19th March 2020, St Joseph’s Day‘When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do’ (Mt 1.24). Today is the feast of St Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a foster father to Jesus. This feast falls during a challenging and deeply anxious time of the coronavirus pandemic. Because of the pandemic we can no longer celebrate public services in our churches. This decision, taken by our Archbishops following the Government’s advice to stop all non-essential contact, although painful, is right and necessary. It flows from the first and greatest commandment of all, to love God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength; and to love our neighbour as ourselves. The true love of God is attested by a love of one’s neighbour. This necessary closure of our churches, in a time such as this, is one of the many ways in which we can express our love of God and neighbour. Doing the right thing is now more important than ever. Today’s patron saint, S. Joseph, provides us with an excellent example of how to do this. What he and Mary went through before they even moved in together was a real trial of love and trust. Joseph, on finding out about Mary’s pregnancy, must have been heartbroken. Not surprisingly, he wanted to break the engagement and end the whole thing altogether. However, when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Joseph in a dream and explained that Mary’s pregnancy was the work of the Holy Spirit, Joseph’s attitude changed dramatically. He realised that the situation he and fiancée experienced was beyond their control. All he could do was to do the right thing, to be obedient to God’s will. So, as the Evangelist Matthew tells us, ‘when Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do.’ Today, we also need ask ourselves, ‘What is the right thing for me to do?’ How can I live according to the greatest commandment of love of God and neighbour during this unsettling time of the coronavirus pandemic? What is my responsibility? In what practical ways I can care for myself and for others? It may be that staying in self-isolation is the right thing for you to do. Even when you’re self-isolating, you can pick up the phone and offer friendship to someone else who is now struggling. Or if you happen to be fit and well enough, you may wish to volunteer to help someone else with their shopping. There are many small practical steps we all can take to make this unprecedented situation more bearable. Whatever we do, it is critical to heed the Government’s advice to avoid all non-essential contact, follow the NHS guidance, and continue to pray and care for one another. Joseph was a man of action. But he was also wise enough to the right thing. When the life of Jesus was in danger, ‘he took Mary and the child by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod’ (Mt 2.14). He was forced to go to a strange country and hide there until the danger was over. We too may now feel like we are forced to go to an unknown land. Our world is changing right in front of our eyes and it feels deeply unsettling. During our prayers, as we kneel before God, let examine our hearts and ask, ‘What is the right thing for me to do right now?’ ‘How can I best express my love of God and neighbour?’ May the Holy Spirit guide us with his light of truth, and may S. Joseph pray for us that we all may do the right thing. Fr Robert
