Colloquia Theologica Ottoniana (Dec 2020)
Święty Józef – kairos dla trzeciego tysiąclecia
Abstract
The article was inspired by the Year of Saint Joseph (2020/2021), announced by Pope Francis on 8 December 2020, and the occasional Apostolic Letter Patris corde, as well as the teaching of the post-Conciliar Church and the growing liturgical and non-liturgical worship of St Joseph. The aim of the article is to show the spirituality of St Joseph as a model and sign for contemporary people. The intended goal made it possible to specifically formulate the problem of the study, which boils down to the question: why does St Joseph appear as kairos in the third millennium? In order to achieve the set goal and solve the problem, the article was structured in the form of a triptych. The first chapter presents a feature of Joseph’s biography in light of the Gospel. It shows the gradual discovery of the place and role of St Joseph in the history of salvation. The second chapter presents selected aspects of Josephological spirituality that call for imitation. The third chapter is devoted to the reading of Saint Joseph’s kairos, given to us for the third millennium. The research conducted in each of the chapters has indicated that the lived Year of Saint Joseph, which is celebrated by the universal Church, as well as the growing interest in Josephological spirituality, inspire us to deepen his multi-dimensional personality and draw from it a universal message for the third millennium. Such an approach to the person and mission of St Joseph makes it possible to discover and honour him as a special patron for the difficult period of the third millennium. The importance of St Joseph continues to grow, and his intercession is becoming effective and more necessary, especially in the community of believers. The dissertation makes one aware that the holy patriarch teaches us, with the power of his faith, to entrust the history of mankind to God in the great confusion of contemporary disbelief. Moreover, his unique attitude involving silence, combined with praying for silence and work, makes him a man of the Gospel. Joseph’s faith in Christ and his faithfulness to the Gospel are “a sign of the times” for contemporaries and must be constantly read, making St Joseph a specific kairos for the third millennium.
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