(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: https://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Mass-Blog-for-the-Fourth-Sunday-of-Advent-2025.mp3)
The human ego has threatened the lives of many famous families throughout history—including the holy one our faith venerates. Imagine you’re Joseph. You discover you didn’t sire the baby your betrothed is carrying. In those days a woman could be stoned for infidelity. But Joseph is described as “righteous,” so he subdues the jealous side of his ego and decides to get a quiet divorce. The fact he could find sleep that night indicates he was not only righteous, but secure in his decision.
But God had another plan for this family’s and the human family’s security, as this Sunday’s gospel reading tells us via the angelic messenger invading Joseph’s dreams (Matthew 1:18-24):
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Being from the Davidic bloodline, Joseph might have been familiar with Isaiah’s prophecy to his ancestor Ahaz, made after Ahaz refused the prophet’s challenge to ask for God’s salvation for his people. So Isaiah rose above Ahaz’s fallen faith and promised a rescue that would seem impossible to anyone who’d never dare to imagine it: a virgin birth that would put God in this world, among us (Isaiah 7:10-14).
Being instrumental in bringing Isaiah’s prophecy to life could have stimulated the prideful side of Joseph’s ego, but from then on he resigned himself to playing a supporting role in how the scriptures would document the salvation his bloodline helped bring about. Nevertheless, we should remember Joseph for tapping the faith his ancestor Ahaz couldn’t find in himself.
Joseph’s pre-dream readiness to forgive Mary rather than have her stoned was the first sign of his great faith. He built on that foundation with a quiet determination to protect his Holy Family from forces seeking Emmanuel’s elimination from the face of this earth. That tells us all we need to know about the key role this humble man played in saving his Holy Family—and ultimately, us—from the ravages of human ego.
Only human-sized ego would aspire to holiness. But the holiness God intends for us can’t be won. It must be lived and protected from the pride that would deny the forgiveness Joseph found in himself to offer Mary. That’s the same undying forgiveness Mary and their son DID offer to those who brought Isaiah’s prophecy to bloody fulfillment. In Sunday’s second reading (Romans 1:1-7), Paul connects us to the bloodline flowing from the cross of Christ, who …
… “descended from David according to the flesh, but [was] established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead.”
Undying holiness is our inheritance, if we have the courage to live it. Its foundation is forgiveness, without which none of the Holy Family’s other virtues would be available to us. They’re as livable today as they were 2,000 years ago. Could you forgive someone who killed your son, wife or husband? Ask Charlie Kirk’s widow.
–Tom Andel
How do we love? Jesus showed us from the cross: we forgive and we sacrifice…and I’ll add…without expecting anything in return. Sometimes not an easy path, but that is how we love and how we know we are loved. That makes St. Joseph a great role model for us fathers and all men. And yes Tom, pride is the obstacle to this kind of love. Peace.
Yes, Mark, as family men we are connected to a wide variety of souls marriage has put into our lives–a few of whom we might not otherwise have added to our phone’s list of contacts if not for our spouse’s love (my wife’s family excepted, of course!). We exercise another virtue each time we answer the phone when one of their names pops up on our screen: tolerance. And they probably do the same when they choose to call us. Such tolerance is key to peace on earth and good will to all. Merry Christmas to you and your family, my friend.
Joseph never speaks in the New Testament. Instead, he simply acts—responding to dreams, taking decisive steps, and moving quietly in obedience. This reflects the OLD Testament model of a “righteous man”, one whose fidelity is shown more in deeds than in words. Joseph’s sanctity emerges not in what he says, but in how he lives. As men in today’s world, we can carry that same spirit by letting our faith speak most clearly through the choices we make and the sacrifices we embrace—and only then use words if necessary.
Agreed George! Our actions are the loudest way to preach the Gospel. Maybe that’s why one of the most memorable books of the Bible is the “Acts of the Apostles.” Those acts made Christianity a global phenomenon. If only this modern world’s acts spoke the same language.
Humility, so simple and so challenging. And on the other side, pride, really the first sin. It was Lucifer’s refusal to serve that led to being cast out of heaven. Not sure we can get any clearer picture of what God is looking for than that!
Yes! And refusal to serve is fueled not only by pride, but ALL the deadly sins that put “ME FIRST” before “I AM.”
The life of Saint Joseph in the gospel although brief resonates so strongly if we take the time to “attempt” to understand the humility, commitment, and sacrifice he made in faith and trust. Little wonder he is the patron saint of fathers, families, workers, and travelers.
Just imagine the journey taken with a woman nearing term in her pregnancy. It’s about 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, on foot!
Then after the birth of Jesus the angel commands he take the mother and child and immediately flee to Egypt. Tradition suggests that journey was about 600 miles! 600 miles on foot. Be like walking to Boston.
Obedient humility extraordinaire! How often do we respond to the needs of our families in a sacrificial way?
Saint Joseph, pray for us!!
Merry Christmas
As the patron saint of fathers, families, workers, and travelers, Joseph must have also been a practical man. Luke’s gospel tells us he took his family on an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover, and that they traveled in a caravan with others for safety. Joseph knew there were many dangers along the way, and he wanted to keep his family safe among a community of family and friends. In that way, Joseph set a great example for his family and all of us by showing his practical application of one of the greatest commandments: Love thy neighbor!
It’s amazing how much we can learn from St. Joseph, even though we don’t hear him speak in the Gospels. I think this shows the importance of speaking through one’s actions rather than trying to make a point by belaboring it to death with words. In a Columbia magazine article, Mike Aquilina wrote that his father never spoke much about the faith. It was his dad’s small gestures like dressing up for church or tipping his hat every time he passed a church that helped Mike understand the truth of our Catholic faith. Although it can be tempting to voice our hot take on this world’s issues, maybe 2026 is the year we’ll challenge ourselves to be more like St. Joseph: speak only when necessary, and only after reflecting on our own situation.
So true, Jason. The fact most people could swear St. Joseph said something quotable says everything we need to know about his universal language. Maybe he remembered the words of Sirach 4:29–“Do not be haughty in your speech, or lazy and slack in your deeds.”
I think we’ve heard Matthew 7:21 during this Advent season: “Not everyone who SAYS to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who DOES the will of my Father in heaven.” (my choice of all CAPS words) I’m not sure that I’ve ever thought of this verse before as actions speaking louder than words.
A great insight into how our tone and emphasis add meaning to our word choices, George. That’s why in this era of instant online texting we can communicate a sentiment we didn’t intend. A good New Year resolution might be to text less and talk more–especially to friends, family and co-workers.