Faithful to be just, in fact like Saint Joseph
In the Gospel for this 9th day of the Novena, Jesus says: “… if your uprightness does not surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees …” (Matthew 5:20) And regarding Joseph, the Evangelist wrote: “Joseph, being an upright man.” (Matthew 1:19) What does this mean? Having learned that Mary, his betrothed, was pregnant, his first thought was to be faithful to the law. However, the angel’s words led him to see beyond legal justice in order to take up his new mission. “When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do.” (Matthew 1:24)
Joseph had understood that true justice meant listening to the Lord and aligning his life to God’s will, in search of perfect harmony. This justice is unbelievably more demanding as it requires our constant attention to God’s will. Taking Mary with him and agreeing to be the child’s father were decisions that would transform his life.
Like his role model Saint Joseph, Brother André also aligned his life to what the Lord asked of him. While remaining faithful to his duty to his superiors, Brother André also responded to God’s will by caring for the thousands of people who knocked at his door. He had understood that God was asking him to always go further, through charity and compassion, in reaching out to others. He was able to align himself to the Lord’s calling.
Just like Saint Joseph and Saint Brother André, we are all called, day after day, to align our life … “Your will be done,” as we say daily when we pray the Our Father, echoing the words of Jesus.
