VATICAN - Pope Benedict XVI at the Angelus says "Let us be ‘infected’ by the silence of St Joseph: in this time of preparation for Christmas let us give priority to inner recollection so we may let Jesus come and stay in our life”.

Vatican City (Fides) - Saint Joseph who “in perfect harmony with his wife welcomes the Son of God made man and watches over his human development”, can help us prepare for Christmas and “live this great mystery of faith more fully”. On the last Sunday of Advent, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI dedicated his midday Angelus reflection to the figure of Saint Joseph an “example of the ‘just’ man (Mt 1,19)”, who can help us in our immediate preparation for the Birth of the Lord: “it is more than ever opportune to establish a sort of spiritual conversation with St Joseph because he can helps us live this great mystery of the faith more fully”.
Pope Benedict XVI went on to recall that Pope John Paul II had a deep devotion to St Joseph expressed in his apostolic exhortation “Redemptoris Custos”: “Among the many aspects highlighted he underlines in particular the silence of St Joseph - the Pope said. His is a silence permeated with contemplation of the mystery of God in an attitude of complete docility to God’s will. In other words the silence of St Joseph is a sign not of inner emptiness, but on the contrary of the fullness of the faith he carries in his heart, and which guides his every thought and deed … Let us be "infected" by the silence of St Joseph! We have such need of silence in this world often so noisy which does not foster meditation and listening to the voice of God. In this time of preparation for Christmas let us give priority to inner recollection so we may let Jesus come and stay in our life”
”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 19/12/2005; righe 17, parole 262)