ready for whatever God determines.\u201d Therefore, \u201cEvery particular and personal interest should be put aside, as we are ready to take on some sacrifice or inconvenience for the good of the Institute\u201d and for the good of the Church, knowing that God is never outdone in generosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saint Joseph made \u201ca total gift of self, of his life and work; in having turned his human vocation to domestic love into a superhuman oblation of self, an oblation of his heart and all his abilities into love placed at the service of the Messiah growing up in his house.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imitating the Just Guardian of the Redeemer, each of us must live \u201cthe continual feast in his soul of immolating himself \u2013 in a real way each day \u2013 for love\u201d of the Incarnate Word and His most Blessed Mother, who is also ours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analogous to Saint Joseph, we have the splendid privilege to have been called to be a part of the Family of the Incarnate Word. In our Religious Family, just like in the Holy Family, all is for Him, through Him, and for the worthy cause of his Kingdom. For Him we ought to work, live, and die. \u201cYour talents and virtues, your qualifications and your priesthood, all ought to be confounded under the name of service\u201d of the Incarnate Word. Like Saint Joseph, we are religious of the Incarnate Word in order to give Him all that we have and all that we are; that is to say, the primary purpose of our vocation is precisely to carry out with greater perfection all that is for His holy service and, as members of His own family, to grasp His style, to live in great intimacy with Him and to enjoy ineffable familiarity with Him. In such a way that it could be said about us what was said about the Guardian of the Redeemer, that is, that he \u201cmade his life a service, a sacrifice to the mystery of the Incarnation and to the redemptive mission connected with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A religious who does not put his affectivity in order \u2013 meaning that he does not \u201cjoyfully sacrifice his carnal affections, giving himself totally to Jesus Christ, and directing all his loves to Him\u201d \u2013 who seeks to be loved by others egotistically; who wants to be the center of attention, and rather than serving others, seeks his own comfort and to be served; who is possessive of his neighbors, not only seeking affection in an disordered way, but also wanting to pridefully exercise dominion over them \u2013 even worse if he is a superior \u2013; who has favorites and surrounds himself with the obsequious, even though they are obviously not the ablest or the best, but only because they praise him and never contradict him; who cannot bear the slightest snub or correction \u2013 even if he is right \u2013, etc. He is not a religious, because he shows in practice that Jesus Christ is not enough for him, and therefore we cannot say that he is a true religious even if he perfectly observes \u2013 which is quite rare \u2013 all the \u201cmaterial\u201d observances of religious life. Such a religious is a \u201cliving lie,\u201d his life is a failure, all will be difficult and unbearable for him. He does not possess the ineffable joy of those who experience within them the love of Christ, a love which includes the joy of the Cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the example of the Just Joseph, ours is to act moved by charity, without letting ourselves be troubled by difficulties on the way; in such a way that magnanimity and fortitude shine in us, to begin great works in the service of God, and to persevere until their completion, suffering the weaknesses of many, without faltering because of compliments or threats, and rising above the vicissitudes of fortune and failure, being always willing to give up our life, if necessary, for the good of the Institute and of the Church, in the service of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Saint Joseph: head and defender of the holy Family<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our beloved Saint John Paul II, on various occasions, referred to Saint Joseph as \u201chead of the home, head of the family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For 130 years, the explicit teaching of the Church has been that from the two-fold dignity of Saint Joseph as husband of Mary and earthly father of the Incarnate Word \u201cflowed the obligation which nature lays upon the head of families, so that Joseph became the guardian, the administrator, and the legal defender of the divine house whose chief he was. And during the whole course of his life he fulfilled those charges and those duties. He set himself to protect with a mighty love and a daily solicitude his spouse and the Divine Infant; regularly by his work he earned what was necessary for the one and the other for nourishment and clothing; he guarded from death the Child threatened by a monarch\u2019s jealousy, and found for Him a refuge; in the miseries of the journey and in the bitterness of exile he was ever the companion, the assistance, and the upholder of the Virgin and of Jesus. Now the divine house which Joseph ruled with the authority of a father, contained within its limits the scarce-born Church.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, this unique dignity of Saint Joseph\u2019s at the same time made him head of <\/em>[the<\/em>] family<\/em> and placed great responsibilities on his shoulders, with all the work and demands that this brought with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, \u201cwhenever the divine favor chooses someone to receive a special grace, or to accept a lofty vocation, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfill the task at hand. This general rule is especially verified in the case of Saint Joseph, the foster-father of our Lord and the husband of the Queen of our world, enthroned above the angels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, such was the soil that grace found in Saint Joseph\u2019s soul, that it bore copious fruit of virtues that adorned even more the already magnificent family life of the Holy Family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so Saint Bernard beautifully said: \u201c[In Joseph], a man whom, like another David, God found according to his own heart<\/em>, and to whom He entrusted His most precious secret; to whom, as to David, He made manifest the uncertain and hidden things of His wisdom<\/em>, and to whom He revealed a mystery hidden from the great ones of the world. To Joseph it was given to behold Him whom many kings and prophets had desired to see and had not seen, to hear and had not heard<\/em>. And not only was he allowed to behold Him and listen to His words, but he might bear Jesus in his arms, guide his steps, embrace and caress Him, feed and protect Him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saint Joseph experienced the roughness of work and treated with exquisite charity the most adorable persons on earth; with great generosity he took on the weight of the responsibility of family and home; he cared for and defended his own with paternal solicitude and vigilance; he experienced the dangers of the threats of the powerful, perplexity and uncertainty, the fatigue and difficulties of journeys, but in everything, he acted as a virtuous man. In him shines forth the practice of those seemingly opposed virtues of which our proper law speaks: justice and love, firmness and sweetness, fortitude and meekness, holy anger and patience, purity and great affection, magnanimity and humility, prudence and courage, joy and penance, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his relationship with Jesus, we can say that \u201cFrom Joseph\u2019s strong and fatherly example, Jesus learned the virtues of a manly piety, fidelity to one\u2019s word, integrity and hard work. In the carpenter of Nazareth, he saw how authority placed at the service of love is infinitely more fruitful than the power which seeks to dominate. How much our world needs the example, guidance and quiet strength of men like Joseph!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same way, as spouse of the Virgin of Nazareth, he was her support, her life\u2019s companion and witness to her virginity. He took care of her temporal needs, and with exquisite charity, he also furnished her with the simple \u201cluxuries\u201d or comforts that their way of life at that time and their poor social position occasionally allowed them. But we should also say that Saint Joseph exercised over the Virgin Mother the meek and sweet authority of a husband who is solicitous for the wellbeing and happiness of his Spouse. And so, Saint Joseph is also our perfect model in exercising authority as our proper law demands: always at the service of fraternity, of its edification, and of attaining its spiritual and apostolic ends; a spiritual authority: he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb<\/em> (office that corresponds with the paternal authority); an authority that creates unity: do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home<\/em>; an authority that makes decisions and guarantees their execution: Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is impossible to even think that Saint Joseph would want to dissociate himself from his family when faced by threats, dangers, poverty, adverse circumstances, and demands of hard work in order to support and care for them. On the contrary, Saint Joseph really consecrated himself to bringing happiness to those God had entrusted to him, with loving solicitude and heroic fidelity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, the illustrious figure of Saint Joseph, the Just Man, most chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary and guardian of the Incarnate Word, continues to be for all of us religious missionaries \u2013 since we are also men like him \u2013 an outstanding model of manly and paternal virtue in family life. Indeed, we are also members of a precious Religious Family \u201cmade up of priests, consecrated religious men with perpetual vows who are not priests, and religious sisters.\u201d And our proper law clarifies: \u201cThe relationship between these groups ought to be fraternal, and in the case of priests with respect to the others, it should also be paternal<\/em>. [Because] through the sacrament of Holy Orders, priests are made participants in the mystery of Christ, Priest, Teacher, Head<\/em>, and Pastor [\u2026]. [Therefore, as] representatives of Christ as Head, they have the triple office of governing, teaching and sanctifying God\u2019s people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of the members of the Religious Family \u2013 including the Servants of the Lord, in due order and degree, since together with them \u201cwe form one and the same Family with the same specific purpose<\/em>\u201d \u2013 must exercise this loving care for the true and lasting good of each of the members of our Institutes, seeking always to promote union and growth and the promotion of their interests, especially by safeguarding the patrimony of the Institute and attaining its end. This interest, promoted even at the price of personal sacrifice, and which is desirable in all, should never be lacking in our priests with its own specificity, since by office we are called to be Head and Pastors. And so, that which the Magisterium said of Saint Joseph can properly be applied to priests: \u201cGod placed him at the head of his family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must always keep in mind that Christ has called us individually, but in order to form a family, the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word<\/em>. Our Institute, the Sisters Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matar\u00e1, and the many members of the Third Order throughout the world, make up in the Church a particular spiritual Family with the same spirituality and the same mission, in order to help each other mutually in fulfilling each member\u2019s personal vocation. This is how God envisioned us and this is our identity. Therefore, our following of Christ is lived out in fraternity. That is to say, in the spirit of a corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being part of a Religious Family implies, among other things, that we must always act as a family<\/em> and always show ourselves as a family<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Put simply, because our vocation as religious of the Incarnate Word implies living as a family: \u201cTo love one\u2019s vocation is to love [\u2026] one\u2019s institute, and to experience the community as one\u2019s own family. To love in accordance with one\u2019s vocation is to love in the manner of one who, in every human relationship, wishes to be a clear sign of the love of God, not invading and not possessing, but loving and desiring the good of the other with God\u2019s own benevolence.\u201d And this, speaking of life in our communities, is extended to our relationship with the Sisters Servants of the Lord and with the Third Order, in due order and proportion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, to act as a Religious Family is simply the constant and faithful work of each of its members according to the particular grace of our Institute, which is an essential part of the charism, in such a way that all who see us will recognize us through this characteristic and particular style of<\/em> the Incarnate Word<\/em>. To act as a family also requires unity in criteria, and so good communication is imperative, since this inspires in everyone a sense of shared responsibility. \u201cCommunication normally creates closer relationships, nourishes family spirit<\/em> and participation in all that concerns the whole Institute, makes aware of general problems and unites the consecrated persons around the common mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this leads to generous and disinterested service in the mission, inspired by communion in the same charism. This is shown, among other things, in fighting together in the missionary endeavor, in giving priority to the works of the Religious Family, in sacrificing oneself where one is so that the Institute can achieve works of greater magnitude, in showing oneself to be close and ready to help, in always being available to lend a hand, etc. In a word, it is to live in the more<\/strong> and in the above<\/strong> of the folly of the Cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if the foresaid must be the ordinary course of our behavior, this becomes particularly meaningful when we consider the crucial moment through which our Religious Family is passing. What is important is to work on a common project<\/strong>, giving priority to the works of the Family and to the apostolates that are proper to our Institutes, developing them with great energy and generous magnanimity, striving together for those apostolates of greater insertion in the evangelization. Experience attests to this and it is clearly seen in numerous apostolic undertakings that when all members work together \u2013 the masculine and feminine branches and the Third Order \u2013 great strength is given to our Religious Family, and an incisiveness that it might not otherwise have, and which, besides greatly supporting and strengthening the life and mission of our whole Family, becomes a wealth of blessings which unites us even more strongly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God was pleased to grant us the great grace and privilege to associate our Institute with the Sisters Servants of the Lord and with the members of the Third Order by ties that are unrenounceable if we want to be faithful to the charism and patrimony of our Institute. Therefore, it is our duty to show ourselves as a Religious Family<\/strong>, and proud of it with a holy pride, to bear witness before the world to what we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God could have sent us to the mission, just like that, like He did with so many other masculine congregations. But for the greater manifestation of His magnificence and according to His unfathomable benevolence, he has given us precious bulwarks in the second and third orders to help us in our sanctification and in the sublime task of evangelization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, we as priests must see to it that the Sisters are present where we are and attend to them solicitously with due courtesy and respect. And where they are already present, to make them coparticipants in the mission, since the Sisters are not just another group in the parish or in our works, but an integral part of our family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, this always showing ourselves as a Family does not simply consist in \u201corganizing\u201d feasts or big events together (which is already a great thing and should not be lost), but rather, to show ourselves together in the missionary undertaking, supporting each other in the day-to-day mission, acting subsidiarily by sharing the responsibilities according to the role that corresponds to each one in this precious Family, charitably concealing the miseries and limits that we all have, being inclined to be the first to show affability and compassionate attention, rejoicing in the joys and successes of the others, working with great confidence, responsibly harmonizing our services for the cause of evangelization, defending each other as a united front, denying and sacrificing oneself for the common good and the prosperity of the Church and of the Congregation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing further from us than selfishness, individualism, the spirit of opposition and of distrust, the spirit of unwillingness, of non-participation, of non-consent, immature competition, going off on one\u2019s own, discouraging criticism\u2026 because all this gravely offends the spirit of family that ought to reign among us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather, we ought to grow fond of our own Family, keep watch over its interests, which are everyone\u2019s, give the Family the priority place that it ought to have, work diligently under the same standard and build in unity, just like the Just Joseph\u2019s example teaches us. To act in another way is not only contrary to the spirit that has been bequeathed to us, but would also be the cause of many obstacles and a lot of strength for our mission in the Church would be lost. Our proper law warns us: \u201cto not sufficiently take into account the charism of the Religious Family benefits neither the particular Church nor the community itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blessed Paolo Manna said this with great realism: \u201cMaybe we don\u2019t have anything to give to our brothers; but we can always bestow in great abundance our optimism, our esteem, our affectionate encouragement [\u2026] [Most of the displeasures that make our life a misery are caused by the imperfection of our relationships with our brothers.] If, [instead,] we are all inspired by this deep spirit of mutual love and benevolence, it will be a blessing to live together and work in a united way for the accomplishment of the holy purposes of our Institute.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With similar emphasis, the Chapter Fathers in the last General Chapter declared: \u201cSimilar to what happens within a community and in the Institute itself, the benefits for the Religious Family and for the Church that come from unity and collaboration <\/em>with the Servants of the Lord, in a spirit of Family<\/em>, are so numerous that we should be aware that the devil will try in every way to harm this, again and again. And so, we ought to seriously take on the spiritual combat to maintain good spirit, to conscientiously avoid all that injures justice or charity, all that can arouse jealousies or difficulties, and all that can negatively prejudice someone; make charity reign, which often takes the form of mercy and forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certainly, in the apostolate that we carry out together as a Religious Family \u2013 being limited men and women \u2013 we will naturally encounter difficulties and disagreements. But faced with this, we must have a lot of patience, charity, and magnanimity, and always strive to practice the wise counsel of Saint John of the Cross: \u201cwhere there is no love, put love, and you will draw out love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me also say it this way, purely and simply: Our Religious Family is a treasure!<\/em> and a great gift from heaven, with which God has wanted to enrich His Church.  We must make it fruitful and thus share with the whole world the immense wealth that we enjoy: our wonderful charism. Let us realize that the world needs our testimony as a Religious Family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us truly realize the importance of our Religious Family\u2019s role in the Church\u2019s mission. We ought to be the \u201cgood news\u201d that loudly proclaims that the world cannot be transformed without the spirit of the beatitudes. How many benefits will follow from it! How many vocations! How many souls will be challenged by the testimony of true sacrificial love for the family<\/strong>, which the modern world so needs!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good that is at stake is so great that our human miseries or the feeling that we have not corresponded as we would have liked should never\u2013 as it sometimes happens \u2013 make us desist from the resolution to preserve, augment, and persevere in the spirit of family. Since, like Saint Joseph, God has given the care of His family to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* * * * *<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rooted in the Incarnate Word, like the Holy Family itself, knowing that we have been blessed by God with a splendid charism, in which we find our fullest manner of apostolate and sanctification, we must go throughout the world like Saint Joseph: at the service of God-made-Man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the 35th<\/sup> anniversary of the foundation of our Institute approaches, let us fervently ask \u201cJoseph of Nazareth \u2013 he whom the heavenly Father wanted to make, on earth, His man of trust\u201d \u2013 to take care of our Religious Family, just like in another time he labored to care for the Redeemer. Let us ask him to always preserve its essential elements intact, to bless it with full, constant, and inalterable unity among all its members, and to multiply it everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May the Holy Spouse of the Virgin Mary, who remained faithful to God\u2019s call until the end, grant all our members \u2013 present and future \u2013 the grace of perseverance in our holy vocation, showing like him, in all the circumstances of our life, that we live by the faith in the Incarnation of the Son of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us learn with Saint Joseph to belong more and more to Mary in order to belong more and more to Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I send you a big hug, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fr. Gustavo Nieto, IVE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General Superior<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Luis, Argentina, March 1st, 2019 \u201cGod placed him at the head of his family\u201d Redemptoris Custos, 8 Dear Fathers, Brothers, Seminarians and Novices,  As you know, on the 19th of this month we will celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, guardian of God the Father\u2019s most precious treasures: the Incarnate Word and His Most 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