Pope Leo XIV invited Catholics to look to the quiet strength of St. Joseph as they enter the final days of Advent, presenting four virtues that can help believers prepare their hearts for Christmas: piety and charity, mercy and trust.
Speaking during his Angelus address on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the Holy Father reflected on the Gospel account in which God reveals Joseph’s mission through a dream. He described the passage as “a very beautiful page in salvation history,” noting that Joseph appears as a man who is “fragile and fallible — like us — and at the same time courageous and strong in faith,” according to Catholic News Agency.
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The Pope emphasized that Joseph is called a “just man” in the Gospel of Matthew, highlighting his faithfulness as a devout Israelite who observed the law and lived a life rooted in prayer. Yet, Leo underscored that Joseph’s righteousness was not rigid or legalistic. When confronted with Mary’s mysterious pregnancy, Joseph chose not to expose her to public shame but instead resolved to separate from her quietly, a decision the Pope said reveals a deep understanding of mercy, according to Catholic News Agency.
This merciful disposition, Leo explained, prepared Joseph to receive God’s plan when it was finally revealed to him in a dream. Accepting his role as the husband of the Virgin Mary required what the Pope called a “great act of faith,” one that meant surrendering his own certainties and entrusting his future entirely to God, according to Catholic News Agency.
Drawing on the words of St. Augustine, the Pope reflected that it was from Joseph’s piety and charity that “a son was born of the Virgin Mary — Son at the same time of God,” according to Catholic News Agency. These virtues, Leo said, are not abstract ideals but concrete attitudes that shape how Christians relate to God and to one another.
“Piety and charity, mercy and trust,” the Pope said, are the virtues the Church proposes in these final days of Advent, guiding the faithful toward “holy Christmas,” according to Catholic News Agency. He added that such virtues “educate the heart” and help believers become for others “a welcoming manger, a comfortable home, a sign of God’s presence.”
The Holy Father encouraged Catholics to seize this season of grace by practicing forgiveness, offering encouragement, and bringing hope to those they encounter in daily life. He also urged a renewal of prayer marked by childlike trust in God’s providence, according to Catholic News Agency.
Leo concluded by entrusting the faithful to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, recalling that they were the first to welcome Christ into the world “with great faith and love,” according to Catholic News Agency.
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