St. Joseph not on Father's Day but for babes ...

Da Paolo Tessione - March 18, 2021

On March 19th, father's day, known for the anniversary is the feast of San Giuseppe. As everyone knows, Joseph is the earthly father of Jesus, husband of Mary and descendant of the lineage of David. Joseph is mentioned many times in the Gospels when he has to give birth to Jesus, he flees to Egypt from Herod, the Angel's dream. However, it is useless to hide the fact, our Joseph is a great man in the history of salvation.

Little is known about his life. Only a few evangelical quotes next to the Lord and nothing more. On the 19th, St. Joseph everyone remembers their fathers. On the 19th, St. Joseph's Day is Father's Day.

But know the true meaning of the party's San Giuseppe and that of the father? Many may say to me "it's my father's day simple" and certainly what you say is right. Entering the depth, the subtlety of the thing I tell you what this party means and the truth about it (also the reason for the so ironic title).

On the 19th, St. Joseph is the feast of those fathers who raise children who are not their natural children but raise them as real children and love them just as well. In fact, loving and giving everything for a child is perhaps also a little natural but bending over backwards for someone who is not actually your child but you love him as such "this is extraordinary". In reality, St. Joseph was not Jesus' natural father but his putative father. Jesus is the son of God conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. So Saint Joseph was not the natural father of Jesus and he loved him more than a son, in fact all the episodes of the Gospel where Saint Joseph is quoted can be seen that he goes to protect Jesus and makes sacrifices for him.

So recalling the title it is not Father's Day from the babes. Why babbà? The babbà here in Campania has a triple function. The first is a very good dessert made in Naples spread all over the world. The second is a full but really full cottage where you can find all kinds of cold cuts and truly unique goodness. The third, the term babbà is said to those people, always in the Campania areas, which are good, naive, without any malice.

This triple function appeals to today's fathers who like San Giuseppe they are not the true natural fathers of their children. They with these children are at the same time sweet and savory but always good ready to give everything for them without reproaching but almost always being there to satisfy their requests. At the same time, for their way of doing they seem a bit babbà, good without opposing these children but playing with them as if they were children too.

So friends today I end with a special wish to all those who really deserve the best wishes today from the fathers of unnatural children, like St. Joseph. Today I baptized them with the name Baba. So happy birthday my dear baba knowing, for those who have faith, that nothing happens by chance in life but everything has a meaning. It makes sense to be a babbà too.