Brothers and sisters

May the Lord give you peace!

What a joy to celebrate the solemnity of Saint Joseph, immediately after my first anniversary of my episcopal ordination. And today I also celebrate the anniversary of my diaconal ordination…. For this reason, I also wanted to bring the dalmatic: deacon’s vestments… to remember that I am a bishop, but I continue to be a deacon… in service…

I would also like to greet our Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Apparition: Sister Ramona, Sister Teresa and Sister Elizabeth. And I would like to repeat once again what I said to their general mother: “Cyprus needs your presence, your testimony, your charism”. Yes, the charism inspired by Saint Emilia, and then confirmed by the Church.  It becomes a gift again, for the whole Church…. Here specifically for the Church of Cyprus.

Without a doubt, the figure of Joseph is one of the fundamental figures that help us understand the history of salvation. In fact, we heard a very important detail in today’s Gospel: “Joseph did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him and took his wife with him.” These few words summarize Joseph’s vocation as the guardian of the mystery. Saint Joseph lived with discretion, with humility, in silence, but with a constant presence and total fidelity, even when he does not understand… Today we live the culture of understanding everything…

He is active, present… always present next to Mary, his wife, in the serene and difficult moments of life, in the journey to Bethlehem for the census, in the birth of Jesus; in the dramatic moment of the flight into Egypt and in the search for the adolescent Jesus in the Temple; and then in the daily life of the house in Nazareth. Yes, in Nazareth he taught Jesus to work.

Saint Joseph is an example… the highest example of someone who lives in full trust in God. This is why Joseph sleeps peacefully even when everything seems dark around him. “When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took his wife home.”   

Finally, let us invoke the intercession of Saint Joseph together with the Most Holy Virgin and ask the Lord that the path of holiness in the Life of Saint Joseph may become for us every day, a bright and safe path for our path… In doing, in fulfilling the will of God… Amen!