St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Confessor

In these passages, we see how Jesus provoked opposition from religious authorities, especially through his authority to forgive sins and his merciful conduct toward sinners. He ate familiarly with tax collectors and sinners, teaching that sin is universal and that those who think they do not need salvation are blind to themselves. Jesus called sinners to repentance and, by forgiving sins, revealed God’s own merciful attitude toward them. He did not abolish the Law but fulfilled it, and the Temple prefigured his own mystery: his Body would be the definitive Temple. For Catholic families, these passages invite us to humility, repentance, and merciful attention toward those in need of salvation, trusting that Christ calls sinners to himself.

In the context of Jesus’ Passion, the Gospels reveal a complex relationship between him and the religious authorities of Jerusalem. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were secret disciples, and there was also disagreement among the authorities, with some believing in Jesus, though imperfectly. Yet the Sanhedrin declared Jesus deserving of death and handed him over to the Romans, accusing him of political revolt; the chief priests also pressured Pilate to condemn him. The Church teaches that responsibility for Jesus’ trial cannot be assigned to the Jews of Jerusalem as a whole, much less to Jews of other times and places. At the same time, the Church remembers that sinners were the authors and ministers of the Redeemer’s sufferings, and it calls Christians to recognize their own grave responsibility rather than placing blame on others. For family devotion, this is an invitation to consider Christ’s mercy and to approach these events with humility.

The Church, established and sustained by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, is missionary by her very nature: she is sent to all nations to make disciples and to spread the Gospel through preaching (CCC 767). To fulfill this mission, the Holy Spirit gives the Church varied hierarchical and charismatic gifts and directs her as she proclaims and establishes the Kingdom of Christ and God among all peoples (CCC 768). Although the Church will receive her perfection only in heavenly glory, she journeys through the persecutions and consolations of this world, longing for the Kingdom’s full coming and enduring great trials before the final gathering of the just (CCC 769). The Church is present in history while also transcending it; with the eyes of faith, she is seen in both her visible and spiritual reality as bearer of divine life (CCC 770). She is a community of faith, hope, and charity, visibly structured and also the mystical Body of Christ, a single reality made up of human and divine elements through which Christ communicates truth and grace (CCC 771).