SPEAKER_00: Today the church celebrates the feast of Saint Joseph, and there's something striking about Saint Joseph.
SPEAKER_00: He never says a single word in all of Scripture, not one.
SPEAKER_00: And yet few men in history of salvation have spoken more loudly with their lives.
SPEAKER_00: Today's readings give us a key to understanding him.
SPEAKER_00: God makes a promise to David.
SPEAKER_00: I will raise up your heir, I will make his kingdom firm forever.
SPEAKER_00: It's a promise, it's the future, a plan that belongs to God.
SPEAKER_00: And then in the second reading we hear about Abraham.
SPEAKER_00: He believed hoping against hope.
SPEAKER_00: That line is everything.
SPEAKER_00: He believed when there was no reason to believe.
SPEAKER_00: He trusted when the situation made absolutely no sense.
SPEAKER_00: And then we come to Joseph.
SPEAKER_00: Joseph is the man who lives that same faith.
SPEAKER_00: He's told something that humanely speaking is impossible.
SPEAKER_00: Mary is with child, not by him, but by the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: There's no category for this, no explanation that makes any sense.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel tells us something very simple.
SPEAKER_00: Joseph was a righteous man.
SPEAKER_00: But don't misunderstand that word.
SPEAKER_00: Righteous does not mean safe.
SPEAKER_00: It does not mean comfortable.
SPEAKER_00: It means a man who lives in right relationship with God, a man who trusts God more than he trusts himself.
SPEAKER_00: Joseph had a plan, a quiet plan, a reasonable plan.
SPEAKER_00: He was going to step away.
SPEAKER_00: He wants to protect Mary.
SPEAKER_00: He wants to protect himself to avoid scandal.
SPEAKER_00: And then God interrupts that plan.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Do not be afraid, Joseph, to take Mary into your home.
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
SPEAKER_00: No long explanation, no detailed roadmap, just a command.
SPEAKER_00: And Joseph has a decision to make.
SPEAKER_00: Will I trust what I can see, or will I trust what God is asking of me?
SPEAKER_00: And here's a line that defines his entire life.
SPEAKER_00: When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him.
SPEAKER_00: No hesitation, no negotiation, no delay.
SPEAKER_00: He just obeys.
SPEAKER_00: And that's why Joseph is so powerful.
SPEAKER_00: Because he teaches us something we desperately need to hear.
SPEAKER_00: Faith is not about having all the answers.
SPEAKER_00: Faith is about trusting God when you don't.
SPEAKER_00: Joseph never sees the full picture.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't understand everything.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't get guarantees, but he does the right thing.
SPEAKER_00: And because of that, he becomes the guardian of the Redeemer, the protector of Mary, the man entrusted with the Son of God.
SPEAKER_00: Here's where this becomes very real for us.
SPEAKER_00: Because most people are waiting for clarity before they act.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, maybe if I understand everything, then I'll trust.
SPEAKER_00: Once I it all makes sense, then I'll move, I'll get motivated to do the right thing.
SPEAKER_00: But that's not how God works.
SPEAKER_00: God speaks, and then he invites us to trust.
SPEAKER_00: Some of us right now are in our life where some situations make absolutely no sense.
SPEAKER_00: Decision, a burden, a situation you didn't choose, and you're waiting for certainty.
SPEAKER_00: Joseph would say, you may not get it, but you still can trust because God is faithful.
SPEAKER_00: The same God who made a promise to David, the same God who fulfilled it through Abraham's faith, is the same God working in your life right now.
SPEAKER_00: And when you don't see it, even when you don't see it, St.
SPEAKER_00: Joseph teaches us a very simple but demanding path.
SPEAKER_00: Listen.
SPEAKER_00: Trust.
SPEAKER_00: Act.
SPEAKER_00: That's why prayer is so important.
SPEAKER_00: That's why prayer gives us such clarity.
SPEAKER_00: We do it without needing to control everything.
SPEAKER_00: So today, don't ask for more information.
SPEAKER_00: Ask for the grace to be like Joseph, a man of quiet strength, a man of decisive faith, a man who, when God speaks, moves.
SPEAKER_00: Because in the end, that's what holiness looks like.
SPEAKER_00: Not perfection, not having everything figured out, but a life that says, Lord, I don't understand everything, but I need you.
SPEAKER_00: I love you.
SPEAKER_00: I want to trust you enough to take the next step.
SPEAKER_00: Help me.
SPEAKER_00: Saint Joseph, pray for us.