ST JOSEPH VS MEN OF DOUBT

Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, behold,an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,“Do not be afraid, Joseph, son of David, to take to thee Mary thy wife,for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.And she will bring forth a son, and you will call him Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins!” - St. Matthew 1:19-22

I sometimes wonder, "why didn't God send Joseph this message at the same time as Mary or at least shortly after? Why allow Joseph to agonize over the situation and contemplate divorce from Mary?" Had he been given this message promptly, he would have been spared this anxiety. He allowed Joseph to go through this because there is merit in suffering and also that the reward for this endurance would be greater than said suffering.

After learning that his Virgin Spouse had conceived, St. Joseph too had seen the angel and heard the message as he experienced the same event as his beloved - his own Annunciation! What a relief! With this dream the angel not only confirmed to Joseph that Mary was indeed with child by the power of the Holy Spirit, but that this child would one day save people from their sins. Also, Joseph is bestowed with the high honour of not only naming the boy “Jesus,” which means “God Saves,” but also raising the Son of the Most High as if He were his own son. God is telling him that he is worthy and has given him the grace necessary to take on this important task. Joseph found favour with the Lord and God Himself wants Joseph for a father! The angel tells Joseph to have no fear and to take Mary as his wife, and assume the legitimate rights and position of true father and true husband. God wants him specifically! Not the rich guy on the hill, not the noble warrior, but the humble worker.

 

In the Old Testament, we are given a similar story involving the highly revered forefather Abraham. The message is similar but the circumstances are different. Abraham is told that his ninety-year-old wife will conceive and bear a child in her old age, who was to become the great man Isaac.  Also, in the New Testament, the messenger Gabriel is sent to the Zechariah to announce that his elderly wife Elizabeth will bear a son to be named John, the cousin of Jesus.  Both Abraham and Zechariah place doubt in the messages given to them, whereas Joseph believes the angel completely:

And as Abraham fell prostrate, he laughed and said to himself, “Shall a son be born to the one who is a hundred years old? Shall Sara who is ninety bear a child? - Genesis 17:17

 “...thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.” And Zacharias said unto the angel, “Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.” - St. Luke 1:13-18

Just as unlikely that a hundred year-old man and his ninety-year-old wife would conceive and have a child born to them, so too was it impossible for a virgin to conceive. However, unlike father Abraham who laughed at this notion and Zechariah who doubted, Joseph the Humble accepted the message that was entrusted to him. He might not have completely understood how this was to be, but for him it did not matter. What mattered was his complete trust in God and the utter surrender to His Divine Will.

“Therefore, take these words of mine into your heart and soul. Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be a pendant on your forehead.” - Deuteronomy 11:18

As soon as the dream was over, he got up and went straight to Mary to tell her the news. God has not abandoned him after all! He apologized to Mary and said that he would indeed be her husband and protector and that he was honoured to have her for his wife, and to have the child within her as his son. He reaffirmed his love and commitment to her and the unborn Son of God.

And Joseph rising up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took unto him his wife. - St. Matthew 1:24

CORD OF ST JOSEPH

The devotion of the “Cord of St. Joseph” began in Antwerp, Belgium in the year 1637.  There lived a pious nun of the Augustinian Order named Sister Elizabeth who was ill and suffered great pains for years. There came a time at which her doctors declared her death to be inevitable and imminent. Turning to the intercession of St. Joseph, she prayed for him to place her petitions before Christ. To show her faith in St. Joseph, she had a cord blessed in his honour, girded herself with it and prayed. A few days later she completely regained her health, to the astonishment and bewilderment of the all the doctors. Those who were acquainted with her illness declared her recovery miraculous; an act of authenticity was drawn up with a public notary and the doctor, who happened to be a Protestant, concurred. The miracle was recorded and published at Verona and Rome between 1810-42. During the month of March of the latter year, the Devotion to the Cord came into existence. Cords were blessed in the Church of St. Nicholas, Verona, for hospital patients.

These cords, now known as the “St. Joseph Cord” are knotted with 7 knots. They are worn as an act of faith and meditation on the 7 Sorrows and 7 Joys of St. Joseph. It is also worn as a reminder of purity, chastity and humility. Graces attributed to the wearing of this cord are as follows: St. Joseph’s special protection, purity of the soul, the grace of chastity, final perseverance and assistance at the hour of death.

For further information on the Cord of St Joseph, please visit Catholic Tradition HERE. 

For an audio devotional of the 7 Sorrows & 7 Joys of St Joseph, please visit the Apostolate of St Joseph HERE.

St Joseph Patron of the Catholic Church

Psalm 105:21 - He made him master of his house, and ruler of all his possessions.

Blessed Pope Pius IX, Inclytum Patriarcham: In these latter times in which a monstrous and most abominable war has been declared against the Church of Christ … we should more efficaciously implore the compassion of God through the merits and intercession of Saint Joseph … Hence, by a special decree… We solemnly declare the blessed patriarch Joseph Patron of the Universal Church! … O God, who in your ineffable providence was pleased to choose blessed Joseph as the spouse of your most holy mother, grant, we beseech you, that we may be made worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom we venerate as our protector on earth…

Blessed Pope Pius IX, Inclytum Patriarcham: The Catholic Church rightly honors and venerates, with a feeling of deep reverence, the illustrious patriarch blessed Joseph, now crowned with glory and honor in heaven. On earth Almighty God, in preference to all His saints, willed him to be the chaste and true spouse of the Immaculate Virgin Mary as well as the putative father of His only-begotten Son. He indeed enriched him and filled him to overflowing with entirely unique graces, enabling him to execute more faithfully the duties of so sublime a state.

Pope Benedict XVI, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 19 March 2009: Dear brothers and sisters, our meditation on the human and spiritual journey of Saint Joseph invites us to ponder his vocation in all its richness, and to see him as a constant model for all those who have devoted their lives to Christ in the priesthood, in the consecrated life or in the different forms of lay engagement. Joseph was caught up at every moment by the mystery of the Incarnation. Not only physically, but in his heart as well, Joseph reveals to us the secret of a humanity which dwells in the presence of mystery and is open to that mystery at every moment of everyday life.

Pope Leo XIII, Quamquam Pluries: The Blessed Patriarch Joseph looks upon the multitude of Christians who make up the Church as confided especially to his trust - this limitless family spread over the earth, over which, because he is the spouse of Mary and the father of Jesus Christ he holds, as it were, a paternal authority. It is, then, natural and worthy that as the Blessed Joseph ministered to all the needs of the family at Nazareth and girt it about with his protection, he should now cover with the cloak of his heavenly patronage and defend the Church of Jesus Christ.

Venerable Pope Paul VI, Homily, 19 March 1969: The Church invokes St. Joseph as her Patron and Protector through her unshakable trust that he to whom Christ willed to confide the care and protection of His own frail human childhood, will continue from heaven to perform his protective task in order to guide and defend the Mystical Body of Christ Himself, which is always weak, always under attack, always in a state of peril. We call upon St. Joseph for the world, trusting that the heart of the humble working man of Nazareth, now overflowing with immeasurable wisdom and power, still harbors and will always harbor a singular and precious fellow-feeling for the whole of mankind. So may it be.

Pope Benedict XV, Bonum Sane: We, full of confidence in the patronage of the one to whose provident supervision God was pleased to entrust the custody of his only-begotten Incarnate Son, and the Virgin Mother of God, we earnestly exhort all the Bishops of the Catholic world that, in times so turbulent for Christianity, to induce the faithful to pray with greater commitment for valuable help of St. Joseph. And since there are several ways approved by the Apostolic See with whom you can venerate the Holy Patriarch, especially every Wednesday throughout the year and month consecrated to Him, We want, for every Bishop to heed these requests - that all these devotions, as much as possible, are practiced in every diocese.

Pope Benedict XVI, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 19 March 2009: The life of Saint Joseph, lived in obedience to God’s word, is an eloquent sign for all the disciples of Jesus who seek the unity of the Church. His example helps us to understand that it is only by complete submission to the will of God that we become effective workers in the service of his plan to gather together all mankind into one family, one assembly, one ‘ecclesia.’

St. Bernardino of Sienna: What then is Joseph’s position in the whole Church of Christ? Is he not a man chosen and set apart? Through him and, yes, under him, Christ was fittingly and honorably introduced into the world. Holy Church in its entirety is indebted to the Virgin Mother because through her it was judged worthy to receive Christ. But after her we undoubtedly owe special gratitude and reverence to Saint Joseph.

Pope Benedict XV, Bonum Sane: We now see, with true sorrow, that society is now much more depraved and corrupt than before, and that the so-called "social question" has been aggravating to such an extent as to create the threat of irreparable ruin. … World Government will no longer acknowledge the authority of the father over his children, or of the public power over the citizens, or of God over human society. All things which, if implemented, would lead to terrible social convulsions, like those which are already happening… We, therefore, concerned most of all by the course of these events … remind those on Our side, who earn their bread by their work, to save them from socialism, the sworn enemy of Christian principles, with great solicitude recommend them in particular to St. Joseph, to follow him as their guide and to receive the special honor of his heavenly patronage.

Pope Pius XI, Divini Redemptoris: To hasten the advent of that "peace of Christ in the kingdom of Christ" so ardently desired by all, We entrust the vast campaign of the Church against world Communism under the standard of St. Joseph, her mighty Protector. He belongs to the working-class, and he bore the burdens of poverty for himself and the Holy Family, whose tender and vigilant head he was. To him was entrusted the Divine Child when Herod loosed his assassins against Him. In a life of faithful performance of everyday duties, he left an example for all those who must gain their bread by the toil of their hands. He won for himself the title of "The Just," serving thus as a living model of that Christian justice which should reign in social life.

Pope Francis, Inaugural Mass, 19 March 2013: How does Joseph respond to his calling to be the protector of Mary, Jesus and the Church? By being constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans, and not simply to his own. […] Joseph is a “protector” because he is able to hear God’s voice and be guided by his will; and for this reason he is all the more sensitive to the persons entrusted to his safekeeping. He can look at things realistically, he is in touch with his surroundings, and he can make truly wise decisions. In him, dear friends, we learn how to respond to God’s call, readily and willingly, but we also see the core of the Christian vocation, which is Christ! Let us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others, so that we can protect creation!

 

 

ITE AD IOSEPH - GO TO JOSEPH

St. Alphonsus Liguori:  There is no doubt about it: just as Jesus Christ wanted to be subject to Joseph on earth, so he does everything the saint asks of him in heaven. When Egypt was laid waste by the great famine, Pharaoh told his people, Ite ad Joseph! - Go to Joseph! So if we are in trouble, let us listen to the word of the Lord and take Pharaoh's advice; let us go to Joseph if we wish to be consoled... Above all, I most strongly urge you to ask him for three special graces: forgiveness of sins, love of Jesus Christ, and a happy death.

Venerable Pope Pius XII, Address, 1 May 1955:  St Joseph is the best protector to help you in your life, to penetrate the spirit of the Gospel.  Indeed, from the Heart of the God-Man, Savior of the world, this spirit is infused in you and in all men, but it is certain that there was no worker’s spirit so perfectly and deeply penetrated as the putative father of Jesus, who lived with him in the closest intimacy and community of family and work. So, if you want to be close to Christ, I repeat to you "Ite ad Ioseph”: Go to Joseph!

St. Pio of Pietrelcina:  St. Joseph, with the love and generosity with which he guarded Jesus, so too will he guard your soul, and as he defended him from Herod, so will he defend your soul by the fiercest Herod: the devil! All the care that the Patriarch St. Joseph has for Jesus, he has for you and will always help you with his patronage. He will free you from the persecution of the wicked and proud Herod, and will not allow your heart to be estranged from Jesus. Ite ad Ioseph! Go to Joseph with extreme confidence, because I, like St. Teresa of Avila, do not remember having asked anything from St. Joseph, without having obtained it readily. 

Happy & Holy Death of St Joseph

St. Luke 2:29 - Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace…  

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. 

Venerable Maria de Agreda: The day before St. Joseph died, being wholly inflamed with divine love, he was wrapped in an ecstasy... 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. 

St. Francis de Sales:  St. Joseph, who had loved so much in his life, could not die but of love; … and having already performed the duty which was required in the childhood of Jesus, what remained was that he should say … to the Son, “O my child! As your heavenly Father put your tender body into my hands the day you came into this world, so do I render up my soul into your hands, this day of my departure out of the world.” Such, as I conceive, was the death of this great patriarch, a man elected to perform the most tender and loving offices that ever were or shall be performed to the Son of God, save those that were done by his sacred spouse, the true natural mother of the said Son.

St. Alphonsus Liguori:  "Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His faithful ones" (Ps. 115:6). After having faithfully served Jesus and Mary, St. Joseph reached the end of his life in the house at Nazareth. There, surrounded by angels, assisted by Jesus Christ the King of angels, and by Mary, his spouse, who placed themselves at each side of his poor bed, filled with the peace of paradise, he departed from this miserable life. Who shall ever be able to understand the sweetness, the consolation, the blessed hope, the acts of resignation, the flames of charity which the words of eternal life coming alternately from the lips of Jesus and Mary, breathed into the soul of Joseph at the end of his life?