Feast of Saint Joseph, Mary's husband, who in humility "took the child with him." Anniversary of the pastoral ministry of pope Francis. Baca lebih lanjut
Feast of Saint Joseph, Mary's husband, who in humility "took the child with him." Anniversary of the pastoral ministry of pope Francis.
Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Matthew 1,16.18-21.24
and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ. This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being an upright man and wanting to spare her disgrace, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, '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, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.' When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home;
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Joseph, Mary's husband. As a descendent of the house of David, Joseph's role was to tie Jesus to the Davidic line, refiguring the patriarchs, who often received revelations from God in dreams. This would make the child Jesus retrace the path of the exodus from Egypt to the promised land, thus placing him in the heart of the history of Israel and establishing him as an heir of the promises. A man of silence, Joseph learned about God's will every day and obeyed it. An ancient legend says that he died in a state of profound peace, given to him by Jesus. This is why early in the western tradition people began to invoke Joseph for the gift of a good death. The Churches of the East remember him together with David and James, the brother of the Lord, during the days following Christmas. Tied to the infancy of Jesus, Joseph reminds all believers of the importance of listening to the Lord, especially in those moments of life when difficulty seems to prevail. This Gospel passage from Matthew recounts how Joseph became involved in the mystery of Jesus' birth. The evangelist seems to want to emphasize the oddity of Jesus' birth. He speaks about Joseph and the doubly serious drama he is living. As a betrayed husband, he should have sought an official divorce, which would have made Mary appear to be an adulteress. This is why, Joseph decided to repudiate his wife, but in secret. It was a considerate - even merciful - act of justice. But if that just man, who was much more considerate than the law, had carried out his decision, he would have been acting against the deeper justice of God. There is, in fact, a greater divine purpose that the angel reveals to Joseph. Joseph listens to the angel and understands what is happening around and inside him. Thus, he becomes a disciple of the Gospel. And the angel continues, "You are to name him Jesus." Joseph must recognize and announce who the child is. This is why he is the true image of the believer who is able to listen to and to take Jesus with his or her. If we listen to the Gospel, we will be able too to take Jesus as the friend of our days and of our entire lives.
Doa merupakan jantung kehidupan Komunitas Sant'Egidio dan merupakan prioritas yang paling penting. Di penghujung hari, setiap Komunitas Sant'Egidio, besar maupun kecil, akan berkumpul di sekeliling Tuhan untuk mendengarkan sabda-Nya. Sesungguhnya Sabda Allah dan doa merupakan landasan seluruh kehidupan Komunitas. Para rasul tidak bisa tidak selain tetap di sekitar kaki Yesus, seperti yang dilakukan oleh Maria dari Bethani, untuk menerima kasih dan belajar cara-Nya (Fil. 2:5).
Sehingga setiap malam, ketika Komunitas kembali ke kaki Tuhan, Komunitas mengulangi kata-kata dari rasul tak bernama: "Tuhan ajarkanlah kami cara berdoa" Yesus, Sang Guru, terus menjawab: "Ketika kamu berdoa, katakanlah: Abba, Bapa". Hal itu bukanlah satu seruan sederhana. Dengan kata-kata ini, Yesus membiarkan para murid untuk berperan serta dalam hubungan mereka sendiri dengan Bapa. Oleh sebab itu, fakta bahwa sebagai anak-anak Bapa yang bertahta di surga, muncul sebelum kata-kata yang mungkin kita ucapkan. Jadi doa di atas segalanya merupakan cara untuk menjadi manusia. Ini untuk mengatakan bahwa kita anak-anak yang berpaling kepada Bapa dengan iman, dan yakin bahwa hal itu akan didengar.
Yesus mengajar kita memanggil Allah dengan sebutan "Bapa Kami" Tidak hanya "Bapa" atau "Bapaku" Para murid, meskipun mereka berdoa dengan cara mereka, tidak pernah terisolasi tidak juga menjadi yatim; mereka selalu menjadi anggota keluarga Tuhan.
Dalam doa bersama, di samping misteri anak Allah, ada juga misteri persaudaraan, seperti Bapa Gereja mengatakan: "Kamu tidak bisa memiliki Allah sebagai Bapa tanpa memiliki gereja sebagai ibu". Ketika berdoa bersama, Roh Kudus menyatukan para rasul di ruangan atas bersama dengan Maria, Bunda Allah, sehingga mereka dapat memusatkan pandangan mereka kepada wajah Tuhan dan belajar dari Dia rahasia hati-Nya.
Komunitas Sant'Egidio di seluruh dunia berkumpul bersama di berbagai tempat doa dan menghamparkan di hadapan Tuhan harapan dan penderitaan manusia yang lelah dan letih seperti yang di katakan oleh Injil (Mat. 9:37). Dalam kumpulan di masa lalu ini kita bisa melihat jumlah massa yang sangat besar di kota-kota modern ini, jutaan pengungsi yang terus melarikan diri dari negeri mereka, orang miskin yang terpinggirkan ke tepi kehidupan dan mereka yang menantikan seseorang yang akan merawat mereka. Berdoa bersama termasuk di dalamnya tangisan, seruan, permohonan, keinginan bagi damai, penyembuhan dan penebusan manusia di dunia ini. Doa tidak pernah sia-sia, doa terus menerus kepada Tuhan sehingga mengubah kecemasan menjadi harapan, air mata menjadi kegembiraan, putus asa menjadi kebahagiaan, dan kesepian menjadi persatuan. Semoga Kerajaan Allah hadir segera di antara manusia.
