Vatican City, 29 December, 2021 / 1:00 pm (ACI Africa).
St. Joseph, who protected his family from the persecution of King Herod, teaches us how to respond to our difficulties with courage and to trust in God’s plan, Pope Francis said on Wednesday.
During his weekly public audience Dec. 29, the pope spoke about the contrast between St. Joseph, who acted with courage in the face of hardship and fear, and Herod, who 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.
Speaking to pilgrims in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, he explained what courage is and what it is not.
“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.