PONTIFICAL DECREE
Glorious St. Joseph
The humble and obedient Guardian of God’s Treasure
PREFACE
All the sons of Christ and Mary have a fervent devotion to St. Joseph, the Patron Saint of the Universal Church1, the Guardian of the Holy Family and the Guardian of the Little Cradle of Baby Jesus, sent down from Heaven by the Father in giving once again a part of Himself, of His heart, so to manifest again His sonship (Gal 3:26; Eph 1:5) in Christ and Mary.
The Universal Christian Church of the New Jerusalem moves forward, to allow all her faithful to totally live their devotion to St. Joseph. St. Joseph, Man of royal lineage (Lk 2:4), is the Guardian of the Holy Family, the Patron of the Universal Church, the Guardian of the Little Cradle of Baby Jesus; He is the Guardian of Christianity and the Patron Saint of every Christian family.
Just as at that time the Father had chosen St. Joseph as the Guardian and Patron of that domestic hearth, the Family, the domestic Church, the cell of Christianity, the cell of the nascent Universal Church, so now in these times, St. Joseph is called once again to guard the Mystery of the Child Jesus, descended from Heaven to the Land of Love given by the Father to the contemporary humanity, and to guard every domestic hearth, every Christian family called, following the example of the Holy Family, to return to be the centre of everyone’s life, so that every family that entrusts and invokes the protection and the care of St. Joseph may experience the harmony and the love given by the Holy Family, so to rediscover the beauty and the importance of being “family,” of living the “family,” of guarding the “family” as God the Father has conceived it (Gn 1:27-28) and realized perfectly in Jesus, Joseph and Mary.
Through St. Joseph, we celebrate the victory of the Father’s Family of Love which is opposed to the Evil Spirit who at that time and in all ages seeks to destroy and crush the love of the family. The Love descended from Heaven (Jn 1:9) found refuge and a home in Joseph’s house, manifesting Himself in a new and revolutionary way. Not a love projected towards himself but a love to be given to everyone, freely, as a total gift of his life, renouncing and giving his life (Jn 15:13) for the greatest Love: God (Mt 22:37-38 ), who manifests Himself in the Son made flesh (Jn 1:18), giving Himself and sacrificing Himself (Rev 5:9) to bring everyone to salvation2.
Here is the impetus of love of Saint Joseph who, with strength and courage, generosity and gratuitousness, passion and living fidelity to his Call, has totally given himself to God, giving himself first to Mary and then to the Child Jesus, so as to gradually live the Mystery of God (Lk 2:33). By welcoming the Woman (Mt 1:20) whom the Father had given him, St. Joseph was able to welcome the Word made flesh, the Love made Man, safeguarding and protecting Him completely, thus fulfilling his mission, without ever renouncing, without ever despairing (cf. Mt 11:29) despite the many difficulties he faced3, always thanking the Father for the Call he received, through the example of a righteous and holy life.
God the Father Almighty has placed Saint Joseph as the Guardian of Jesus Christ, who is Father, Master and Brother of all Christians; and as the Guardian of Mary Most Holy, the Mother of God’s sons, the Mother of all Christians. St. Joseph is thus placed by Heaven as the Guardian of universally recognized Christianity. His humility and His obedience to the Father’s will, place Saint Joseph at the right hand of God the Almighty Father4, in safeguarding Christianity, in safeguarding the only Christian doctrine, which is Christ.
Joseph has conquered the world (Jn 16:33), as man, spouse and father.
As a man strong and concrete, good and upright, humble and meek, sage and wise, generous and holy, silent but always vigilant, St. Joseph welcomed the Father’s Plan, answering “yes” (cf. Lk 1:38) to the Father’s call, while not claiming to understand everything immediately. Alive and dynamic in spirit, St. Joseph accepted the Father’s Plan, revolutionizing the physical and spiritual inertia of that time, giving a new way of living and loving the family, making his life a mission of total and eternal Guarding of the Family entrusted him by the Father, working and sacrificing himself relentlessly to support and protect his Family.
As spouse (Mt 1:16), Saint Joseph welcomed the bride the Father entrusted him, without ever complaining, but protecting Mary completely (Mt 2:13), showing Mary respect and total love, a pure, chaste, and holy love, lived in conformity with what the Father suggested to the hearts of those holy Spouses, who offered perennially to the Father their absolute, perfect and holy chastity, thus giving, with that example, a total change to the society of that time, in which the concept of “love” was lived in a selfish way and everything was aimed at one’s own gratification and one’s “self”, just as now, in these times, where everything is lived in an even more exacerbated way and the family is no longer the centre, the priority of life, neither of man nor of woman.
As a father, just as every father is called to do, St. Joseph protected His Son (Mt 2:14), imparting to Him the right education (Lk 2:27), making Him understand which priorities to respect, so that the little Jesus could grow and manifest Himself to the world as true Man and true God (Lk 2:52), learning every human virtue from Joseph. For the little Jesus, Joseph was the model of life to follow and imitate until the day the Father called Saint Joseph to Himself, to make him part of the glory of Heaven5.
In these times St. Joseph shows us again the Way (Jn 14:6) that the Father has outlined to Him: to safeguard Christianity, the authentic Christian doctrine that is Christ, who manifests Himself in His Universal Church; to safeguard the family, the first domestic church, where man and woman welcome one another mutually, giving love to one another, in absolute fidelity, keeping faith with their mutual promise of holy and indissoluble union, experiencing the joy of being a family, which focuses on God’s Love, on the value of being family, where man and woman share, in Christ and Mary, their daily burden (Mt 11:30) which involves family management.
The love of St. Joseph is the example of the Father’s love for the Son (cf. Jn 3:35) of God,6 so that following His example all God’s sons can guard the Treasure of God (Mt 6:21) and take part in It, remaining in steady communion of heart, soul and spirit with Christ (Mt 26:26-29). By His example, St. Joseph teaches us that in order to live in perfect communion with the Son of God we must first welcome Mary (Mt 1:24), the Handmaid, Bride and Mother of the Most High (Mt 1:23), the Queen of Heaven and Earth and the Universal Coredemptrix7, so that we can live the perfect communion with Jesus (Jn 6:51), the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14), the Love descended from Heaven, which cleanses the heart, the soul and the spirit from every selfishness and every sin.
Saint Joseph is the humble Saint8 of loving obedience (cf. Phil 2:8), the One who welcomed with enthusiasm, dedication and passion the task entrusted to Him by the Father: to guard the treasure of God, to guard what had descended from Heaven; to cherish in his heart what was most precious in the world. His humility and His loving obedience, the passion with which He carried out everything, allowed the Son of God to grow (Lk 2:51) and to teach hearts to live the Father’s Love. Jesus was nourished by the love that St. Joseph gave Him without ceasing. Saint Joseph gave Jesus His fatherly and loving care9, just as He gave His holy Bride His infinite Love.
All of Christianity and every truly Christian family is called to live the holy and total devotion to the Holy Guardian and Patron Joseph, so that, under His custody and protection, impelled by His example, every Christian may persevere in humility and loving obedience to the Father and every Christian family may persevere in living true love, union and holy harmony10, so that everyone may rediscover the beauty and the importance of being “family,” the first domestic church (Lk 2:16), placed at the centre of the Plan of Love and Redemption desired by the Father, which, through the family desired by the Father, will make Christianity win and triumph.
PROCLAMATION
As Pontiff of the Universal Christian Church of the New Jerusalem
I HEREBY DECREE
that the Glorious SAINT JOSEPH
shall be venerated by all the faithful of the Church with the title of:
Guardian of the Holy Family
Patron of the Universal Church
GUARDIAN OF THE LITTLE CRADLE OF BABY JESUS
GUARDIAN OF CHRISTIANITY
PATRON SAINT OF EVERY FAMILY
March 25, 2020
Solemn Feast of the Annunciation
to Mary Most Holy
of Our Lord Jesus Christ
The Pontiff
Samuele