St. Joseph and the Apparition at Knock- Dublin Diocese Virtual Pilgrimage

                                             

Talk for Dublin Diocesan Virtual Pilgrimage

Live-streamed through the webcam at Our Lady of Victories Church, Ballymun Road, Dublin

Title: St. Joseph and the Apparition at Knock Shrine.

Good afternoon to all of you gathered as we continue our time of pilgrimage here in the Archdiocese of Dublin. My name is Sr. M. Louise O Rourke, I am a sister with the congregation, Disciples of the Divine Master and I serve the Diocese in the Office for Religious and Extern Priests.

I have been asked to talk to you a little about the figure of St. Joseph in the Apparition of Knock.

Most of us know the story of the Apparition of our Lady of Knock. On the 21st of August 1879, there was an apparition at the gable wall of the Parish Church in Knock when our Lady appeared, in the company of St. Joseph and of St. John. On the altar was Jesus the Lamb of God, and a Cross behind Him. The apparition is unique because in a way it is an apparition of a family: St. Joseph, Our Lady and Jesus as the Lamb. St. John the Evangelist is present, reminding us that the family is linked not just within itself but has and needs life-giving networks outside of it. There are also angels in the Apparition, reminding us that as we journey through life, we are assisted by the angels and the saints. We never journey alone. The beautiful statutes which form the tableau of the apparition in the Apparition Chapel in Knock were sculpted by Professor Lorenzo Ferri, under the guidance of Dame Judy Coyne, who had actually interviewed one of the women, Mary Byrne O’ Connell, who was present and had seen the original apparition. The statues were later blessed by Pope St. John Paul II when he came to Ireland in 1979. If times were different, I would be inviting you to go over to see the statues in the Apparition Chapel but later on in the afternoon after Mass, through the wonders of technology, we will be linking into the Apparition Chapel for a time of quiet prayer.

Although the message of Knock is a question which still confuses some, it has been generally agreed that the Our Lady, St. Joseph and the beloved disciple John, together with the Lamb of God came to comfort a people who had suffered much.  This was what the official eyewitnesses themselves conveyed.  In Mayo at the time and indeed throughout Ireland, famine and disease were still widespread, there was extreme poverty and evictions were rampant. Yet, this Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph came in beauty and silence to bring solace to the people.

But why St. Joseph? I suppose we could say, why not? Apparitions of St. Joseph are not widely known or well documented although it is good to remember that St. Joseph was part of one of the apparitions in Fatima in 1917. Since he is so often characterized as ‘the silent saint’, it is really not surprising that his presence at Knock has not attracted a great deal of attention. Not until recently. On the 19th of March 2021, Knock Shrine was elevated to being an International Shrine of Marian and Eucharistic Devotion. This took place during this year of St. Joseph and more importantly on the feast of St. Joseph, 19th of March.

The apparition at Knock draws our attention to the greatness of St. Joseph in terms of his role in salvation history and the power of his intercession. There is also another subtlety which the apparition calls to our attention.  On the 8th of December 1854 Pope Pius IX declared the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception  and four years later, Our Lady presented herself as the Immaculate Conception in her apparitions to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdres. Similarly, the same Pontiff solemnly declared St. Joseph ‘Patron of the Universal Church’ on 8th of December 1870, and the role of St. Joseph was highlighted at Knock nine years later. 

Fast forward, one hundred and fifty years later, on the 8th of December 2020, Pope Francis would issue an apostolic letter entitled ‘Patris Corde’, meaning “With a Father’s Heart” and declared a whole year dedicated to him. He begins the letter saying: “My desire to do so is increased during these months of pandemic, when we experienced amid the crisis, how our lives are woven together and sustained by ordinary people, people often overlooked (… ) How many are praying, making sacrifices and interceding for the good of all. Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation.”

The Apparition of Knock may be immortalised in the beautiful Carrera white marble, but it continues to be a living icon and speaks to us today. When I hear those words of Pope Francis, I see St. Joseph as we see him in Knock, that is, “an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble.”

And he extends to us a few things to ponder and reflect upon:

Firstly, the power of silent presence and witness. St. Joseph is present. He is present to Mary his spouse, to Jesus the Lamb of God, to St. John the Evangelist. Being present to someone with our whole presence is one of the greatest gifts which we can give someone. When is the last time you felt someone was truly present to you? Can I say the same of myself when I encounter people, especially those close to me? Over the past year, one of the main reasons cited for the breakup for relationships and breakdown in family life is lack of communication and lack of connection. Digital devices had replaced face to face conversations or phones are omnipresent and intrusive even during family times and meals. During this time of pandemic, we all long for the time when we can meet family and friends, and be present with them, not just digitally. St. Joseph’s body is turned towards the others in the apparition. We are present to people when we can look them in the eyes and listen, not just to the words but also to the silence, their gestures, their body language.

Photo:www.knockshrine.ie

Last month, on the occasion of Knock being declared an international shrine, Pope Francis, through a videolink, reminded us: “In the apparition at Knock, the Virgin says nothing. Yet silence is a language; indeed, it is the most expressive language we have. The message which comes from Knock is that of the great value of silence for our faith. It is this silence in the face of mystery, which does not mean giving up on understanding, but understanding while aided and supported by the love of Jesus who offered himself for all of us as the Lamb sacrificed for the salvation of humanity. It is this silence in the face of the great mystery of a love which cannot be reciprocated unless in trusting abandonment to the will of the merciful Father.”

Yes, at Knock, in the figure of St. Joseph, we embrace the mystery of silence and the absence of words. This absence is replaced by the eloquence of contemplation on the icon of the apparition. It draws us in. We are called to behold. The silence of St. Joseph is not just an absence of sound or words, it is the capacity to listen. As followers of Jesus, we are called daily to listen to what God our Father has to say to us, through the Word of God, and through each other.

In the figure of St. Joseph we are invited to reflect on the power of complimentarity.  After Mary, the Mother of God, no saint is mentioned more frequently in the papal magisterium than St. Joseph. In any of the approved apparitions of St. Joseph, it is always within a Marian context. We see this at Knock and we also see it at Fatima. In the apparition at Knock, we see that the two figures flanking Mary are precisely the two men closest to the heart of Christ and the heart of Mary. We have St. Joseph, the one chosen to take the Father's place on earth in his relationship to Christ and Mary. Then we see St. John, the beloved disciple of Jesus and the one to whom He entrusted his mother at the foot of the Cross. 

During his earthly life, St. Joseph was always guardian and protector of the Holy Family. At Knock we also see him as guardian and protector, the just and respectful man. He stands at the side of Mary. Mary Byrne O'Connell, who came to be the chief official witness of the visionaries at Knock stated, “In the figure of St. Joseph, the head was slightly bent, and inclined towards the Blessed Virgin, as if paying her respect; it represented the saint as somewhat aged, with gray whiskers (beard) and grayish hair.” 

Whilst Mary has an intense gaze which looks heavenwards, St. Joseph keeps his head bowed in silent prayer and homage to the Lamb of God and to Mary. He is beside her to support her in her mission within the Church to be the Mother of Humanity, our Queen of Peace, the Golden Rose. An Irish Capuchin Father Hubert in a meditation entitled “St. Joseph-  Sublime Contemplative of Mary as the divine ideal of the Church”, which specifically reflects on the role of St. Joseph in the Knock apparition as protector of the universal Church says: “The apparition at Knock offers to the world a glimpse of Joseph continuing his important, yet unobtrusive, role in the work of our redemption.  There he is seen fulfilling his divinely appointed office in the silence and reserve of one intent on the completion of a great work.  This work is his constant intercession that the Church may ever tend and finally attain to that blest fulfilment and perfection which befit her.  ... Since St. Joseph sees that the Church has yet to be what Our Lady already is, how can his prayer be other than that the Church itself may ever grow in the likeness of his spouse and thus tend to the happy realization of its final destiny.”

We can say, that in his relationship to Jesus, St. Joseph was the earthly shadow of the heavenly Father. He watched over him and protected him, being separated from him only in death.  Pope Francis, in Patris Corde will say: “Fathers are not born, but made. A man does not become a father simply by bringing a child into the world, but by taking up the responsibility to care for that child. Whenever a man accepts responsibility for the life of another, in some way he becomes a father to that person.” In our own journey of faith and of service in our homes, our parishes and throughout the wider Church, we know how important it is to have people around us and with us who support us in our spiritual pilgrimage. People who work with us and not against us. People who build us up and don’t knock us down. Within our Church, we are called to live that mission of St. Joseph to ensure that we keep our eyes fixed on holiness, on heaven.

We see St. Joseph as a man who is focussed on Christ alone.  We live in a society where we are bombarded with so much advertisement which tells us that it is okay to look out for Number 1 only!   The call to serve, the call to live for others in a selfless manner is suffocated.  St. Joseph found happiness not in mere self-sacrifice but in self-gift. St. Joseph knew how to love with extraordinary freedom for he never made himself the centre of things. In the centre of the Apparition is his Spouse, Mary. On the centre of the Altar is Jesus the Lamb. He was focussed on the lives of Mary and Jesus. In the Message for World Day of Vocations which we mark tomorrow, we hear that: “The Gospels show how Joseph lived entirely for others and never for himself. By freeing love from all possessiveness, he became open to an even more fruitful service. His limitless, selfless love led the Saint to sustain daily sacrifices, as a rule for daily life. He did not do astonishing things, he had no unique charisms, nor did he appear special in the eyes of those who met him. He was not famous or even noteworthy: the Gospels do not report even a single word of his. Still, through his ordinary life, he accomplished something extraordinary in the eyes of God.”  Just as Joseph was a just and simple man, we are reminded of the simplicity of the visionaries which witnessed the apparition at Knock. They too lived simple lives and went on to do the same even after the apparition.

Lastly in St. Joseph, we see the power of be faithful in time of trials: In the Knock Apparition, the Lamb of God is on the Altar with the Cross behind Him. St. Joseph is not far from the Cross. Yes, St. Joseph had his sufferings in life. He was called to be the guardian and protector of the Holy Family and from the very beginning it was not without its difficulties but God always walked with him. The Cross is never far from any of us and every family has its difficulties. Today during this time of pilgrimage, we pray for all families and for the different struggles and trials which they are going through. We are called to, as Scriptures also reminds us: “Go to Joseph”, or ‘bring it to Joseph”.  St. Joseph could not be other than the Guardian of the Church, for the Church is the continuation of the Body of Christ in history. At the end of Patris Corde, Pope Francis reminds us that “the proper mission of the saints is not only to obtain miracles and graces but to intercede for us before God. The saints help all the faithful to strive for the holiness and the perfection of their particular state of life. Their lives are concrete proof that it is possible to out the Gospel into practice. The lives of the saints are examples to be imitated. By his eloquent silence, St. Joseph says the same. We need only to ask St. Joseph for the grace of graces: our conversion.”

I would like to conclude by praying: "Hail Guardian of the Redeemer, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, To you God entrusted his only Son, in you Mary placed her trust, with you Christ became man. Blessed Joseph, to us too, show yourself a father and guide us in the path of life. Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage, and defend us from every evil. Amen."