This month we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation, the miraculous event in which the Angel Gabriel announced God’s great invitation to Mary to be the mother of God’s Son—an invitation which she accepted with perfect love and obedience. We also celebrate the feast of St. Joseph who, as we know, also received his own “announcement” shortly after—one that posed a potential crisis of faith and moral dilemma. As we read in the Gospel of St. Matthew:
When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.”
Matthew 1:18-19
St. Joseph is described in this passage as a “just man”. What does this mean? The term “justice” has become common in public discourse. It is frequently used to refer to a lack of something “out there” in the world—to “injustices” in need of remedy. But this passage draws us back to an important reality. “Justice” is first and foremost a virtue—something interior, present or lacking, long before it manifests itself in the world. So, what does it mean to be a “just man”?
As with other virtues, Justice has diminished in its colloquial significance over time. If it is thought of as a virtue at all, justice is taken to be something cold and calculating, something concerned only with rules and laws rather than people—and certainly, there is a practical necessity to a certain impersonal objectivity when we think of the “justice system” performing its proper function. But once again, Justice is first and foremost a virtue of the human heart—and indeed of God’s heart. The scriptures note that God loves Justice (Isaiah 61) and mankind is exhorted to “do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Later on in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus criticizes the scribes and Pharisees, for their merely legalistic religiosity in which they “tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” (Matthew 23:23).
The Catechism describes the virtue of Justice as “the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor” (CCC 1807). In other words, Justice is the virtue by which we turn outward toward other people, affirm their fundamental dignity, and strive to act in accord with their true good. Justice is the recognition that the deepest and most fundamental reality is that we are persons in relationship with other persons. To be a “just man” is to be a person who has made a habit of turning outwards toward other people and seeing them as God sees them, which, of course, is always with perfect and unwavering charity.
As a result of being a “just man,” St. Joseph received the likely bewildering news about Mary’s pregnancy not with a self-focused wrath or a desire for retribution—but with a primary concern to see true justice done in the situation; to protect Mary and her child from undue public scrutiny or even violence, and to create the conditions for some good to come out of what surely seemed a bad situation. In God’s providential timing, the “rest of the story” is announced to Joseph in a dream, but again, this finds him having already persevered in justice. In the midst of the crisis, he acted justly and kindly, trusting God to make a way forward.
This event highlights the importance of the daily practice of Justice, in particular, and of virtue in general. Whatever virtues (or vices) we practice in all the ordinary aspects of our lives are what will be in play during moments of extraordinary crisis. When calamity or confusion occurs, will we reflexively turn inward and become self-focused or selfish? Or will we imitate St. Joseph in remaining turned outward—considering the needs of others and working for their good?
For so many members of the CHNetwork, especially for Protestant clergy and pastors, the journey towards the Catholic Church often involves moments of crisis: seeing Protestant doctrinal foundations crumble, realizing that much of what they thought they knew about the history and teaching of the Catholic Church was wrong, and realizing that to do “justice” to God by becoming Catholic may well lead to loss of income, vocation, identity, and crises within family and friend relationships. Our mission is to simply help people at these turning points to discern and take the next right steps of their journey deeper in Christ and His Church. We believe that God is indeed calling Christians home to the Catholic Church. But every step along that journey is an opportunity to grow closer to Christ and more conformed to His virtuous example: remaining committed to prayer, seeking the truth in study, building up relationships, sharing the new discoveries in charity, and receiving pushback or criticism with patience and grace.
Wherever you are on your own faith journey, let us together pray for the intercession of St. Joseph, the just man, and imitate his example. Even and especially during crisis moments on the journey, we must turn outward toward God and other people— persevering in prayer and in works of love and service. In His own, providential time, the Lord will show up, show the way forward, and bring about new life.
