Sliem Għalik Ġużeppi, Bin David 

by Martin Mamo O.F.M. Cap.

printed by Outlook Coop, Malta, 2021

In December 2020, Pope Francis decreed 2021 as a year dedicated to St Joseph. He not only expressed his desire that Christians commemorate the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the saint as protector of the Universal Church by Pope Pius IX in 1870, but – more importantly – to invite the faithful to reflect on the unique role and example given by the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The author of the volume, Fr Martin Mamo, a Capuchin friar, gifts the readers with a wide spectrum of essays on St Joseph. Indeed, the book comprises 24 chapters which Fr Mamo describes as “reflections” – on a wide variety of themes, as for example: Joseph, the just man; the sanctity of marriage; Joseph, a man of prayer and silence; Joseph and the New Evangelisation, Joseph’s relationship to Mary; the devotion of various saints to St Joseph; Joseph in the liturgy; and cathedrals and churches dedicated to the saint.

Among the merits of this volume, one notes that the author succeeds in editing several essays he had written over the years, as well as two panegyrics on St Joseph he delivered in his native Kalkara.

It is praiseworthy that such material which was scattered and could have been lost has now been brought together in this mini encyclopaedia on the man who exercised such a unique role, namely that of being the foster father of the Son of God made man.

The author is to be lauded for including a previously unpublished text on St Joseph by the renowned Gozitan poet and Capuchin friar Fr Matthew Sultana (1918-1986). Again, such a work – the text of a panegyric on St Joseph – could have been lost, unless it had been gifted, 36 years ago, by Sultana to Mamo who decided to share it with his readers.

‘Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus by Guido Reni’, c. 1635. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The final part of the book offers a wide-ranging compendium of prayers to St Joseph. These prayers, with their varied styles and provenance, are a source of spiritual nourishment to the devotees of St Joseph. If this were not enough, Mamo then supplements his collection by publishing also a series of hymns to the saint.

As the year dedicated by Pope Francis to St Joseph gradually draws to its close, readers of the book by Fr Martin Mamo are invited to reflect on the saint and to let themselves be inspired by his exemplary witness.

More information on acquisition of the book can be obtained from religious bookshops and from the Capuchin friaries in Malta and Gozo. All proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Malta Trust Foundation, chaired by President Emeritus Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.

 Fr Hector Scerri is an associate professor at the Faculty of Theology, University of Malta.