Chronicle of a popular celebration

by Nicola Parisi

The name Joseph, already present in Jacob's family, means "he who makes growth", he who increases and gives strength to life. As every year, the name of San Giuseppe sails through the Trionfale district, attempting to rediscover not only the religious festival but also recover the ancient traditions of this district of Rome which, in other times, was flooded with the smells and fragrances of pancakes and attracted people from all around Rome to “San Giuseppe frittellaro” almost as if it were a spring anticipation of the festa de' noantri which is celebrated in Trastevere on the occasion of the feast of the Madonna del Carmine.

This year the fire of the popular initiative of the Trionfale District, set for Sunday 18 March, was extinguished in the bud by torrential rain

Like every year for the liturgical feast of Saint Joseph, patron of the universal Church, the parish community organized a series of socio-cultural and religious meetings to accentuate the spirituality of Saint Joseph, placing him at the center of the Christian community as a father and educator.

 All the playful and playful initiatives, such as the pastoral ones, had the aim of placing the educational task of the fathers at the center of the initiatives.

 At the Oratory this "pilgrimage" aspect of the educational action was also accentuated, favoring movement both with a friendly bicycle ride through the streets of the neighborhood, as well as a "wet" marathon.  

 It should be underlined that the spirituality of Saint Joseph is that of being in constant march towards the objectives that life and circumstances offer us. From Nazareth to Bethlehem; from Bethlehem in Egypt. From Egypt returning to Nazareth. Joseph taught Jesus to walk, to run, to play, to work. Together, they went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem every year; and it wasn't just a few steps, but dozens and dozens of kilometers on foot. Education, as the word itself says, "is going out" from oneself to encounter life, people, feelings, aspirations. 

Every morning, when the child (and not just children) opens his eyes, ideally the door is also opened for him to go out and experience and let the teachings he receives pass into his life, evaluating them and covering them with the ardor of his youth . The seeds of a good education never produce wild fruit. 

Today we often talk about a "fatherless generation" for many reasons and unpleasant situations, but even in families spared from the traumas of separations or otherwise, fathers remain disinterested in the family, civic, scholastic and religious education of their children. Sometimes, but not always, the interest in sporting activities in which the father's passion often projects the (disappointed) aspirations of his youthful years onto his son is preserved.

This year too, despite the rain, the educational space of the Oratory of San Giuseppe has woven relationships, sparked new friendships, strengthened the "ancient" ones and generated new impulses for life projects adapted to the new generations, because we cannot cover colors of the sunset the lights of the dawn. 

 On the spiritual side, our Pious Union of St. Joseph on the website www.piaunionedeltransito.org for nine days the Director accompanied visitors to the site with a brief reflection on St. Joseph, messages illustrated with evocative images.

 The parish community has planned with commitment, in particular, the final phase of the triduum in preparation for the feast of the Patron Saint, focusing on the presence of the father in the educational phase of the children in the light of the encyclical Amoris Laetitia. 

On the first day of the triduum the theme was "In the workshop of Saint Joseph" with the testimony of some workers. Archbishop Giorgio Corbellini, director of the Vatican City Labor Office, in the homily of the Eucharistic celebration, speaking about work in the Holy Scripture, underlined the work of God in creation and how Jesus grew up and was educated to work . He then highlighted the aspects of the dignity and preciousness of work in the personal fulfillment of the individual and how these aspects are reflected in the family and society dimension. 

The second day was dedicated to the "man factory" family. The time of reflection was occupied by two married couples, who were echoed by the homily of Archbishop Paolo Lojudice, auxiliary bishop of the Southern sector of the diocese of Rome, who underlined how «Saint Joseph gave all of himself to son of God by teaching and bringing him to maturity in life. So today there are mothers and fathers who accompany and educate their children with their sacrifice - like Mary and Joseph - in the values ​​of life. The choice to love completely and freely implies sacrifice."

 The eve of the feast, marked by the evangelical slogan «Come, good and faithful servant», after the usual recitation of the Sacred Mantle in honor of Saint Joseph, Paola Binetti of the "end of life" and of the new regulations of the Italian State which have recently come into force. Monsignor Paolo Selvadagi, auxiliary archbishop of the Rome-Trionfale sector, spoke in his homily drawing inspiration from the readings of the Sunday liturgy and suggested paying attention to the questions that our conscience asks us about Jesus: knowing him, understanding him and following him. The archbishop concluded by drawing the attention of the faithful to two images: «The grain of wheat and the Cross; the first leads to the earth with its roots but then raises the shoots of life towards the sky, the Cross raises to the sky. He then recalled the passage from the Exodus and the comment of Jesus himself when he states: "When I am raised between heaven and earth I will draw everyone to me".

The cold and rain of those days did not disprove the saying of "crazy March", so we saw little blue sky and many threatening clouds until a few minutes before the decision was made to take out the statue of Saint Joseph through the streets of the neighborhood . Jesus' earthly father did not want to disappoint the many faithful who had set out from all over Rome and Lazio to reach both the Basilica and the headquarters of the Pious Union. Punctual like a much desired appointment, the statue of Saint Joseph appeared at the door of the basilica and was kissed by the sun which accompanied us along the entire route of the procession. Saint Teresa was also a little sulky with us due to her lack of faith in her words when she stated: «Whatever grace you ask of Saint Joseph he will grant it».

 Joyfully the procession set off accompanied by the Vatican Gendarmerie Band in full uniform, by the songs, prayers and affection of the faithful who followed the procession behind the statue or accompanying the statue from the sidewalks. 

The young archbishop Monsignor presided over the procession. Paolo Ricciardi, responsible for healthcare pastoral care for the diocese of Rome. Along the route of Via Adrea Doria, for the hundred years of the end of the "useless massacre" which was the First World War, the procession stopped in front of the memorial stone of the fallen. The bishop asked for prayers for the young soldiers and their families.

At the end of the procession, the solemn celebration of Holy Mass followed. The celebrant, Archbishop Paul, also took inspiration from the sun which suddenly greeted us, flooding our souls with serenity and then commented on the page of the Gospel which narrated the announcement of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin. «If God is the sun - said Mgr. Ricciardi -, Mary is the wide open window through which the sun of God enters our lives. Saint Joseph constitutes the hinges of this window." Then connecting with the other Joseph (son of Jacob seen by the brothers who preceded him in the land of Egypt), the archbishop commented on the daily life of the two Josephs: the first at the service of the future people of God and the second at the service of Son of God, made flesh and delivered to his earthly protection. Finally he sent the faithful present to pray to the Saint to extend his protection to the daily lives of every father and his family.

At 18.30 pm the director of the Pious Union presided over the Eucharist for the faithful who after a day of work participated in the praise of God. In the homily Don Mario urged us to explore the "silence" of Saint Joseph which we cannot confuse as mutism or disinterest. The silence of Saint Joseph is comparable to the color white, a color which, excluding black, has the range of all the colors of the rainbow, symbol of a peaceful life. 

At the end of the religious functions everyone visited the headquarters of the Pious Union, a visit to the Charity Fishing and then to the Oratory to watch the children's games and the classic climb of the "Cuccagna" and at the end when darkness arrived everyone with the "nose upwards” to admire the sky that was filled with the colored light of the fireworks.