Venerable Pius XII,MUNIFICENTISSIMUS DEUS 40. …the revered Mother of God,
from all eternity joined in a hidden way with Jesus Christ in one and the same
decree of predestination, immaculate in her conception, a most perfect
virgin in her divine motherhood, the noble associate of the divine Redeemer who
has won a complete triumph over sin and its consequences, finally obtained, as
the supreme culmination of her privileges, that she should be preserved free
from the corruption of the tomb and that, like her own Son, having overcome
death, she might be taken up body and soul to the glory of heaven where, as
Queen, she sits in splendor at the right hand of her Son, the immortal King of
the Ages.
...
44.…after we have poured forth prayers of
supplication again and again to God, and have invoked the light of the Spirit
of Truth, for the glory of Almighty God who has lavished his special affection
upon the Virgin Mary, for the honor of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages
and the Victor over sin and death, for the increase of the glory of that same
august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the entire Church; by the
authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and
by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and
define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God,
the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was
assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.
Genesis 3:15 I will put enmities
between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy
head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
St Luke 1:28 And the angel being
come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art
thou among women.
Psalm 132:8 Arise, O Lord, into
thy resting place: thou and the ark, which thou hast sanctified.
1 Corinthians 15:22-23 And as in
Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But everyone in his
own order: the first-fruits Christ, then they that are of Christ, who have
believed in his coming.
Revelation 11:19, 12:1 And the
temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in
his temple, and there were lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake, and great
hail. … And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and
the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars…
"There was need that the body of her who in childbirth had preserved
her virginity intact, be preserved incorrupt after death. There was
need that she who had carried her Creator as a babe on her bosom,
should linger lovingly in the dwelling of her God. There was need that
the bride whom the Father had betrothed to Himself should live in the
bridal chamber of Heaven, that she who had looked so closely upon her
very own Son on the Cross, and who there felt in her heart the
sword-pangs of sorrow which in bearing Him she had been spared, should
look upon Him seated with His Father. There was need that God's Mother
should enter into her Son's possessions, and as a Mother of God and
hand-maid, be reverenced by all creation." - St. John Damascene (676 - 749 AD)
The Virgin was
betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of
David.
- St. Luke 1:27
The Fathers and Doctors of the Church agree that God Himself predestined and
sanctified St Joseph in order that he would be the husband and upholder of the
Blessed Virgin Mary and the father and protector of God the Son – Jesus. St.Epiphanius and St. Gregory, among other saints, believed that the selection of Joseph
as Mary’s spouse, predestined by God, was brought out by lot. This brings to
mind the process of the selection of the apostle Matthias in the New Testament.
When the Apostles were trying to find a replacement for Judas Iscariot, the man
who betrayed Christ, they gathered and prayed to God for a sign of who was to
be chosen and they drew lots between them:
Acts 1:24-26 – And they prayed and said, “Thou, Lord, who knows the hearts of
all, show us which of these two men you have chosen . . .” And they drew lots
between them and the lot fell upon Matthias…
When it came to the selection of St. Joseph, there were gathered a group of
young men of the House of David, Joseph among them, one of whom was to be
chosen as the husband of Mary. According to tradition, and the saints and
mystics of the Church, in order to discern a suitable husband for Mary, the
high priest Zachary, by divine inspiration, recalled how the Israelites
rebelled against Moses and Aaron. In order to convince the Israelites that
Aaron was the chosen High Priest, God said to Moses:
Numbers 17:1-23 – “Speak to the Israelites and get one staff from each of them
... Mark each man’s name on his staff; and mark Aaron’s name . . . Then lay
them down in the Meeting Tent . . . There the staff of the man of My choice
will sprout.” . . . The next day, when Moses entered the Tent, Aaron’s staff .
. . had sprouted and put forth not only shoots, but blossoms as well, and even
bore ripe almonds.
So using this example, Zachary told each of the young men of the House of David
to bring a rod with his name engraved on it, and the man whose rod blossomed
would be the chosen husband of Mary. Of course it was Joseph’s rod that
blossomed. This scene was seen as part of a fulfillment of the prophecy of
Isaiah and was revealed to Venerable Maria de Agreda and Blessed Anne Catherine
Emmerich:
Isaiah 11:1-5 – a shoot will sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots
a bud will blossom. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him...
Venerable Maria de Agreda: Among the number was Joseph . . . for he was one of
the descendants of the royal race of David . . . The Most High spoke to the
heart of the high priest, inspiring him to place into the hands of each one of
the young men a dry stick, with the command that each ask his Majesty with a
lively faith, to single out the one whom He had chosen as the spouse of Mary.
While they were thus engaged in prayer the staff which Joseph held was seen to
blossom and at the same time a dove of purest white and resplendent with
admirable light, was seen to descend and rest upon the head of the saint …
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich: As
Joseph was about to lay his staff on the altar before the Holy of Holies, a
white flower like a lily blossomed out of the top … I saw over him an
appearance of light like the Holy Ghost.
Servant of God, Mother Cecilia Baij: Suddenly Joseph saw his branch begin to
sprout and become bedecked with snow-white blossoms! Everyone around him was
soon staring at this miraculous sign. … All those present now saw a snow-white
dove descend from Heaven and settle on the head of Joseph. It was now quite
certain that of all the candidates, Joseph was the man of God’s choice.
This tradition of the selection of St. Joseph is still upheld by Christians to
this day and in almost every image or statue of St. Joseph, he is shown holding
his staff which is blooming flowers (either lilies or spikenard) or just
holding the flowers themselves. This is as a reminder of both his worthiness
and purity in the eyes of the Heavenly Father to be chosen as the spouse of the
Mother of God.
Imagine how honored Joseph would have felt to be the chosen one. Out of all
these men, some more successful than he, God chose a humble worker. Think of
how happy and yet nervous he would have been when seeing the Virgin Mary. Think
of the innocent awkwardness of Joseph and Mary when they first encountered each
other alone, in order to get to know each other. They would both have been
nervous because they had both made vows of virginity to the Lord. Mary would
have told Joseph this in order to be completely honest with him. He should not
expect to have sexual relations with her and therefore, she could not bear him
children. If he wanted, he could find a more suitable wife who had not made this
vow to the Lord.
Joseph however, was relieved at hearing these words. He too had made a vow to
the Lord to remain a virgin. How perfect a union this would be and how
wonderful the moment of their espousals—the choirs of angels must have rejoiced
in the Heavens at that sacred moment in history!
Venerable Maria de Agreda: In the interior of his heart God spoke: “Joseph, my
servant, Mary shall be thy spouse; accept her with attentive reverence, for she
is acceptable in my eyes, just and most pure in soul and body…” At this
manifestation and token from heaven the priests declared Saint Joseph to be the
spouse selected by God himself for the maiden Mary. Calling her forth for her
espousal, the chosen one issued forth like the sun, more resplendent than the moon,
and she entered into the presence of all with a countenance more beautiful than
that of an angel, incomparable in the charm of her beauty, nobility and grace;
and the priests espoused her to the most chaste and holy of men, Saint Joseph.
Proverbs 31:10-29 – Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing
prize! She brings him good, and not evil . . . She reaches out her hands to the
poor, and extends her arms to the needy. Her husband is prominent . . . She is
clothed with strength and dignity and she laughs at the days to come. She opens
her mouth in wisdom, and on her tongue is kindly counsel . . . Many are the
women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all!
When we read the beautiful Nuptial Ode, in the Book of Psalms, we can easily
envision Mary saying to her beloved:
Psalm 45:2-8 – “My heart overflows with a goodly theme as I sing my ode . . .
Fairer in beauty are you than the sons of men; grace is poured out upon your
lips; thus God has blessed you forever . . . God has anointed you with the oil
of gladness above your . . . kings!”
And Joseph serenades his bride:
Psalm 45:14-17 – “All glorious is the . . . daughter as she enters; her raiment
is threaded with spun gold. In embroidered apparel she is borne in . . . Behind
her the virgins of her train . . . are borne in with gladness and joy; . . . I
will make your name memorable through all generations; therefore shall nations
praise you forever and ever!”
The importance of the espousals between Joseph and Mary is shown to us in the
words of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Leo XIII:
Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican Gardens, 5 July 2010: The espousals between Joseph
and Mary are an episode of great importance. Joseph was of the royal line of
David and, in virtue of his marriage to Mary, would confer on the Son of the
Virgin — on God's Son — the legal tile of "Son of David," thus
fulfilling the prophecies. The espousals of Joseph and Mary are, because of
this, a human event, but determinant in the history of humanity's salvation, in
the realization of the promises of God; because of this, it also has a
supernatural connotation, which the two protagonists accept with humility and
trust.
Pope Leo XIII, Quamquam Pluries: The dignity of the Mother of God is certainly
so sublime that nothing can surpass it; but none the less, since the bond of
marriage existed between Joseph and the Blessed Virgin, there can be no doubt
that, more than any other person, he approached that supereminent dignity by
which the Mother of God is raised far above all created natures. For marriage
is the closest possible union and relationship whereby each spouse mutually
participates in the goods of the other. Consequently, if God gave Joseph as a
spouse to the Virgin he assuredly gave him not only as a companion in life, a witness
of her virginity, and the guardian of her honor, but also as a sharer in her
exalted dignity by reason of the conjugal tie itself.
Feast of the Espousals of Mary and Joseph: January 23 - Approved in 1546 by
Pope Paul III to celebrate the holy espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary and
St. Joseph.
Her children rise up and call her blessed... - Proverbs 31:28
The Mother of God. This is the first and most important title
of Our Lady. It refers to a quality, a role which the faith of the Christian
people, in its tender and genuine devotion to our heavenly Mother, has
understood from the beginning.
… Our pilgrimage of faith has been inseparably linked to Mary
ever since Jesus, dying on the Cross, gave her to us as our Mother, saying:
“Behold your Mother!” (Jn 19:27). These words serve as a testament, bequeathing
to the world a Mother. From that moment on, the Mother of God also became our
Mother! When the faith of the disciples was most tested by difficulties and
uncertainties, Jesus entrusted them to Mary, who was the first to believe, and
whose faith would never fail. The “woman” became our Mother when she lost her
divine Son. Her sorrowing heart was enlarged to make room for all men and
women, all, whether good or bad, and she loves them as she loved Jesus. The
woman who at the wedding at Cana in Galilee gave her faith-filled cooperation
so that the wonders of God could be displayed in the world, at Calvary kept
alive the flame of faith in the resurrection of her Son, and she communicates
this with maternal affection to each and every person. Mary becomes in this way
a source of hope and true joy!
Hail,
holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do
we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee to we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious
advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto
us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin
Mary.
V.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
