VATICAN CITY, MAR 21, 1999 (VIS) - In reflections made prior to reciting the angelus today, the Pope spoke about St. Joseph, whose liturgical feast was March 19, and recalled that the "spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the patron of the universal Church," whose mission was to be "guardian of the Redeemer and of the Church."
"In Joseph, in fact, who was called to be the earthly father of the Word Incarnate, we see reflected in a singular way the divine fatherhood. Joseph is the father of Jesus because he is truly the spouse of Mary. She conceived as a virgin through the work of God, but the Child is also the son of Joseph, her legitimate husband. Thus, both are called the 'parents' of Jesus in the Gospel. In exercising his fatherhood, Joseph cooperates, in the fullness of time, in the great mystery of the redemption."
John Paul II then asked for the faithful to pray for peace in Kosovo, given "the worsening situation" there. "Those communities have already gone through a long 'way of the cross', and await solutions which respect history and law."
After the angelus prayer, the Holy Father spoke of the 39 missionaries who were killed last year, and noted that "on Wednesday, March 24, Italy and other countries in the world will celebrate a day of prayer and fasting in memory of martyred missionaries. The blood of these brothers and sisters is the seed of new Christians, the seed of reconciliation and hope."
The Pope then pointed out that on Thursday, March 25, "Rome's young people will gather in the Vatican for the now traditional meeting of celebration and prayer, in which I will personally participate, in preparation for World Youth Day, which will be celebrated throughout the Church on the following Sunday, Palm Sunday. I invite all young boys and girls of Rome to this appointment, which looks towards the Jubilee year 2000 when Rome will host the Great Jubilee of Young People from August 15 to 20."
ANG;ST JOSEPH; KOSOVO; YOUTH;...;...;VIS;19990322;Word: 340;
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