Pope: 2021 is The Year of St. Joseph

Last month, Pope Francis declared the coming year – from December 8, 2020 to December 8, 2021 (the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception) – the Year of St. Joseph. This coincides with the 150^th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s declaration of St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church.

Pope Francis also published an apostolic letter about St. Joseph, “Patris Corde,” which means “With a Father’s Loving Heart.” In it, he names St. Joseph’s many admirable qualities, worthy of imitation in the coming year and the future.

So what does this mean for Catholics? How should we honor this great Patron of the Church in 2021?

What is a special year in the liturgical calendar?

According to Catholic News Agency, popes can set aside time for the Church to reflect more deeply on a specific aspect of Catholic teaching or belief. In choosing to focus on St. Joseph, Pope Francis is prioritizing for the faithful a figure whose humility, faith, and relate-ability are greatly needed after a year of global suffering.

In Patris Corde, Pope Francis notes that throughout his life, St. Joseph had to make many small, hidden sacrifices to protect and guide the Holy Family.  Similarly, many ordinary people have made sacrifices in the face of great hardship in the last year. And just as St. Joseph demonstrated, these small sacrifices and demonstrations of resourcefulness become small moments of heroism.

In proclaiming 2021 the Year of St. Joseph Pope Francis is honoring St. Joseph as the original “ordinary” saint.  He is reminding the faithful of the need for our own patience, humility, work, and closeness to Jesus through our trials.

Consider, also, Pope Saint John Paul II’s “Redemportis Custos” (Guardian of the Redeemer), an apostolic exhortation on St. Joseph, given by JPII in 1989.  In it, JPII hints that St. Joseph is indeed the patron of the entire third Christian millennium – that seems like a big deal!

What was St. Joseph like?

While St. Joseph is notably silent in the Bible, we know much of him through his actions. As Pope Francis points out in Patris Corde, St. Joseph had a normal job (carpenter) and was said to be a “just man.”  St. Joseph was also willing to listen to God and his messengers, most notably through the angels’ messages in his dreams.  And St. Joseph was a courageous man who led his family through the unknown.

Pope Francis notes that as a father, St. Joseph had a number of outstanding characteristics.  He was a beloved father who was tender and loving.  He was also an obedient father, an accepting father, and a creatively courageous father.  We know, too, that he was a father of sacrifice, responsibility, and self-gift. But he was also a hard-working father, and a father in the shadows.

Substitute your station in life for these attributes.  Ask yourself, am I a beloved daughter, an accepting mother, a creatively courageous sibling, boss, employee, and friend? St. Joseph’s way of life is not just reserved for those with one type of responsibility – the path of trust in the Lord that he walked fits us all.

What can I do to observe the year?

Aside from working to obtain the grace of the plenary indulgences available this year (here are 15 different ways), there are many ways to honor St. Joseph.

In the year of St. Joseph, pray for fathers. Whether yours is present or absent; whether you are personally a father, or hoping to become one; or if you have other father figures in your life, including priests, pray for them. Our world needs good, strong fathers.

Pray also for the Church, as St. Joseph is the Patron of the Church. You may also know him by his other titles, and adjust your prayers accordingly. My favorite is “Terror of demons.” Read and pray the Litany of St. Joseph to learn more of his excellent titles.

Keep a statue of St. Joseph in your home. Light a candle by it while you work, while you make dinner, or while you pray alone or as a family. Make time to get to know St. Joseph and seek his intercession for concrete needs.

Make a personal or family consecration to St. Joseph, perhaps guided by Fr. Donald Calloway’s popular book published in early 2020, Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father.

“Attend” Mass at a church named for St. Joseph. As we learned this year, virtual Masses provide us an opportunity to attend mass at a church in a different city or state. And in the US, there are many churches names for St. Joseph. You could try “attending” Mass at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls, SD, or the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, CT, among others.

To a holy and happy year with St. Joseph

As Pope Francis tells us in Patris Corde, the proper mission of the saints is not only to obtain miracles and graces, but to intercede for us before God. Specifically, we can ask St. Joseph to intercede for “’the grace of graces,’ our conversion.”

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.

Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen.