The reward for Saint Joseph’s humble soul is to be able to KISS THE HOLY FACE OF GOD…
There is a very famous line in Shakespeare’s famous comedy, “The Twelfth Night”, which is read by the character of Malvolio who reads from a letter, and ironically humiliates himself by revealing his own ridiculousness in thinking that he knows about “greatness” and that he himself is a great man...
And the line goes like this… “Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em.”
And I have been reflecting on that explanation of greatness because there is NO HUMILITY in the explanation provided by Shakespeare’s comic character. That character works on the assumption that greatness is awarded based on worthiness. And I have been reflecting on this assumption when I compare it to Christ’s response to greatness…
“The disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.’” (Matthew 18:1-5).
In other words, as Saint Augustine summarised, “in the first place, humility; in the second place, humility; in the third place, humility...”
You see, God does not connect with a soul because it is great – only because it is humble… “To be taken with love for a soul, God does not look on its greatness, but the greatness of its humility.” (Saint John of the Cross). And this is important because as Saint Josemaría explained, a humble soul will place its heart on the floor, like a soft carpet upon which other souls can walk. And this is important because without the humility there can be no relationship…
And I have been reflecting on the life of Saint Joseph as I have been thinking about humility. You see, Saint Joseph is a humble soul. He was entrusted to parenting the SON OF GOD. Christ was not his Son. He was not genetically related to God Himself, and yet, he was given the great honour of being the FATHER of GOD. And I have been reflecting on how Saint Joseph reacted to that honour. Did he shout out in the streets, announcing that great honour so that everyone knew how special he was? Did his friends and neighbours know how great was his soul? Did others gather around him and reach out to touch the hem of his cloak so that they could have some share in the holiness that he touched?
No… Saint Joseph heard that the Blessed Virgin was to be the Mother of God, and he immediately tried to withdraw… “Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” (1:19). And he did not wish to do this because he distrusted the Virgin – it was because his HUMILITY was so great that he wished to step aside OUT OF THE WAY OF GREATNESS. And yet – it was Saint Joseph who had “greatness thrust upon ‘em”…
And I have been thinking about that today. And I wonder, could I ever receive the Grace to become as humble as a soul like that? For the reward for such humble souls is to be able to KISS THE HOLY FACE OF GOD…
For I do not even dare to pray for the GREATNESS of Saint Joseph, for his humility was so great that he was given the opportunity to KISS the holy Face of God. I would give everything that I had just to kiss the imprint of His Foot in the sand… I would give everything that I have for such a gift…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.