Nobility of St Joseph - St Peter Julian Eymard

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Excerpts from "Mois de St Joseph, le Premier et le Plus Parfait des Adorateurs"

When God the Father decided to give His Son to the world, He wanted to do so with honor, since He is worthy of all honor and glory. He thus prepared Him a court and royal service worthy of Him: God desired that His Son should have an honorable and glorious reception on earth, if not in the eyes of the world, at least in His own eyes. The mystery of grace in the Incarnation of the Word was not improvised, and those who were chosen to take part in it had been prepared by Him long in advance. The court of the Son of God made Man was composed of Mary and Joseph; God Himself could not have found more worthy servants for His Son.

Let us consider particularly St. Joseph. Charged with the formation of the Royal Prince of Heaven and Earth, responsible for directing and serving Him, it was necessary that St. Joseph’s service should be on a par with his Divine Pupil - it would not be fitting for God to be ashamed of His father. Therefore, since He was King, of the line of David, He made St. Joseph to be born of this same royal line. He wanted him to be noble, of an earthly nobility. In the veins of St. Joseph, therefore, flowed the blood of David and Solomon, and of all the noble kings of Judah. If his dynasty had remained on the throne, St. Joseph would have been the heir and would have sat on the throne in his turn.

Pay no mind to his actual poverty: injustice had expelled his family from the throne to which he had the right. For this he was no less a king, the son of these kings of Judah, the greatest, noblest and richest in the world. Thus in the census records of Bethlehem, St. Joseph was inscribed and recognized by the Roman governor as the heir of David: therein lies his royal title, which is easily identifiable and bears the royal signature.

But someone might ask, "What is the importance of Joseph’s nobility? Jesus came only to humble Himself." I answer that the Son of God, who wanted to humble Himself for a time, also wished to unite in His Person all types of grandeur. He also is a King, by right of inheritance, since He is of royal blood. Jesus was noble, and when He chose His Apostles from the common people, He made them nobles. He had that right, given that He was the Son of Abraham and heir to the throne of David. He loves this honor of family. The Church does not judge nobility in terms of democracy. Let us respect, therefore, what she respects. Nobility belongs to God.

Must one, then, be noble to serve Our Lord? If you were noble, you would give Him further glory, but it is not necessary. He is satisfied with good will and nobility of heart. Albeit, Church annals show us that a large number of Saints, and the more illustrious ones, had a coat of arms, a name, and a distinguished family - some were even of royal blood.

Our Lord loves to be honored by all that is honorable. St. Joseph received an exquisite formation in the Temple; thus God prepared him to be the noble servant of His Son, the knight of the most noble Prince, the protector of the most august Queen, the Queen of the universe.