During the night of January 2, 1885, and old man presented
himself to a priest asking him to come to the bedside of a dying woman and
indicating the address to which he wanted to take him.
The street that the old man pointed out was one of ill
repute. The old man himself was a total stranger, and night was falling. The
priest feared that it might be a trap, so he hesitated; but the old man urged
him on.
“We cannot delay; it involves giving the Last Rites to a poor
old woman at the point of death.”
Faced with such a sacred duty, the priest no longer hesitated
and followed the messenger. The night was bitterly cold, but the old man did
not seem to notice. He went ahead and said to the priest:
“I will wait for you at the door.”
The door in front of which they stopped belonged to one of
the most notorious houses of the area, and the priest, who was carrying the
Blessed Sacrament, had another moment of apprehension. But remembering that Our
Lord came to save sinners, on the instruction of his guide, he pulled hard on
the bell. There was no reply.
He knocked several times, but there was still no response.
The old man was standing back at a distance, and the priest
finally said to him:
“As you can see, this is hopeless. No one is coming to let us
in…”
“Let me knock,” replied the mysterious person, stepping
forward as the priest drew back. “As soon as the door is opened, go in quickly.
Go up the stairs and open the door of the bedroom at the end of the hall; there
you will find the dying woman.”
These strange words were spoken with such authority that the
priest made no objection. The old man knocked on the door in a peculiar way,
and it opened immediately. This time the priest did not hesitate; he entered,
climbed the stairs, opened the door that had been indicated, and found a woman
stretched out on a bed of pain, who, between her cries of agony, constantly
repeated:
“A priest! A priest! They are going to let me die without a
priest.”
The minister of God approached her:
“My daughter, a priest is here.”
But she did not believe him.
“No,” she cried out. “No one in this house would care to
fetch a priest.”
“My daughter, an old man brought me to you.”
“I don’t know any old man.” replied the dying woman.
Nevertheless, the priest managed, little by little, to
convince her that he was indeed the minister of God for whom she had been
calling, and he offered her the sacraments.
She confessed to a long life of sin which had been weighing
heavily on her conscience. She showed such lively contrition that the priest,
astonished at meeting such faith in a person so completely separated from God,
asked her if she had not kept up some devotional practice.
“None,” she said, “except a prayer that I used to recite each
day to St. Joseph, to obtain a happy death.”
The priest prepared everything for the Last Rites and, during
this time, several people entered the bedroom, then left without appearing to
notice him.
He gave the repentant sinner Holy Communion as well as
Extreme Unction and left her only when, very peacefully, she gave up her
purified soul into the hands of Jesus Christ.
The priest was alone and did not meet anyone as he left the
house and returned home.
While thinking about the events of that night and of his
consoling mission, he became firmly convinced that the charitable old man was
none other than the glorious and merciful St. Joseph, in disguise, patron saint
of a happy death.
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♔ PRAYER FOR A HAPPY DEATH ♔
O Blessed Joseph, who didst yield thy
last breath in the fond embrace of Jesus and Mary, when the seal of death shall
close my career in life, come, holy Father, with Jesus and Mary, to aid me, and
obtain for me this only solace which I ask for in that hour, to die encircled
by their holy arms. Into your sacred hands, living and dying, Jesus, Mary,
Joseph, I commend my soul. Amen.
St. Alphonsus de Liguori (The Glories of Mary): Who can comprehend the affection with which the Blessed Virgin’s dear spouse
St. Joseph came to salute her? Who can describe the joy that the holy patriarch
experienced at seeing his spouse arrive in Heaven with so much triumph, made
Queen of all Paradise?
With what tenderness did he say to her: "Ah! my Lady and
spouse how shall I ever be able to thank our God as I ought for having made me
thy spouse, thou who art his true mother? Through thee I merited on earth to
attend upon the childhood of the incarnate Word, to bear him so often in my
arms, and receive from him so many special favors.
Blessed be the moments that
I spent in life serving Jesus and thee, my holy spouse. Behold our Jesus; let
us console ourselves that now he is no more lying in a stable upon hay, as we saw
him at his birth in Bethlehem; he does not now live poor and despised in a
shop, as once he lived with us in Nazareth; he is not now nailed to a shameful
cross, as when he died for the salvation of the world in Jerusalem; but he sits
at the right hand of the Father, as King and Lord of Heaven and of earth.
And
now, oh my queen, we shall never more depart from his holy feet, where we shall
bless and love him eternally."
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)
Blessed are
the dead who die in the Lord henceforth. Yes, says the Spirit, let them rest
from their labours, for their works follow them. — Revelation 14:13
After the
event of the Passover in Jerusalem, we are not given any details about the life
of the Holy Family in the Bible until Christ reaches the age of thirty years.
What would have gone on during these years? These years would have been simpler
and quieter than the preceding ones, with Jesus and St. Joseph working side by
side at their trade. After this period of time, there are only brief references
made to St. Joseph:
How did this
man come by this wisdom and these miracles? Is this not the carpenter’s son? — St. Matthew 13:54-55
We have found him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did
write, Jesus the son of Joseph of Nazareth. — St. John 1:45
They said: is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph? — St. John 6:42
It is widely
held that St. Joseph had passed away in Nazareth, while Jesus was still at
home, before he departed and began his public ministry. Joseph is no longer
mentioned, whereas Our Lady is still mentioned during and after this time in
Christ’s life. The most notable examples are the Wedding Feast of Cana and the
Crucifixion of Our Lord, which mention Mary but not her blessed spouse, who
surely would have been at her side during these moments.
. . . A
marriage feast took place at Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was
there. — St. John 2:1
Now there
were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary
wife of Cleophas . . .—St. John 19:25
Surely, if
Mary had been invited to the wedding feast, Joseph would have been with her as
well, after all, a wedding feast is a gathering of family and friends, but he
wasn’t. At the crucifixion scene, the mother of Christ stands at the foot of
the cross with her sister and with John, the beloved apostle, to whom Jesus
entrusts his mother. Had Joseph been alive, there would have been no need to
place Mary into the care of his best friend.
One question
that some people ask is, since Jesus had the power to resurrect the dead, such
as he did for his friend Lazarus, why did he not do the same for his father on
earth? Jesus did not do this for Joseph because Joseph had fulfilled his
mission on earth – to guard, nurture and raise the Son of God into manhood.
Joseph had indeed accomplished what the Lord had asked of him and fulfilled it
with the utmost of love, honour, and humility. We are told by tradition that
Joseph died out of his overwhelming love for Jesus.
Joseph is
invoked as the Patron of a Happy Death, since we believe that he had the
privilege of dying in the arms of Jesus, his Lord and Son, and Mary, his most
blessed spouse. According to the Venerable Maria de Agreda, he died in this way:
_______________________________
St. Joseph’s
noble soul had been purified more and more each day in the crucible of
affliction and of divine love. As the time passed his bodily strength gradually
diminished and he approached the unavoidable end...
… For nine days and nights before
the death of Saint Joseph he uninterruptedly enjoyed the company and attendance
of Mary and her divine Son. By command of the Lord the holy angels, three times
on each of the nine days, furnished celestial music, mixing their hymns of
praise with the benedictions of the sick man. Moreover, their humble but most
precious dwelling was filled with the sweetest fragrance and odors so wonderful
that they comforted not only Saint Joseph, but invigorated all the numerous
persons who happened to come near the house.
On the day
before he died, being wholly inflamed with divine love on account of these
blessings, he was wrapped in an ecstasy which lasted twenty–four hours. The
Lord himself supplied Joseph the strength he needed for this miracle. In this
ecstasy he saw clearly the divine Essence, and, manifested therein, all that he
had believed by faith the incomprehensible Divinity, the mystery of the
Incarnation and Redemption, the militant Church with all its Sacraments and
mysteries. The blessed Trinity commissioned and assigned him as the messenger
of our Savior to the holy Patriarchs
and Prophets of limbo; and commanded him to prepare them for their issuing
forth from this bosom of Abraham to eternal rest and happiness.
When Saint Joseph issued from this
ecstasy his face shone with wonderfulsplendor
and his soul was transformed by his vision of the essence of God.… The most humble Joseph, sealing his life
with an act of self–abasement, asked pardon of his heavenly Spouse for all his
deficiencies in her service and love … The last words which Saint Joseph spoke
to his Spouse were:
“Blessed art Thou among all women
and elect of all the creatures. Let angels and men praise Thee; let all the
generations know, praise and exaltthy
dignity; and may in Thee be known, adored and exalted the name of the Most High
through all the coming ages; may He be eternally praised for having created
Thee so pleasing in His eyes and in the sight of all the blessed spirits. I
hope to enjoy thy sight in the heavenly fatherland.”
Then this man of God, turning toward
Christ, our Lord, in profoundest reverence, wished to kneel before Him. But the
sweetest Jesus, coming near, received him in his arms, where, reclining his
head upon them, Joseph said:
“My highest Lord and God, Son of the eternal
Father, Creator and Redeemer of the World, give thy blessing to thy servant and
the works of thy hand; pardon, O most merciful King, the faults which I have
committed in thy service and interactions. I extol and magnify Thee and render
eternal and heartfelt thanks to Thee for having … chosen me to be the spouse of
thy true Mother; let thy greatness and glory be my thanksgiving for all
eternity.”
The Redeemer of the world gave him his
benediction, saying: “My father, rest in peace and in the grace of myeternal Father and mine; and to the Prophets and Saints, who await thee in
limbo, bring the joyful news of the approach of their redemption.” At these
words of Jesus, and reclining in his arms, the most fortunate Saint Joseph
expired and the Lord himself closed his eyes. At the same time the multitude of
the angels, who attended upon their King and Queen, intoned hymns of praise in
loud and harmonious voices. By command of the Lord they carried his most holy
soul to the gathering–place of the
Patriarchs and Prophets, where it was immediately recognized by all as clothed
in the splendors of incomparable grace, as the putative father and the intimate
friend of the Redeemer, worthy of highest veneration. … His arrival spread joy
in this countless gathering of the saints by the announcement of their speedy
rescue.– Venerable Maria de Agreda _____________________________________
St. Joseph, having completed the
mission entrusted to him on earth, was now ready for the next stage in his
service to God. He was to be a herald and comfort to the Patriarchs of Limbo –
announcing their coming redemption. After the Ascension of Christ, he would
then be brought to Heaven where he would take on another role in God’s plan –
that of the intercessor.
♔ THE BOSOM OF ABRAHAM ♔ In the
Gospel of John, Jesus tells us that no one has entered Heaven except for
himself, and that no one will enter it until he has returned to the Father.
Jesus is the gateway to the Eternal Paradise of Heaven since it was He who
conquered the corruption of death, but doesn’t the Old Testament tell us that
Elias was carried up to Heaven in a chariot of fire?
And it came
to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias into heaven by a whirlwind . . .
behold a fiery chariot and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias
went up by a whirlwind into heaven. — 4 Kings
2:1, 11
The prophets
of the Old Testament were taken to Limbo, which is a type of waiting room to
get into Heaven. Those who have not known Jesus Christ but who have led
righteous lives go to this place. This would be the place of the dead, of those
who had died before Jesus Himself was crucified and died, only to rise up from
His tomb. As mentioned above in the
extract from Venerable Maria de Agreda, Joseph is sent to Limbo in order to
bring the good news that those souls would soon see the Messiah and enter into
Heaven with Him.
The word
“Limbo” refers to the edge of a hem on a garment, so the word is telling us
that it is the border of two different places, and that is why this term is
used to describe this place of waiting. The Bible itself does not use this
word, but the place has been referred to as the Bosom of Abraham. This place
was separated by a chasm with the righteous on one side and the wicked on the
other. Jesus Himself refers to this place in the Parable of the Unjust Steward:
And it came
to pass that the poor man died and was borne away by the angels into Abraham’s
bosom; but the rich man also died and was buried in hell. And lifting up his
eyes, being in torments, he saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus (the poor man) in his bosom. — St. Luke 16:22-24
St.
Augustine (354-430) and St. Hippolytus of Rome (ca.170-236) both refer to
Abraham’s Bosom as the place in the afterlife where the spirits await their
entry into Heaven, and we cannot doubt that Joseph went to this place of Limbo.
His mission on earth had just ended, but an even greater one was about to
begin. We picture Joseph in the arms of his beloved Son as he sighs his last
breath, with the peace of leaving this world behind to enter into his reward.
His years of hard work and dutiful service to his family have paid off and have
delivered him into eternal glory – in which we all hope to share.
Now Thou
dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word, in peace . . . —St. Luke 2:29
St.
Alphonsus Liguori:Since we all must die, we should cherish a special devotion
to St. Joseph, that he may obtain for us a happy death. All Christians regard
him as the advocate of the dying who had honored him during their life, and
they do so for three reasons: First, because Jesus Christ loved him not only as
a friend, but as a father, and on this account his mediation is far more
efficacious than that of any other Saint. Second, because St. Joseph has obtained
special power against the evil spirits, who tempt us with redoubled vigor at
the hour of death. Third, the assistance given St. Joseph at his death by Jesus
and Mary obtained for him the right to secure a holy and peaceful death for his
servants. Hence, if they invoke him at the hour of death he will not only help
them, but he will also obtain for them the assistance of Jesus and Mary.
The Death of St. Joseph is celebrated by the Coptic Church on Abib 26 (July 20 – Julian Calendar, August 2 – Gregorian
Calendar)
O Blessed Joseph, who didst yield thy
last breath in the fond embrace of Jesus and Mary, when the seal of death shall
close my career in life, come, holy Father, with Jesus and Mary, to aid me, and
obtain for me this only solace which I ask for in that hour, to die encircled
by their holy arms. Into your sacred hands, living and dying, Jesus, Mary,
Joseph, I commend my soul. Amen.
