St Joseph leads the mission of the Church as her patron

Dec 11, 2021

By Aaron Lim
The community of City Parish concluded the Year of St Joseph with the final session of the Be With Us Mary and Joseph devotion on December 1, streamed on YouTube.

wwwSince its first session on June 2, the Wednesday devotion has seen 27 sessions, with preachers coming from the Arch/dioceses of Kuala Lumpur, Malacca Johore and Penang.

The concluding session began with a multilingual Rosary followed by a sharing on St Joseph and the Mission of the Church by Bishop Sebastian Francis. Bishop Sebastian began by assuring all that the Church is safe under the patronage of St Joseph, just as how he protected Jesus and Mother Mary. He shared a picture of the Holy Family, with Mary asleep whilst St Joseph cared tenderly for the child Jesus.

“The mission of St Joseph was simple – besides being a carpenter and working for the family, he had a role - to protect and love his wife as well as nourish and nurture Jesus: this prepared both of them for their mission,” he said.

Bishop Sebastian then recalled his personal devotion to St Joseph where he would pen his intentions and slip them under the saint’s statue seeking intercession. “This year I rediscovered St Joseph, and he has played an important role in my life. There can be many challenges, but St Joseph prays over them as he is focused on his mission,” he said.

Bishop Sebastian then invited all to recite a simple prayer, putting St Joseph along with Mother Mary and Jesus in giving our lives to the Holy Family and seeking their assistance always.

In his closing remarks, parish priest Msgr Aloysius Tan recalled the initiating of the weekly devotion in enabling parishioners to have a deeper understanding towards St Joseph. Msgr Tan then expressed his gratitude to the animating team, which consists of the liturgy, media and language apostolate groups, for completing the journey of this devotion.