Thursday 19th March is the Solemnity of St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin, and Patron of the Universal Church. The Entrance Antiphon for the Mass of the Solemnity, “Behold, a faithful and prudent steward, whom the Lord set over his household” (cf. Luke 12:42) speaks both of St Joseph’s vocation as head of the Holy Family to whom Our Lord himself was subject (cf. Luke 2:51) but also reflects his role as heavenly protector and guardian of the Church of earth over whom he is set uniquely as patron. On Thursday, as well as the usual 6.30am and 8.30am Masses, there is an Extraordinary Form Mass (Latin) at 1.10pm and a sung Mass at 5.30pm.
Pope Francis has written: “Joseph found happiness not in mere self-sacrifice but in self-gift. In him, we never see frustration but only trust. His patient silence was the prelude to concrete expressions of trust. Our world today needs fathers. It has no use for tyrants who would domineer others as a means of compensating for their own needs. It rejects those who confuse authority with authoritarianism, service with servility, discussion with oppression, charity with a welfare mentality, power with destruction. Every true vocation is born of the gift of oneself, which is the fruit of mature sacrifice.” (Apostolic Letter Patris Corde, issued on the 150th Anniversary of the Proclamation of St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church, 8th December 2020)