While St Joseph might be seen as a quietly achieving saint, he is the perfect saint to turn to during our struggles in lockdown, says Sr Sophie Boffa CSFN in Catholic Outlook.
Sr Sophie was speaking at the Diocese of Parramatta’s online ‘BE MET’ Night recently.
Sr Sophie, a Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth, who has a PhD in Art History, explored how some of the feelings we are experiencing during lockdown are reflected in the life of St Joseph.
The fears, doubts and isolation we feel in lockdown, Sr Sophie said, were also felt by St Joseph around the time of the Annunciation.
Sr Sophie Boffa CSFN gives a presentation on St Joseph during a recent 'BE MET' Night, part of the Diocese of Parramatta's HOME Ground program. IMAGE: Diocese of Parramatta/Catholic Outlook.
“Joseph was faced with a very difficult decision of trying to reconcile his faithfulness to the law with his love for this other person [in Mary]. He chooses to separate from Mary quietly, and this shows that he is clearly afraid and unsure of what to do, but he is also facing a reality that is beyond his control,” Sr Sophie explained.
“There are so many things that are beyond our control [at the moment], and we might seem like we don’t know what’s next, and we’re very anxious or fearful, we’re experiencing that isolation. But, like Joseph, we still have that chance to be loving and to be kind, to make choices out of love and goodness, even in the midst of our uncertainties, and I think he can really help us to see that that’s actually the best way forward.”
Exploring the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt, Sr Sophie explained that in lockdown, we are also entering the unknown, not knowing where things will lead us.
“Like Joseph, we are also journeying in some ways in the darkness, and it’s scary. But Joseph gives us this great example of being able to follow God’s guidance, God’s messages, God’s inspiration, God’s assurance that everything will be ok, into the darkness and into the unknown spaces of our lives,” she said.
Finding Jesus in the Temple after being separated from his family shows how, like St Joseph, we can be creative and proactive in a crisis, according to Sr Sophie.
“We might be feeling a sense of crisis … and like Joseph, we might feel that things are sort of lost or in crisis, but he shows us how we can be creative and proactive in a crisis, and to persevere with courage, even when things seem really overwhelming.”
Sr Sophie ended her talk by focusing on hope, making reference to Gari Melchers’ artwork, The Nativity.
The artwork depicts an exhausted Mother Mary resting after giving birth, with Joseph looking over Baby Jesus and contemplating what has happened.
“It’s really tempting for us to be weighed down right now by what’s happened yesterday or what might happen tomorrow, but all we have, really, is this one day, this one moment that we are in right now, to respond with as much love and trust as possible,” she said.
“What Joseph did, and what he really learnt to do from the moment that he saw this little baby, he learnt to live with that hope and that trust. He teaches us to do that too.
“I hope that even in this time of fear and doubt and isolation and unknowns and crises, you can feel that hope rising above all that, and you can find those little moments of hope in your every day.”
This is an abridged form of an article by Mary Brazell published by Catholic Outlook.