Fifth Sunday of St. Joseph (2026)

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins, and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, St. Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

Having at last found a place for themselves in Bethlehem, the Holy Family received the unexpected homage of the Magi with their precious gifts for the divine child. When they had departed, we’re told, “Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, ‘Arise, and take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod will seek the child to destroy him’” (Matt. 2:13).

Joseph’s great joy at the visit of the Magi did not last long. He had to abandon his newfound home and business to flee to a foreign land. Herod wanted to kill the child. Joseph’s joy was changed to dread. Once again, God was testing him. Joy and sorrow are never far from one another in souls that love God.

St. John Chrysostom comments on this passage: “The Lord loves his people. That’s why he mixes suffering and delight in the lives of his saints. He takes care to intersperse dangers and consolations on the tapestry of the lives of his just ones.” That is how he dealt with Joseph.

Heeding the message of the angel, the Holy Family set out at once for Egypt. They could only take with them the bare essentials. Because Joseph was a poor man, it was easy for him to leave at a moment’s notice. His human fortune was certainly no obstacle; he had no impediments.

This brings to mind a seminar that we had for priests in the diocese of Singapore. The previous bishop had changed very few priests to different parishes during his incumbency, but a new bishop wanted to change everybody. Something like 28 or 30 parish priests had to change, and some of them were in their 80s. He brought in a change expert, who was an executive coach from Citibank, and he gave a talk on change to all the clergy.

He said, “One of the first things I say to executives when dealing with change are two words, which are: Be light.” Really, he was talking about the virtue of poverty and detachment from a human perspective. Because he said, “You need to be able to close your laptop and go if you get a letter at 9:00 one morning telling you we no longer need your services in this organization. If you’ve set up your office to look like your home and you have a picture of your children and your grandchildren and your uncle and your aunt and your grandparents, it might take you three days to dismantle your office. You need to be able to close your laptop and go. You need to be light.”

Useful words. Likewise, when we come to the end of our life, we also need to be able to close our laptop and go, and leave all our affairs in order for people who come to clean up after us.

Joseph lived this virtue very well. Heeding the message of the angel, the Holy Family set out at once for Egypt. They had very few things to take with them. One writer says, “Together with his walking staff, his donkey, and a few belongings, he escaped from Bethlehem with Mary and the child. They passed without notice because of their evident lack of means.”

In addition to his life of poverty, Joseph practiced the virtues of humility and obedience in an extraordinary way. He followed the will of God without delays or complaint. Meanwhile, many local infants who had not reached two years of age were giving their lives for Jesus in Bethlehem without even knowing it. Their martyrdom opened up for them the gates of heaven. Today, together with their mothers surely sanctified by their enormous griefs, serving as an instrument for their salvation, they behold the Holy Family in eternal bliss.

St. Joseph probably had little idea of how he was going to make ends meet for the Holy Family from one day to another. Each family in the world today that may be finding it hard to make ends meet can find their consolation in Joseph and in the Holy Family, and see this reality from a supernatural perspective. It’s a divine call to practice the virtue of faith, of abandonment, of trust.

Joseph had to rebuild a home and also a clientele in a strange country. After a while, he would have been able to give the family some financial stability. Being the kind of man he was, he would have used all the human means at his disposal. Even though he was in a foreign country, Joseph still had the joy of living with Jesus and Our Lady.

We don’t know for certain how long the Holy Family remained in exile, but once back in Nazareth, Joseph and Our Lady probably looked back upon that period as the years in Egypt. They would recall their hurried escape along with the worries and problems of their first months on foreign soil. They would also remember their joy at watching Jesus grow up into boyhood.

From the very start of his life, Jesus is rarely far from the Cross. Close to him, and therefore close to the Cross, are those who loved him most: Our Lady and St. Joseph. One writer says, “The holy patriarch surely suffered in his life, but he humbly submitted to the divine plan, which he could not understand. We ought never then to be alarmed by contradictions, by pain or by injustice, nor can we allow these humbling setbacks to make us lose our peace of mind. Everything has been foreseen.”

The Holy Family remained in Egypt until Herod’s death. We’re told in St. Matthew, “But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ‘Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead’” (Matt. 2:19–20).

This is what Joseph did. In the different circumstances of his life, St. Joseph never refuses to think. He never neglects his responsibilities. On the contrary, he puts his human experience at the service of the faith. When he returns from Egypt, learning that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judea, he was afraid to go there. In other words, he had learned to work within the divine plan. To confirm, St. Josemaría says, that he was doing the right thing, Joseph received an instruction to return to Galilee.

Joseph prepared the Holy Family for the return to Palestine. At first, he thought he would be going to Judea, most probably to Bethlehem. Once again on this occasion, God did not spare his faithful servant anxiety or difficulty. On their way out of Egypt, Joseph learned that Archelaus, Herod’s wicked son, had assumed the throne in Judea. Joseph guarded too great a treasure to expose it to this sort of danger. He was afraid to go there.

While reflecting on what would be best for Jesus, Joseph was told in a dream to continue onward to Galilee. We can take note that Jesus is always at the center of Joseph’s concerns. Upon their arrival in Nazareth, the Holy Family would have renewed their acquaintance with relatives and old friends. At long last, this family could settle into a home.

In our prayer today, we could ask Our Lady and St. Joseph to teach us how to take advantage of difficulties and contradictions so that we may love God more. We should not be troubled to find that as we follow Our Lord ever more closely, we feel ourselves closer to the Cross as well.

There is a prayer that says, “O Blessed Virgin, who knew how to make the most of your time of exile, help us to serve you better in this valley of tears. Following your example, we offer to God our work, our worries, and our sorrows, so that Jesus Christ may reign in our hearts and in the hearts of our friends.”

We can ask St. Joseph to help us to be strong in times of trial. We have to keep our eyes on Jesus who is always at our side. He will be our strength.

We can contemplate the final sorrow and joy of Joseph when Jesus was lost and then found in the temple. The Mosaic law obliged that all Jews who could do so should go on pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem during the three principal feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Lights. This rule covered all Jews from their 12th birthday. If a family lived more than a day’s journey from the temple, they need only make one pilgrimage a year.

The law said nothing about the participation of women in this journey, but it seems to have been customary that women accompanied their husbands. Mary and Joseph went every year to Jerusalem during the Passover. When Jesus reached the age of 12, he traveled with his parents to the temple. Families who came from distant villages typically traveled in groups. Jerusalem was about three or four days’ journey from Nazareth.

The Passover celebration lasted for a week. At its close, the family caravans would regroup outside the city walls and then begin their return home. The men often traveled in one section of the caravan while the women would be grouped in another. Children on the road would move about indiscriminately from one group to another. Husband and wife would normally meet together with their families for the evening meal.

When Joseph and Mary accordingly rejoined each other, they realized immediately that Jesus was missing. At first they looked for him among the other caravan groups, but he was not to be found. No one had seen him during the return trip. Joseph and Our Lady spent the following day searching anxiously among their relatives and acquaintances, but no one had any news. They would have been totally beside themselves with anxiety. What could possibly have happened? That night, before they returned to Jerusalem, must have been agony for them.

Very early on the next day, they made haste back to Bethlehem. One writer says they looked for Jesus everywhere. Where was he? What had happened? They asked people. They described the child. No one had any idea. They made their earnest search in a most memorable fashion: he with furrowed brow; she seemingly doubled over with sorrow. Thus they taught all of us how to behave whenever we have the misfortune to lose Jesus.

Perhaps worst of all was the apparent silence of God. She, Our Lady the Virgin, was the Father’s favorite daughter. He, Joseph, had been chosen to care for the two of them. He too had experienced God’s intervention in human affairs. One writer says, “Through the angel, he had been forewarned of the danger Jesus would run in Bethlehem. He had been urged to flee to Egypt. On moving to Judea, once more he was told to settle in Nazareth to avoid possible evils. How is it that on this occasion there was no one to advise him?”

How after two days of crying out to heaven, of incessant searching, and with ever mounting anxiety for the child, could God remain deaf to his supplication and his suffering?

St. Josemaría says there are times during life when God seems silent. It may seem that we have lost him. In some instances, this happens through our own fault. In other cases, however, it’s almost as if God had deliberately hidden himself so that we would try to find him.

“Jesus, may I never lose you again.”

We could repeat this simple prayer in the depths of our hearts.

On the third day, when every possibility had been exhausted, suddenly they found Jesus. We can only imagine the wave of joy which must have swept over Mary and Joseph when they discovered him. They would take the child home between the two of them so as not to lose him again. If they did not actually fear losing him again, at least they wanted to make up for the three days they had lived without him.

In our prayer, we could say, “Jesus, may I never lose you again.” We can ask St. Joseph to help us to never lose Jesus through sin. Nor do we want to lose sight of him through our human weakness. We can ask St. Joseph to teach us how to look for Jesus with our whole heart if we should ever suffer the misfortune of losing him.

We’re told by St. Paul to the Philippians, “Make your own the mind of Jesus Christ, who being in the form of God did not count equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross” (Phil. 2:5–8).

Our Lord invites us to that self-emptying. St. Joseph is a great model to us of how to empty oneself, to forget about oneself, to stand on our own self-love: my likes and my dislikes, my comforts, my opinions, my reactions. Joseph gave himself completely. His life was one of total service.

Sometimes we might be trying to serve, but we could serve with a declaration of independence, where Christ invites us to put on that new person, to forget about the old person. We’re also told in St. Paul that “charity endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:7). St. Joseph endured all things in the course of his life.

We may have to stand on our own self-love when at times we’re not appreciated or recognized, or when, like St. Joseph, life deals certain blows. We’re told in Scripture we receive less blows than we deserve. Sometimes we can think this is too much, but that’s our pride speaking. Or at times we might find ourselves with excessive sensitivity: “This person spoke to me like this,” or “They said that,” or “They used this tone.” These are all opportunities to forget about ourself, to stand on our own self-love.

We’re also told in St. John, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). In St. Matthew, Our Lord said, “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Matt. 11:29). In St. Luke, “For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be raised up” (Luke 14:11).

It is as though all of these phrases of Scripture were written in the life of St. Joseph. “God resists the proud but gives his grace to the humble” (James 4:6). “Whoever loses his life will save it” (Luke 9:24). “In all truth I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest” (John 12:24–25). Indeed, “All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God” (Rom. 8:14).

We can examine our conscience, see if perhaps we’re easy to annoy. Help us to realize that fast temper is fast pride. Help us to rectify our intention. St. Benedict says, “If humility is truth, then a significant part of its practice must involve bringing out into the daylight of another’s judgment whatever is hidden and therefore subject to delusion.” This can be a great encouragement in our spiritual direction to open our soul and open our heart, to let ourselves be known. In particular, to let it be known those things that we would prefer not to be known.

Part of that self-emptying also is to let ourselves be demanded of by our family, by our spouse, by our children, by our teachers, by our boss. We come to try and have an unconditional self-surrender. We see continually in the life of St. Joseph that he allowed God to demand more from him all the time. St. Josemaría had a phrase that he liked to use: siempre más, always more.

We can think also of the virtue of docility, able to be taught, so that we let ourselves be molded in spiritual direction. The book of Jeremiah says we have to be like clay in the hands of the potter, allowing other people to tell us things clearly. Blessed Alvaro del Portillo has said, “Let us seek only the glory of God. Let us live according to the constant lessons of the life of St. Josemaría: Mine is to hide and disappear. Let each one fulfill the work of God, spend himself in service to the others, knowing himself to be the last. I am writing this to you,” he says, “with all the love that St. Josemaría has taught me to have for you. Let us be very humble. Let us not forget that St. Josemaría has always forewarned us that the great enemy is hidden in pride.”

We can ask Our Lord through the intercession of St. Josemaría to give us this grace: a holy hunger to disappear, to be the last, to obey with more finesse than ever.

There can also be a false humility where we think we’re humble. That virtue leads us to be open to change, to be flexible. The plans of St. Joseph were always changing. The news of the angels in some ways was always unwelcome news. We could ask the Holy Spirit to come and enkindle in us the fire of your love that burnt in the heart of Joseph.

There’s a story told about an architect who constructed the first lighthouse in a place called Eddystone in England close to Plymouth around the year 1700. He had etched on the lamp the words: “Winstanley, the best architect in England.” Soon afterwards, a storm toppled the lighthouse into the sea. Some years later, another architect, this time called Smeaton, constructed another lighthouse on the same site. Upon finishing, he had engraved on the stones the words of the Psalm: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Ps. 127:1). That lighthouse is still standing today.

In The Furrow, St. Josemaría says, “What really makes a person or a whole sector of society unhappy is the anxiety-ridden, selfish search for well-being; that desire to get rid of whatever is upsetting.”

We see how in the life of St. Joseph, he took the blows. He emptied himself for others all the time. We can ask him that we might imitate him a little more each day. He, the master of the interior life, might truly be the model for our life, and that he might teach us to put human virtues into practice in concrete ways all the time.

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My Immaculate Mother, St. Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

EW