MARFAM WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTER 19 MARCH 2025.  

The month of MARCH in SA is Human Rights month with this year’s theme “Deepening a culture of social justice and human rights.”  21 March is Human Rights Day when we remember the days of the struggle against apartheid and the Sharpeville massacre in 1960 when 69 people were shot by the police during a protest.  Of course there is much more to that incident and the focus of the day has become much broader when we consider social justice deeply. Today the battle is often for women and children’s rights with men generally being seen as aggressors and perpetrators of gender-based violence. But, as usual, I ask to spare a thought for the human rights struggle from a family perspective too, where every member’s dignity is at stake and everyone is vulnerable and co-responsible in various ways and degrees.    

A helpful historical insight from the government on https://www.parliament.gov.za/project-event-details/2#   includes the same message I propose hat on Human Rights Day South Africans are asked to reflect on their rights, to protect their rights and the rights of all people from violation, irrespective of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, whether they are foreign, national or not – human rights apply to everyone, equally. In addition to rights I also proposed responsibilities. Moral Regeneration Movement Positive Values Charter 4. Committed to the spirit of ubuntu we dedicate ourselves as a nation to enhance sound family and community values as core socializing units that inspire and create the moral and ethical values in society. 

On 19th March the Church celebrates the feastday of St Joseph, husband of Mary, and father to Jesus.  In the 2020 document Patris Corde – A Father’s Heart Pope Francis offers some reflections on the fatherhood of Joseph.  He was an enigmatic character, who appears only very briefly in the gospel stories of the childhood of Jesus, but was known in Nazareth and recognized there as a carpenter and father of Jesus. Over the centuries he has appeared in writings in the Church, and given special roles but Pope Francis has given him greater prominence through inclusion in the Eucharistic prayer and a special year devoted to him. What can we as family people learn about and from him?  

Patris Corde describes the man Joseph from the perspective of fatherhood in a number of beautiful ways; a beloved father, tender and loving father, obedient, accepting, creatively courageous, working, but finally it refers to “a father in the shadows.”  The missal speaks of him as “Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”  Pope Francis writes, “Joseph accepted Mary unconditionally. He trusted in the angel’s words. “The nobility of Joseph’s heart is such that what he learned from the law he made dependent on charity. Today, in our world where psychological, verbal and physical violence towards women is so evident, Joseph appears as the figure of a respectful and sensitive man. Even though he does not understand the bigger picture, he makes a decision to protect Mary’s good name, her dignity and her life. In his hesitation about how best to act, God helped him by enlightening his judgment”. Often in life, things happen whose meaning we do not understand. Our first reaction is frequently one of disappointment and rebellion. Joseph set aside his own ideas in order to accept the course of events and, mysterious as they seemed, to embrace them, take responsibility for them and make them part of his own history. Unless we are reconciled with our own history, we will be unable to go forward, for we will always remain hostage to our expectations and the disappointments that follow. The spiritual path that Joseph traces for us is not one that explains, but accepts. Only as a result of this acceptance, this reconciliation, can we begin to glimpse a broader history, a deeper meaning.” Her husband being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame resolved to send her away quietly. But as he considered this an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. Matt 1:16-24.

The Holy Father wrote Patris Corde against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which, he says, has helped us see more clearly the importance of “ordinary” people who, though far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day. In this, they resemble Saint Joseph, “the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence,” who nonetheless played “an incomparable role in the history of salvation.”,

On the subject of men an article in the Jesuit publication America Media entitled, “Men and Boys are Lost,” caught my attention. The article unpacks the idea of the men’s groups traditionally active in the church, alongside but separate from women. Their role has been as servant leaders,  “The masculinity of servant leadership is grounded in the Gospels and centuries of thinking about what it meant to take Christ’s sacrifice as a guide for how one might act in the world. It emphasizes both strength and vulnerability, precisely because both of these qualities are brought together in the cross.”   

The article asks if in our current world, wherever it may be, are  men servant leaders, or macho, dominating, aggressive in the competitive modern environment. We can ask is ours still a patriarchal one, or are many men alienated to some degree by the social stress on women’s empowerment.   Is DEI (diversity, equality, unity,) aiming for equality or for complementarity?   Is St Joseph an attractive figure to men and boys,  a loving husband and father, step-, foster-, or social father taking upon himself unexpected responsibilities with courage and commitment. In other words a true servant leader in the Church but especially the domestic church of the home. In an interview I invited the St Joseph’s Men Sodality of the Diocese of Bethlehem SA to help us discern.    TR  Family weekly  10 March

JUBILEE THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY. MARCH 19.

March 19.  St Joseph.  Mary’s husband being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame resolved to send her away quietly.    Fr Brian explained, “Pope Francis gave us a Year for St Joseph in 2021 with his letter Patris Corde, i.e.”A father’s heart.”  He reflects on Joseph, describing him from the perspective of fatherhood in various beautiful ways;  a beloved father, tender and loving father, obedient,  accepting, creatively courageous, a working man, but finally he refers to  “a father in the shadows.”  2021, the time of Covid-19 helped us see more clearly the importance of “ordinary” people who, far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day. “Joseph set aside his own ideas so as to accept the course of events God had in mind for him, to embrace them, and make them part of his own history. Unless we are reconciled with our own history, we will be unable to move forward for we will remain hostage to our expectations and the disappointments that follow.  The spiritual path that Joseph shows us does not explain, but accepts. Only then can we begin to glimpse the broader history and deeper meaning.”  How committed and responsible are most men as fathers, and also foster-  or stepfathers in caring for those in their homes?  Are they offered help in managing this task? 

Reflect, share and act. Scripture: Her husband being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly.   But as he considered this an angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream.   Matt 1:16-24. Pope Francis: Prayer to St Joseph from Patris Corde.   Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to you God entrusted his only Son; in you Mary placed her trust; with you Christ became man.   Blessed Joseph, to us too, show yourself a father and guide us in the path of life.  Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage, and defend us from every evil.  Amen.   JUBILEE. God has in some way sought to limit himself in such a way that many of the things we think of as evils, dangers or sources of suffering, are in reality part of the pains of childbirth which he uses to draw us into the act of cooperation with the Creator. This cooperation  can allow the power and the love of God to expand in our lives and in the world, whereas our refusal or indifference can prevent it. DN190.  Choose an act of love and sacrifice from the list published at www.marfam.org.za. and pray especially for fathers that St Joseph may be their role model.