THE QUIET SAINT

THE THE QUIET SAINT KNOCK SHRINE AND THE CENTRAL ROLE OF ST JOSEPH QUIET SAINT AS WE CELEBRATE THE FEAST OF ST JOSEPH ON MARCH 19, WE CONSIDER A MAN OF FAITH AND COURAGE, WHO INSPIRES US TO TRUST THAT GOD HAS A BETTER PLAN FOR US THAN WE CAN HOPE

KNOCK SHRINE AND THE CENTRAL ROLE BY FR RICHARD GIBBONS

OF ST JOSEPH

My favourite St Joseph quote: “.......”

Apologies, I hope you smiled!

Not one word of Joseph is recorded in Scripture, yet we get a distinct feel for him: a man of honour who stands by Mary in what must be very confusing conception and pregnancy to his mind, a man of faith who trusts that the hand of God is guiding events, and a man who seeks to nurture, provide for and protect his young family.

These aspects of St Joseph mark him as a remarkable individual and a fitting foster father for Jesus. Of course, his calling as foster father was not without its difficulties and uncertainties. Imagine his worry, along with Mary’s, when Jesus went missing, or perhaps his confusion over his son’s change in career at 30 years of age when, for that particular time, Jesus should have already settled down and had a family. That is, of course, presuming that Joseph was still alive – we just don’t know. My point is, Joseph was an ordinary man trying to make sense of tectonic change, and as such he has a lot to say to us today.

‘GO TO JOSEPH’

Our lives have been transformed by COVID-19, and even our relationships with one another have been affected. As I write this, I’m still trying to get in to see my mother in a nursing home – it is very difficult to keep a relationship going through a window! Knowing that the nursing home in question is an excellent one and simply trying to keep staff and residents safe doesn’t take away from the sense of rupture of normal human interaction. For others, including those of you reading this, it may be the loss of a loved one whose funeral you could not attend, loss of a job, break-up of a relationship or a whole host of other changes which have taken place as a consequence of the pandemic. The true fallout from the pandemic from a human point of view has yet to be fully understood but the changes were, and are, tectonic. I see Joseph as an example in fortitude for us at this time: someone who may have felt out of his depth in raising Jesus but nevertheless had faith in God’s plan, even if he didn’t fully grasp it in its entirety. Joseph points the way for us to trust that God has a better plan for us than we can hope and imagine, even if we don’t fully understand it ourselves.

In recent years, statues of the ‘Sleeping St Joseph’ have become increasingly popular after Pope Francis admitted to keeping one beside his bed. If he has a worry

Photo: Sinéad Mallee

The interior of the Apparition Chapel at Knock Shrine, with St Joseph on the left

Photo: Sinéad Mallee

(I’m sure he has more than one!) he writes it on a note and places it under the statue at night – it’s St Joseph’s problem as well now. I know from our own bookshop in Knock that we can’t keep them stocked due to demand. These statues remind us that ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’: a prayer to St Joseph may just find a solution for the worry or anxiety. There is a tradition in Austria of ‘going to Joseph’, which means praying to St Joseph for help with any worries or troubles. I remember when Cardinal Schönborn of Vienna celebrated Mass with a group of pilgrims in the Shrine Chapel, his homily focused entirely on St Joseph, and his recurring advice was, no matter what your trouble, “Go to Joseph, go to Joseph!”

YEAR OF ST JOSEPH

Knock Shrine is the home of St Joseph in Ireland. The apparition scene contains three figures – St Joseph, Our Lady and St John the Evangelist. The figure of St Joseph is turned towards Our Lady with his hands joined together in prayer and his head bowed in reverence. The year of St Joseph dedicated by Pope Francis on December 8, 2020 helped us to focus once again on the importance of Joseph. During that year we had a number of celebrations including a triduum to St Joseph, as well as a new statue of St Joseph commissioned

Photo: Sinéad Mallee

Archbishop Michael Neary blesses the new statue of St Joseph during Mass on Saturday November 6, 2021

Fr Richard Gibbons, rector of Knock Shrine, with Frs Terence Harrington, Denis Harnett, Gerard Doyle and Steve McPhearson

Photo: Sinéad Mallee

for the parish church of Knock. In that same year, the shrine was elevated by Pope Francis to international status, becoming Ireland’s International Eucharistic and Marian Shrine.

St Joseph in the apparition reminds us of the necessity of time apart from the world and its troubles, in stillness and quietness, in order to listen or to contemplate what the Lord wants of us. Joseph’s stance in the tableau is one of calmness, reverence and prayerfulness. Places like Knock offer that peace to everyone who visits. For pilgrims who have been away from the life of the church for some time, this may encourage them to take time out to refresh themselves by celebrating the sacraments. Even for those who simply wish to walk the grounds of the shrine, that aspect of otherness is present.

LETTING GOD IN

One of the areas of transformation for people visiting Knock is the confessional, the Chapel of Reconcilliation – the ‘engine room’ of the shrine. It is wonderful to hear from the priest chaplains of the moments of utter transformation in people’s lives when they simply unburden themselves and hear that the Lord loves them and forgives them. Forgiveness is a tough business; sometimes the toughest thing to do is to forgive ourselves. We may feel that we’ve been away so long that we aren’t worthy of such exhuberant forgiveness, but we would be wrong! The example of Joseph’s prayerfulness and calmness speaks to us of an opportunity to take stock and open ourselves to God’s love and mercy. It speaks to us of learning to listen to the Lord and, like Joseph, to trust in his plan for us, even if we don’t fully understand it. It might take a few visits to Knock!

The shrine, I would suggest, is the threshold of an encounter with the Lord that is out of our everyday experience. We need spaces like Knock where we have the time, space and calmness to let God in. It is these spaces that help people face the realities of life, with faith and without fear, allowing us to proclaim “...a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ps 103).

St Joseph, then, points the way to a better future, one of hope and trust in God’s plan for us; a future in which we can take time to hear the Lord’s voice, avail of his forgiveness and work towards making him known. St Joseph, pray for us.

St Joseph in the apparition reminds us of the necessity of time apart from the world and its troubles, in stillness and quietness, in order to listen or to contemplate what the Lord wants of us.

Photo: Sinéad Mallee

The new statue of St Joseph in the parish church in Knock