Denver Catholic

22 DECEMBER 23, 2017-JANUARY 26, 2018 | DENVER CATHOLIC Perspectives St. Joseph and the mysterious mix of joy and sorrow W hen the gas light for my car came on, I grumbled to God, "Really? Are you kidding me?!" Nothing seemed to be going my way that day. It is not as if needing gas is a big deal, but this was yet another irritation in a day full of a dozen little incon- veniences — and I was starting to become Father Grumpy Pants. I had started the day with some idea of how things would go, and when the day didn't go according to my plans, I got upset that God wasn't doing my will! Then, as God often does, he gently reminded me of St. Joseph. "And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her fi rst-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn" (Luke 2:4-7). Think about St. Joseph's expe- rience of this. He had to leave his home with his pregnant wife to make the journey to Bethlehem for Caesar's census. So he put her on a donkey (which must have been ter- ribly uncomfortable for a pregnant woman) and they made the 10-day walk to Bethlehem. Then, while they were there, it came time for her to give birth. Have you ever met a man whose wife is going into labor? He had to be panick- ing on the inside, but trying to seem calm on the outside. They were a hundred miles from home, they didn't know anybody in Bethlehem, and he was not an expert in delivering babies! He knocked on the door of the only inn in town. The inn-keeper, seeing Joseph and his pregnant wife, was not willing to make room for them; he turned them away. At that point, I imagine Joseph standing in the middle of road, looking up to the Heavens, and saying to the Lord, "Really?! I want to do your will, and I'm trying my best — why is this so di¯ cult?!" But God provided in a way St. Joseph didn't expect. They spent the night among the animals. Instead of a crib, Jesus was laid in a manger (a cow's feeding trough). It wasn't as comfortable as Joseph had wanted for Mary and Jesus, but he was grateful for what they had. Was Christmas night joyful for St. Joseph? Yes, of course. The savior of the world was born, and Joseph was the fi rst to see him with his own eyes! But it was also a very stressful night for him, probably more than for anybody else. Those who have a devotion to St. Joseph often pray the Seven Joys and Sorrows of St. Joseph, and in that prayer Christmas night is acknowledged as one of those moments in Joseph's life that was both joyful and sorrowful. The holidays can be times of joy and sorrow for many people. The sorrow could be as little as the Christmas ham not turning out the way we hoped, or as big as facing the season after the death of a loved one. Thankfully, we have someone who can identify with that sorrow, and he wants to intercede for us. St. Joseph is the patron saint of the entire Church, and he knows that sometimes joy and sorrow are mixed in the mystery of love! As we celebrate Christmas this year, we ask for the prayers of St. Joseph —that we might let go of how we think things ought to be, and abandon ourselves to the beauty of God's plan. FATHER SCOTT BAILEY Father Scott Bailey serves as the Archbishop's secretary. Books for Christmas I t's been a good year for publish- ing — at least in the sense of a lot of good books getting published — so here are some for the readers on your Christmas gift list (in addition, of course, to Lessons in Hope: My Unexpected Life with St. John Paul II [Basic Books], by your scribe): The Light of Christ: An Introduction to Catholicism, by Thomas Joseph White, OP (Catholic University of America Press): Father White is one of Ameri- ca's most impressive younger Catholic thinkers (and its most impressive ban- jo-playing Catholic thinker). His work exemplifi es the Catholic renaissance inspired by St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, and his book makes the searching skeptic think, and then think again, about what the fullness of Catholic faith means. Charles Borromeo: Selected Ora- tions, Homilies, and Writings, edited by John R. Cihak (Bloomsbury): The saintly 16th-century archbishop of Milan, Charles Borromeo — who was shot at the altar for his reformist e‹ orts, recovered, and then pleaded for his assailant's life — is obviously a man worth getting to know. Msgr. John Cihak's fi ne introduction to Borromeo's life and work helps us distinguish true from false reform in the Church at a moment when that's a crucial issue for the 21st-century Catholicism. An Introduction to Vatican II as an Ongoing Theological Event, by Mat- thew Levering (Catholic University of America Press): I've been amazed to discover in recent years just how little young and engaged Catholic millennials know about the Second Vatican Council and what preceded it — a gap in their historical knowl- edge that often leads to a distorted view of today's intra-Catholic conten- tions. Give Dr. Levering 's fi ne book to anyone you know who falls into that category, or indeed to anyone who wants to know the Council and today's arguments over its proper implementation better. It's read- er-friendly and written for non-spe- cialists (although I can think of some theologians on the port side of the Barque of Peter who could benefi t from studying it, too). Accompanying, Discerning, Inte- grating: A Handbook for the Pasto- ral Care of the Family According to "Amoris Laetitia," by José Granados, Stephan Kampowski, and Juan José Pérez-Soba (Emmaus Road Publish- ing): The buzzword title ought not put anyone o‹ from giving this engag- ing and trustworthy guide through the thicket of family life issues to every priest, deacon, marriage-prepa- ration minister and marriage coun- selor on their gift list. Scalia Speaks: Refl ections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived, edited by Christopher J. Scalia and Edward Whelan (Crown Forum): How could anyone not love a man whose favorite lunch was pepperoni pizza and red wine? Well, a lot of people didn't love Justice Scalia during his lifetime, but this posthumous collection of his speeches may change even the most hardened of hearts and minds. For it not only introduces the man in full but helps explain why he was one of the most infl uential jurists in American history, in a class with John Marshall and Joseph Storey. Antonin Scalia was a serious man who took his craft seri- ously, loved his family and country and wrote with courage, passion, and wit, especially in dissent. Little wonder that he was given, by his priest-son, Paul, the fi nest funeral homily since Cardi- nal Joseph Ratzinger's homily at the funeral Mass of John Paul II. Leading a Worthy Life: Finding Meaning in Modern Times, by Leon R. Kass (Encounter Books): Genera- tions of students at the University of Chicago found in Leon Kass and his late wife Amy the kind of teachers for which every student and every student's parents should long. In this collection of essays, some jointly writ- ten by one of the all-time great hus- band-and-wife teams, readers meet wisdom and decency honed by a deep reading of everyone from Homer, Aristotle, and Moses to Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and C.S. Lewis — and by a lifelong love for the Chicago Cubs (which, after the 2016 World Series, can no longer be dismissed as a sign of grave psychic distress). Kenneth Clark: Life, Art, and "Civil- isation," by James Stourton (Knopf ): A charming biography of the great art historian, who once said that entering the Catholic Church (which he seems to have done on his deathbed) was like a painting entering the Louvre: "It would fi nd itself in some pretty queer company, but at least it would be sure that it had a soul." The Catholic Di¦ erence George Weigel is a distinguished senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. GEORGE WEIGEL

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