Tenderness Belongs to the Strong: Pope Francis on St. Joseph

Created on 20 March 2013

Written by Pope Francis

St. Joseph and the Christ Child | Michael D. O'Brien | Visit studiObrien.comHow does Joseph respond to his calling to be the protector of Mary, Jesus and the Church? By being constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans, and not simply to his own. This is what God asked of David, as we heard in the first reading. God does not want a house built by men, but faithfulness to his word, to his plan. It is God himself who builds the house, but from living stones sealed by his Spirit. Joseph is a “protector” because he is able to hear God’s voice and be guided by his will; and for this reason he is all the more sensitive to the persons entrusted to his safekeeping. He can look at things realistically, he is in touch with his surroundings, he can make truly wise decisions. In him, dear friends, we learn how to respond to God’s call, readily and willingly, but we also see the core of the Christian vocation, which is Christ! Let us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others, so that we can protect creation! . . . .

Please, I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be “protectors” of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment. Let us not allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world! But to be “protectors”, we also have to keep watch over ourselves! Let us not forget that hatred, envy and pride defile our lives! Being protectors, then, also means keeping watch over our emotions, over our hearts, because they are the seat of good and evil intentions: intentions that build up and tear down! We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!

Here I would add one more thing: caring, protecting, demands goodness, it calls for a certain tenderness. In the Gospels, Saint Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love. We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness!

—Pope Francis, March 19, 2013 ^[1]

References ^Pope Francis, March 19, 2013 (www.nbcwashington.com)

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Tenderness Belongs to the Strong: Pope Francis on St. Joseph

Those expecting a grand homily expounding his future strategy may well have been surprised. Pope Francis spoke of the faith, strength and tenderness of a saint to whom he is devoted and whose feast the Church celebrated yesterday: Joseph. He is the example that the new bishop of Rome aims to follow.

“Let us never forget that authentic power is service and that the Pope, too, when exercising power, must enter ever more fully into that service which has its radiant culmination on the cross; he must be inspired by the lowly, concrete and faithful service which marked St. Joseph and, like him, he must open his arms to protect all of God's people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important... Only those who serve with love are able to protect!”

Here we have his papacy’s strategy: to “serve” with humility, returning to the essential, so as to spread the message of the mercy of a God who sacrificed himself on the cross. To serve in a tangible way and to “protect”, opening one’s arms, tenderly embracing all of humanity, particularly the poor, the vulnerable and the weak.

After sparing a thought for his predecessor, Joseph Ratzinger, whose name day it was, and after greeting the delegations present, specifically mentioning representatives of the Jewish community, the new pope discussed the figure of St Joseph in his homily. Preaching while standing, without his mitre, he stressed that the mission God assigned to the carpenter from Nazareth was to be a “protector”.

Joseph exercised his role of protector while being “constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans and not simply to his own.” He allowed himself to be guided by God’s will “and for this reason he is all the more sensitive to the persons entrusted to his safekeeping. He can look at things realistically, he is in touch with his surroundings, he can make truly wise decisions.”

Christians, like Joseph, protect Christ in their lives so as to “protect others and creation.” But Francis highlighted that “the vocation of protector” concerns everyone, not just Christians. “It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world… it means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live. It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about.”

The Pope went on to say that it also means “caring for one another in our families: husbands and wives first protect one another, and then, as parents, they care for their children, and children themselves, in time, protect their parents. It means building sincere friendships in which we protect one another in trust, respect and goodness. In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection and all of us are responsible for it.”

“Whenever we fail” in this responsibility to protect, then “the way is opened to destruction and our hearts are hardened”. The pope reflected how in all eras of history “there are 'Herods' who plot death, wreak havoc and mar the countenance of men and women”. Francis therefore asked “all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life” and all men to be “protectors” of creation, of God’s plan in nature, protectors of each other and of the environment: “Let us not allow omens of destruction and death to accompany our world's journey!”

However Francis explained that in order to be able to protect we must avoid “hatred, envy and pride” from defiling our lives. The pope mentioned the word “tenderness” six times. Protecting and caring for others “demands goodness, it calls for a certain tenderness”. And tenderness, he concluded, “is not the virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others.” That is why “we must not be afraid” of goodness and tenderness. “To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope; it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds.”