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My
heartfelt felicitations to the people of Tagbilaran
on the occasion of our feast in honor of St. Joseph
the Worker.
The
Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical Letter,
Deus Caritas Est, wrote in the introduction: "God
is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and
God abides in him" (1 Jn 4:16). These words from
the First Letter of John express with remarkable claritythe
heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of
God and the resulting image of mankind and its destiny.
In the same verse, Saint John also
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offers a kind of summary of the Christian life: "We have
come to know and to believe in the love God has for us."
There is an essential unity of the love of God and the love
of neighbor.
The
saints constantly renewed their capacity for love of neighbor
from their encounter with the Lord, and conversely this encounter
acquired its realism and depth in their service to others.
Love of God and love of neighbor are thus inseparable, they
form a single commandment. But both live from the love of
God who has loved us first.
It
is good for us to think about this and understand how well
Joseph lived up to God's demands. First, he must have been
a man of firmness and strength, to be in charge of things,
to be wage-earner, and head of this household. He must be
capable of quick decision and forceful action when the occasion
demanded it. But most of all he must be rich in faith, and
believe without hesitation the strange and wonderful things
God would reveal to him; and perfectly obedient, to carry
out the directions God would give, as when the angel told
him to flee with his family to Egypt.
It
is not surprising that Saint Joseph has been named patron
of the Universal Church.
He
is the guardian of the Christian religion as he was guardian
of Christ, and the protector and defender of the Church, which
is truly the Lord's house and the kingdom of God on earth.
The
lives of the saints are not limited to their earthly biographies
but also include their being and working in God after death.
In the saints one thing becomes clear: those who draw near
to God do not withdraw from men, but rather become truly close
to them. In this age of rugged individualism, relativism,
human autonomy, and selfishness, there is a profound need
to awaken in us the significance of firm, strong, and obedient
faith in God - the virtues that Saint Joseph practiced.
It
is my fervent hope that Tagbilaran City becomes a good example
of a "community of love." Through the intercession
of Saint Joseph the Worker, may you respond readily to this
sublime calling.
With
my paternal blessing, I remain
(Sgd.)
+LEONARDO Y. MEDROSO, DD
Bishop of Tagbilaran
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