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December 29, 2021
Pope Francis continued his catechesis series on St. Joseph at the weekly General Audience, focusing on his role as “a persecuted and courageous migrant.”
Following the depiction of Jesus’ foster father in the Gospel of Matthew (2:13-23), the Pope explored the massacre of all children under the age of 2 in Bethlehem, ordered by King Herod after the visit of the Magi.
Humiliation of uncertainty
In fleeing into Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath, the Holy Family “suffered such humiliation and experienced first-hand the precariousness, fear and pain of having to leave their homeland.”
Many of our own contemporaries are forced to endure the same injustice and suffering, said the Pope.
“The cause is almost always the arrogance and violence of the powerful,” he said. “This was also the case for Jesus.”
Cruel despots and courageous migrants
Pope Francis said King Herod ordered the massacre because he felt his power threatened by the newborn “King of the Jews”.
The “flight into Egypt”—as the episode is known—saves Jesus, but does not prevent the murder of so many innocent children.
The Pope said the episode exposes two opposing personalities: “on the one hand, Herod with his ferocity; and, on the other, Joseph with his care and courage.”
Herod is the symbol of tyrants and despots of every age—even our own, insisted the Pope—who defend their power with ruthless cruelty and by “carrying out inhuman acts of violence.”
Yet, said Pope Francis, we too can succumb to the same attitude when we “try to dispel our fears with arrogance, even if only verbal or made up of small abuses intended to mortify those close to us.”
Courage: an everyday virtue
St. Joseph, noted the Pope, was Herod’s opposite: “a just man” who shows his courage in following the Angel’s order to flee.
“One can imagine the vicissitudes he had to face during the long and dangerous journey and the difficulties involved in staying in a foreign country and speaking a different language: so many difficulties. His courage emerges also at the moment of his return, when, reassured by the Angel, he overcomes his understandable fears and settles with Mary and Jesus in Nazareth.”
However, courage can be lived in our daily lives, and is not only a virtue of “heroes”, noted the Pope.
“In all times and cultures,” he added, “we find courageous men and women who, in order to be consistent with their beliefs, have overcome all kinds of difficulties, and have endured injustice, condemnation and even death.”
Courage is another way to say “fortitude”, one of the cardinal virtues.
‘Scandal of humanity’
Finally, Pope Francis said St. Joseph teaches us to overcome our fears to confront the adversities life holds for us.
And he invited everyone to pray for the many migrants and refugees of our own times, who have been forced to flee their homes, and for those who are unable to escape or die along the journey.
“Let us spare a thought for the many people who fall victim to war and wish to flee their homelands but are unable. Let us think about those migrants who set out on that path toward freedom and end up on the street or in the sea. Let us consider Jesus in the arms of Joseph and Mary, fleeing; and may we see in him each of today’s migrants.”
The Pope said the ongoing migration crisis is a “scandal of humanity” which we cannot ignore.
Prayer for migrants
And he concluded with a prayer to St. Joseph for those who find themselves in need of courage and in similar situations.
Saint Joseph,
you who have experienced the suffering of those who must flee
to save the lives of those dearest to you,
protect all those who flee because of war,
hatred, hunger.
Support them in their difficulties,
Strengthen them in hope, and let them find welcome and solidarity.
Guide their steps and open the hearts of those who can help them. Amen.