Saint Joseph and God’s Unexpectedness
Saint Joseph and God’s unexpectedness is the theme of this year’s novena here at Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal.
Pondering on this theme, what immediately came to my mind was the fact that the founder of Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal was himself an unexpected brother for the Congregation of Holy Cross… And that this unexpected brother became a blessing not only for his religious family, but also for the entire Catholic Church, for Quebec and Canada, and for the whole world.
Therefore, when the unexpected comes from God, it is certainly a blessing, even if from a human viewpoint it is not perceived as such.
Over the history of his ancestors, Joseph learned well that the unexpected is part of the way God acts. Suffice to open the Bible to realize that God’s actions are always surprising.
Joseph and Mary had chosen each other and were preparing for their wedding. But God’s intervention in Mary’s life, through the visit of the Angel Gabriel, would confuse and shake these two fiancés, especially Joseph. But with divine insight, Joseph was able to recognize and welcome, give in, and be opened to God’s unexpectedness in his life with Mary as a couple and as parents.
Joseph, the just man, has always been aware that God’s relationship with his ancestors has always been a journey, a continuous discovery. This is what built his active and committed resilience in welcoming God’s unexpectedness. And this welcome allowed him to foretaste, always along the way, the profound meaning of the story of his couple’s relationship with God.
Undoubtedly, it was not easy for Joseph and his wife Mary. In light of the Gospel, we can say that Joseph’s resilience is commensurate with the uprightness of his whole being, of his whole person, to God in whom he has unshakeable trust. This is the source of his steadfast faith and the driving force behind all his actions.
Faced with God’s unexpectedness, “Joseph is certainly not passively resigned, but courageously and firmly proactive,” “a creatively courageous father,” wrote Pope Francis (Patris Corde, 4 and 5).
Joseph’s attitude teaches us that God can surprise and guide us on unexpected paths, trusting in Him being the key to welcoming His plans.
With Saint Joseph, and the intercession of Saint Brother André, his Great Friend, let us also trust in the God of the unexpected and learn to welcome God’s unexpectedness.
