The WORD in Other Words by Fr Franz Gassner SVD (Macau) for Feast of the Holy Innocents
We hear about terror attacks almost daily. All too often, little children are among the casualties, either put cruelly to death, or left maimed or orphaned for the rest of their lives. The perpetrators’ Herodian urge to destroy ignores any limit and sanctity.
Joseph of Nazareth, the righteous, the mature Anti—Herod, refrained from using force to solve his problems. He even stayed away from domestic violence, as we know from Matthew, that he intended to divorce Mary secretly, in order not to put her to shame or into any danger of life posed by religiously motivated punishers.
Joseph was not a man of big words or waves. Silently he followed his dream in a prudent and mature way. In public he seemed to be weak, but in person he turned out to be stronger and more sustainable than others. At the right moment he took a decisive action (“Joseph rose and took the child and its mother by night and departed for Egypt.”).
In general, he did not follow his own agenda of securing heritage or filling pockets Foremost, he protected others, especially the innocent and weak entrusted to his care.
Our world will be better off by having more protective Josephs than self-righteous terrorists and Herodians. May his name “Joseph (Hebrew Yoseph means “Increaser ) stand for stemming the tide of hatred, terror, and wrong solutions.
Let us increase his legacy and follow his Roadmap from Violence. And may the intercession of the little Holy Innocent Martyrs and of Saint Joseph assist the human family in finding and implementing mature and righteous solutions.
