Dear Brothers and Sisters,
St. Joseph must have suffered a lot living in close quarters with Mary and protecting her virginity for so many years. He must have prayed all the time, made many sacrifices and acts of self-denial to consistently live this virtue of chastity. He is a great saint to go to, if this habit is difficult for us.
Jesus says in the gospel the grain of wheat needs to die in order to be fruitful. He is speaking of himself, which I never thought of before. His death and resurrection bring enormous fruits of martyrs, saints, virgins, confessors…How many people have given their life in imitation of him over the centuries. Those who have died for him as martyrs and those who have quietly given their lives by having large families, those who suffered quietly because of the sins of others, those who have given their lives by announcing the gospel. They all did this work cheerfully and knowing first what God had done for them.
There was a bishop in Spain who was martyred during the Spanish Civil War, thirteen bishops were martyrs in those years, not to mention hundreds of priests and nuns. This man said to those who were about to kill him: “When I reach heaven, you will be the first that I pray for.” He gave his life for Christ, and even for those who were killing him. And there are hundred of thousands more examples of how men and women died cheerfully for Christ and believed that this was the highest honor for them.
Jesus also says in the gospel, “When I am lifted up, I will draw all things to myself.” He said this in answer to the request by some Greeks in the beginning of the gospel: I want to see Jesus. To see Jesus means to believe that he is your savior. To believe in him in this way usually means that you found him in a big cross or difficulty in your life. That you discovered him when you were lifted up. At that point you can see him. Before you could not.
I saw how the Lord helped me with the dementia of my mother, with the sufferings I had when I was away from the Church, when I tried to be a priest on my own efforts. I saw how Jesus Christ helped me in all those situations, and many more. I invite you to think about those moments also when God saved you from something; he did many miracles for each one of us and often we don’t recognize them or think about them much.
In the letter to the Hebrews, it says that Jesus was saved from death. What does it mean? Even though he died he did not remain in death, but rose to live in a totally different way. He died, but he did not remain in the grave. He came back to life and so will we. I was touched by this point the other day in a funeral for a twenty-four-year-old man. We do not remain in death, even when we die. This is an extraordinary good news. Let us ask that we can have an experience of overcoming death as we prepare for Easter.