A cordial welcome to this oasis of reflection, prayer and updating in the spirit in the shadow of Jesus' earthly father: the patriarch Saint Joseph.
The heat, the long days, perhaps the tiredness create a little difficulty for us to stay glued to the radio to listen, our meeting is an invitation to relax and allow the Spirit to give us a little relief and bright eyes to look with trust the future. We who often live in difficulty due to our poverty of health, of companionship, poor in the esteem of others, poor in relationships with people, are in a privileged condition for hope. Poor people have the secret of hope, they eat the bread of hope from the hand of God every day. The poor who trust in God have good eyes to observe the luminous threads that weave the hours of the day. They know that yesterday was just a quick dream, tomorrow is just a vision, but that the present, today, if lived well with positive feelings, makes our recent past a beautiful page of serenity and tomorrow a vision of hope .
To remember the past well and open our joyful eyes to the future, it is necessary to live the present moment well.
Before inviting us to protect the earth and leave it better for future generations than we found it, Pope Francis dictated for us believers in the gospel of joy a possible source of joy in our life.
The fountain of joy is dreamed of by everyone. A philosopher wrote that «the whole earth was designed by God in such a way that man's face raises his gaze, man's mind and heart ask themselves, the meaning of living, if one does not have the grace of find meaning among the noble feelings of our life, the weight of the world and all its problems weigh on our hearts and suffocate it.
The faith of our baptism led us to encounter Jesus and his good news. This is why Pope Francis begins his encyclical with these words: «The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and entire lives of those who encounter Jesus. Those who allow themselves to be saved by Him are freed from sin, from sadness, from internal emptiness , from isolation. With Jesus Christ joy is always born and reborn. In this Exhortation I wish
address myself to the Christian faithful to invite them to a new evangelizing stage marked by this joy and to indicate ways for the church's journey in the coming years"
This joyful vision of the world and of Jesus' redemption must not be locked in a safe like a pearl of inestimable value, but is called to navigate the seas of humanity.
The Pope says that Joy is renewed and communicated and continues:
«The great risk of the current world, with its multiple and oppressive offer of consumption, is an individualistic sadness that arises from the comfortable and stingy heart, from the sick search for superficial pleasures, from the isolated conscience. When the interior life closes in on one's own interests there is no longer room for others, the poor no longer enter, the voice of God is no longer listened to, the sweet joy of his love is no longer enjoyed, the enthusiasm of do good. Even believers run this certain and permanent risk. Many fall into it and turn into resentful, discontented, lifeless people. This is not the choice of a dignified and full life, this is not God's desire for us, this is not the life in the Spirit that flows from the heart of the risen Christ.
3. I invite every Christian, in whatever place and situation they find themselves, to renew their personal encounter with Jesus Christ today or, at least, to make the decision to let themselves be met by Him, to seek Him every day without ceasing. There is no reason why anyone could think that this invitation is not for them, because "no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord". Whoever takes risks, the Lord does not disappoint him, and when someone takes a small step towards Jesus, he discovers that He was already waiting for him to arrive with open arms. This is the moment to say to Jesus Christ: «Lord, I allowed myself to be deceived, in a thousand ways I ran away from your love, but I am here once again to renew my alliance with you. I need you. Redeem me again Lord, accept me once again into your redeeming arms." It does us so much good to return to Him when we are lost! I insist once again: God never tires of forgiving, it is we who tire of asking for his mercy. He who invited us to forgive "seventy times seven" (Mt 18,22) gives us the example: He forgives seventy times seven. He returns to carry us on his shoulders time after time. No one will be able to take away the dignity that he gives us
this infinite and unshakable love. He allows us to raise our heads and start again, with a tenderness that never disappoints us and can always restore joy to us. Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what may. Nothing can push us forward more than his life."
Pope Francis closes his apostolic exhortation by indicating in Mary «a Marian style in the evangelizing activity of the Church. Because every time we look at Mary we return to believing in the revolutionary force of tenderness and affection. In her we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong, who do not need to mistreat others to feel important. Looking at her we discover that she was the one who praised God because "he has overthrown the mighty from their thrones" and "he has sent the rich away empty-handed" (Lc 1,52.53) is the same one that ensures domestic warmth in our search for justice. She is also the one who thoughtfully preserves "all these things, meditating on them in his heart" (Lc 2,19). Mary [and we also add Saint Joseph] were able to recognize the footsteps of the Spirit of God in great events and even in those that seem imperceptible. They were contemplatives of the mystery of God in the world, in history and in the daily life of each and everyone. The family of Nazareth was exemplary: Mary was a praying and working woman in Nazareth, and she was also our Lady of caring, the one who left her village to help others "without delay" (Lc 1,39) Giuseppe attentive and thoughtful, always available. This dynamic of justice and tenderness, of contemplation and journey towards others, is what makes them an ecclesial model for evangelization.
We ask Mary and Joseph that with their maternal and paternal prayers they help us so that the Church becomes a home for many, a mother for all peoples and makes the birth of a new world possible.
It is the Risen One who tells us, with a power that fills us with immense trust and firm hope: "I make all things new" (Ap 21,5). With Mary we advance confidently towards this promise, and let us tell her:
Virgin and Mother Mary,
you who, moved by the Spirit,
you have welcomed the Word of life
in the depths of your humble faith,
totally given to the Eternal,
help us say our "yes"
in the urgency, more imperious than ever,
to make the Good News of Jesus resound.
You, filled with the presence of Christ,
you brought joy to John the Baptist,
making him exult in his mother's womb.
You, trembling with jubilation,
you sang the wonders of the Lord.
You, who stood still in front of the Cross
with an unshakable faith,
and you received the joyful consolation of the resurrection,
you gathered the disciples waiting for the Spirit
for the evangelizing Church to be born.
Get us now a new ardor of resurrected
to bring the Gospel of life to everyone
who conquers death.
Give us the holy audacity to seek out new paths
because it reaches everyone
the gift of beauty that does not go out.
You, Virgin of listening and contemplation,
mother of love, bride of eternal marriage,
intercede for the Church, of which you are the most pure icon,
why it never shuts itself up and never stops
in his passion to establish the Kingdom.
Star of the new evangelization,
help us to shine in the witness of communion,
of service, of ardent and generous faith,
of justice and love for the poor,
because the joy of the Gospel
reach to the ends of the earth
and no periphery is without its light.
Mother of the living Gospel,
source of joy for the little ones,
pray for us.
Amen. Alleluia.