WORD ALIVE

A husband once joked: “My favorite saint is St. Joseph. I can identify with him because I have no voice in my family. My wife is the ‘speaker of the house.’”

The spotlight in this 4th Sunday of Advent is on St. Joseph, who was indeed a man of few words that’s why little is known about him.

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The gospel tells us that he was a “virjustus,” an upright man (Mt 1,19). This is shown when he was confronted with the mystery of the pregnancy of Mary or “virgin birth.” Before they lived together, the Scripture says, Mary was found to have a child.

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Being an upright man, he decided to divorce her quietly. But when the Lord revealed to him in a dream through an angel, that the child Mary had been bearing was from the Holy Spirit and not from man, he decided to take her to his home.

The conduct of Joseph shows what true uprightness means. The just man is not a man who seeks only what justice demands or demands his own human rights, but one who knows how to temper justice with mercy.

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A contemporary example of this is the tragedy that befell the only child of the Asian track-and- field star Lydia de Vega-Mercado when he was run over by a speeding jeepney. She was devastated and deeply aggrieved because the boy was their only child. At first,Lydia wanted the driver to be imprisoned for a lifetime but after a lingering, agonizing discernment, she relented and forgave the culprit, saying, “Nobody wanted this to happen. It was an accident.” Lydia died recently.

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Even though Joseph was a foster-father, he took full responsibility as a father. With all the trials and difficulties, he persevered. For instance, when Mary was riding on the donkey looking for a place to give birth, Joseph was looking for a place where Mary could give birth. Since, “there was no room in the inn,” he had no other choice but ended in the stable of animals.

At age two, the child and mother had to flee to Egypt because the jealous King Herod was searching for the Child in order to kill him. Joseph had to travel through arduous, long distances in order to protect the child and mother Mary. They returned home to Nazareth after Herod had died (Mt. 2,15-18).

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A writer in “Word Today” wrote, “St. Joseph speaks no words in the Bible, but we see great deeds borne of faith and trust in God. A faithful husband, protector of life, hard-working provider and prayerful father, Joseph's silent masculine piety is the perfect model for all men.” Let’s emulate the faith, trust, and perseverance of St. Joseph especially when we encounter difficulties in married life, financial problems, and sicknesses.

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The lighter side. Woman confessing to a priest: “Father, next in line is my husband. You know, these are his sins ...” Priest: Excuse me, ma’am. Why are you confessing his sins? Woman: I was just giving you an orientation – you know, he might lie to you.

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A husband gifted his wife with a bracelet. When the wife asked him why the surprise gift, he replied, “A four-letter word made me do it.” “You mean ‘love?” she asked. “No,” he responded, “sale.”

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Misa Aguinaldo on TV5. To give opportunity to all, especially the sick and elderly who cannot attend the midnight mass in church, the SVD Mission Communications Foundation Inc., will air it on TV5 starting at 11 p.m. on Dec. 24. Celebrate the Nativity with us.