Bishop encourages faithful to emulate St. Joseph, be inspired by God

METUCHEN — With the obvious exceptions of the various celebrations in honor of our Blessed Mother, only two saints have multiple feast days on the General Roman Calendar each year: St John the Baptist and St. Joseph. One of the days dedicated to the foster father of Jesus Christ and protector of the Holy Family is March 19, when he is celebrated as the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

This year, that date took on special importance in the diocese, as it continued commemorating the Universal Church’s yearlong celebration of the Year of St. Joseph. The year was proclaimed by the Holy Father last December on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Many parishes chose the feast day as either the beginning or end of novenas or other commemorations honoring St. Joseph.

Bishop James F. Checchio presided at a special Mass on the feast of St. Joseph at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. In his opening remarks, the bishop welcomed all who were in the congregation and specifically the young men from Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen, who were present to honor the patron saint of their institution.

In his homily, the bishop cited the Gospel’s first chapter of Matthew, which recounts the message St. Joseph received from an angel in a dream assuring him to take Mary as his wife. The bishop said, “When he woke up, he faced the decision whether he would act on his dream or simply walk away from it.” It was in accepting the message of the dream that, “Joseph the just man, becomes Joseph the holy man. He says, ‘yes,’ to the Lord.

“That is how God works in our world — through people of faith who say, ‘yes,’ to the dream with which God inspires them,” the bishop continued.

He cited St. Theresa of Calcutta and the Cathedral’s patron, St. Francis of Assisi, as examples of others who acted upon dreams they received from the Lord.

The bishop reminded the congregation that, “Although it may be inspiring to dream God’s will, it is holy to do God’s will.” In this Year of St. Joseph, he stated, “we all need to dream, too, perhaps what we need to do in our own lives, for our families, our friends, fellow believers in our neighborhoods, in our diocese. This pandemic has made us all more aware of the need for God in ourselves and in our country.”

Bishop Checchio challenged everyone to ask themselves, “What is the Lord asking me to dream about? And then we need to say, ‘yes,’ to those dreams.”

Dr. Jorge L. Gonzales-Gomez, who served as a lector at the Mass, felt, “The celebration was a spiritual experience that fully captured the spirit of Pope Francis’ intentions when he proclaimed the Year of St. Joseph.” He believed that the number of participants in the Cathedral, even within the prescribed limits, demonstrated the thirst of the people of God to come back to our churches.

John G. Nolan Jr., president of Saint Joseph High School, accompanied the students who attended the Mass. In discussing the experience with them afterward Nolan said, “they were honored and grateful to be selected to represent the student body.”

In his five months heading the school, Nolan has been greatly impressed by the pride that exists at Saint Joseph in their patron saint. He also mentioned that the emphasis this year on the saint as a father resonates personally with him. He believes that as the patron of the Universal Church, St. Joseph is the patron of all families.

Before the final blessing, Bishop Checchio thanked everyone who planned and participated in the Mass. The bishop noted again the presence of a number of young men in the congregation and spoke of the need for vocations to the priesthood, not just in the diocese, but throughout the world. He asked all those present to pray not only for the 24 seminarians currently in formation for the diocese, but for more men to be inspired to hear the call of God and to say yes to serve him as priests.

Deacon Cline exercises his ministry at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Whitehouse Station