NATIONAL PILGRIMAGE TO CARFIN IN HONOUR OF ST JOSEPH

I am delighted to be here today for our National Pilgrimage to Carfin, which because we are in the Year of St Joseph, is in his honour. I have a devotion to St Joseph myself. The parish where I grew up in Greenock was dedicated to St Joseph as was two parishes I served in as a priest. The day our Churches closed during the first lockdown – Feast of St Joseph – I commended our diocese of Argyll and the Isles to his protection.

Every morning I begin my day in the Oratory in my house and I pray before several icons, one of which is St Joseph. I’m greedy so I ask St Joseph to intercede on my behalf for a number of things two of which are to trust God’s promises like he did and the other is to love Jesus as he did and by extension to love and care for the Mystical Body of Christ – the Church – of which he is Universal Patron.

1 Gift of trust and faith in God’s promises.

Paul reflects on the example of Abraham to teach the importance of faith for the disciple. Faith is not simply believing that God exists. Satan believes that God exists but has no faith. No, beliefs are important and part of faith but faith is more than belief. Faith is when we enter into a relationship with God. God offers us everything but first he must lead us out of our selfishness and sin. We are to follow his ways and not our own. This is hard but Paul insists that the person who trusts that God will keep his promise is open to God and God’s grace can flow more freely into that person bringing about an inner transformation. Just as God brought new life of Isaac through elderly, decaying bodies of Abraham and Sarah so God brought life into the dead body of Jesus - and then to us!

Joseph is a perfect example of faith, of trust. Joseph’s life was all planned out. He was married (betrothal stage) when he learns that Mary is pregnant. It seems that Mary has been unfaithful. Joseph is hurt. He is confused. Joseph decides to divorce, although in as quiet a way as possible to protect Mary. However, God sends an angel to Joseph to convince him that God is truly at work. God’s Will is revealed to Joseph. The baby’s name will be Jesus - God saves. However, Joseph’s life has still been turned upside down. His life will never be as he wanted yet in faith Joseph accepts that God will help him – and he does! It will be hard but Joseph trusts that God’s grace will transform him. Joseph reconciles with Mary and devotes his enter life to serve Jesus in love. Although at that moment Joseph cannot understand – and quite possibly never did until he entered heaven – but much greater things than Joseph’s plans will happen – our salvation through Jesus – and through his trusting surrender to God’s Will Joseph had a central role to play.

I find it hard to live as a disciple, priest and bishop and feel inadequate, unworthy. Yet I know that God does not call me to do the impossible. With his grace I can do it. This is why I start each day asking Joseph to intercede that I may imitate his trust and faith in God. And the same will be true for you. You will find the demands of discipleship challenging but God promises that if only we trust in his grace we will conquer. Like Joseph let us learn that God not only keeps his promises but also surpasses our greatest expectations.

As Pope Francis wrote in his letter for the Year of Joseph: The history of salvation is worked out “in hope against hope” (Rom 4:18), through our weaknesses. All too often, we think that God works only through our better parts, yet most of his plans are realized in and despite our frailty.

Living in a relationship with God means living as he asks us to. Francis highlights the obedience of Joseph, rooted in trust: “In every situation, Joseph declared his own “fiat”, like those of Mary at the Annunciation and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane”.

2 Love of Jesus and Mystical Body of Jesus: Church.

As I continue to look at the icon I see Joseph gaze as he holds the child Jesus lovingly in his arms. As Pope Francis called his letter With a Loving Heart and he begins it with these words:

WITH A FATHER’S HEART: that is how Joseph loved Jesus, whom all four Gospels refer to as “the son of Joseph”.

A Father’s Heart – what a beautiful insight. Joseph loved Jesus and from that love he legally adopted, cared for, provided for, prayed with, played with Jesus.

As Francis continues: In Joseph, Jesus saw the tender love of God: “As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him” (Ps 103:13).

And so I begin each day praying that I may grow to love the person of Jesus just as Joseph did. Then I develop that thought by calling to mind that the Church is the Mystical Body of Jesus and so I pray that I might likewise love and give my whole life to the Church - my diocese, the Church at national level and Universal.

As we honour St Joseph I hope that these personal reflections are helpful to you.  May St Joseph intercede that we all may have trust and faith in God’s promises as he did and that we will love the person of Jesus and his Mystical Body (Church) with a heart like Joseph’s.

St Joseph, pray for us!

Bishop Brian McGee, Argyll and the Isles
Carfin Grotto 5^th September 2021