Day 7 of the Novena to Saint Joseph

Welcome God… Under the guise of your brother, He awaits your love!

Since the beginning of this Novena, our hearts have opened up to the generosity of God who welcomes us. Today, we are faced with a reversal of the situation; as if God were saying to us, “Yes, I welcome you with great joy. Now, in turn, you must welcome others, with the tenderness and love that you receive from me.”

Jesus takes this call to the extreme, even to loving our enemies. What Jesus is asking us, He Himself achieved to perfection, when He did not hate His executioners: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

The secret of His forgiveness is in His gaze, turned toward the Father, “who causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45b).

Truly, as Saint Bernard said, “The true measure of loving God is to love Him without measure”… and not to measure our love for our sisters and brothers!

Saint Joseph, for us, you are the reflection of the Father’s love.
With Mary and the Child, you endured a cold shoulder in Bethlehem and had to flee to Egypt,
but you never allowed hatred to invade your heart.
The love of God the Father and the Child had already transformed it.
May this love also transform ours!

Make a Novena to Saint Joseph, from March 10 to 18, 2019.