Bishop Solis presides at Mass in honor of St. Joseph

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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Bishop Oscar A. Solis gives the homily during a Mass in the Pastoral Center chapel on the Solemnity of St. Joseph.

SALT LAKE CITY — As part of the festivities for the March 19 Solemnity of St. Joseph, Bishop Oscar A. Solis celebrated a Mass in the diocesan Pastoral Center chapel. Concelebrants were Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general emeritus; Fr. Langes Silva, judicial vicar; and Fr. Kenneth Vialpando, vicar for clergy. Deacon Dale Dillon was Deacon of the Mass.

St. Joseph was a “holy man worthy of honor and a model of Christian life we can emulate and imitate,” the bishop said.

“The greatness of St. Joseph was not in power nor authority but in the rendering of his selfless, faithful and total service to God and the family entrusted to him to care for and protect,” he said in his homily.

Referring to the day’s Scripture readings, Bishop Solis said that St. Joseph was similar to the ways in which the prophet Samuel portrayed Abraham and David, “with exemplary faith and dedication by which he has served the Lord, and therefore would secure God’s reign and his house forever.”

The feast of St. Joseph must be celebrated with gratitude to God “for giving us a true witness and exemplar to learn from in our spiritual journey of renewing our faith, hope and love,” the bishop said.

Last year, when Pope Francis proclaimed a Jubilee Year of St. Joseph with his apostolic letter Patris Corde (With a Father’s Heart), “the Church encouraged all the faithful to develop a special devotion in his honor, to pray to him and seek his intercession and protection,” Bishop Solis said.

St. Joseph’s response to God’s plan “teaches us about unselfishness – thinking of God more than oneself,” the bishop said. “He was a great lesson on humility. Even as a lowly carpenter, Joseph’s vision was larger than his life. It was not about himself but all about God.”

Bishop Solis emphasized that “Joseph teaches us how to remain steadfast when life throws up these difficult challenges and to live with integrity as he did, trusting in his faithful God.”

He concluded by saying, “let us pray to [St. Joseph], that through his intercession, God will give us the grace to become like him, a living witness of Christian virtues, attentive and obedient to the voice of God; to take Jesus and Mary into our life, and remain faithful to the mission God entrusted to us, so we may become the new St. Joseph in our world today. St. Joseph, pray for us. Amen.”