St. Joseph teaches us to ask the plan of God in our every step of life said Pope Francis on Wednesday to his general audience. He who protected his family from the persecution of King Herod, remind us how to respond to our difficulties with courage with the trust in God.
The Pope spoke contrasted the characters of St. Joseph and Herod. St. Joseph acted with courage in the face of hardship and fear, and Herod acted with arrogance and violence.
“The lesson that Joseph leaves us today is this: life always reserves adversities for us, this is true, and in the face of them we can also feel threatened, afraid, but it is not by bringing out the worst in us, as Herod does, that we can overcome certain moments, but by behaving like Joseph who reacts to fear with the courage to entrust himself to God’s Providence,” Francis said.
He explained what courage is and what it is not while speaking to pilgrims in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.
“Courage is synonymous with fortitude, which together with justice, prudence and temperance is part of the group of human virtues called ‘cardinal,’” Pope Francis said.
“It is a common misconception to consider courage a virtue exclusive to the hero,” he added. “In fact, the daily life of every person — you, me, all of us — requires courage: one cannot live without courage. Courage to face the difficulties of every day.”
“In all times and in all cultures we find brave men and women, who in order to be consistent with their beliefs have overcome all kinds of difficulties, enduring injustice, condemnation, and even death,” he stated.
Pope closed his catechism with the prayer to St. Joseph.