♔ ST JOSEPH PATRON OF THE CHURCH ♔

After the assumption of St. Joseph into Heaven one would be in error to conclude that his mission thus ended as well. Having nurtured and protected the young Jesus on earth, so too does St. Joseph watch over the Mystical Body of Christ - the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church!

In 1870 Blessed Pius IX,   issued   “Quemadmodum Deus.”   In  this  document we see the reality of the  Church  coming  under  attack,  from  all  sides and even from within. Pius IX,   stricken  with  grief  by  the assaults against the Church decided to turn to St. Joseph, not only composing a   prayer   to   him,   but   going   one   step   further,   and proclaiming  St. Joseph   to   be   the   Patron  of  the  Universal Church! This is no idle gesture in the eyes of those who truly love the Mystical Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Let us read an excerpt from Quemadmodum Deus:

And now, in these most troublesome times, the Church is beset by enemies on every side, and is weighed down by calamities so heavy that ungodly men assert that the gates of hell have at length prevailed against her, the venerable prelates of the whole Catholic world have presented to the Sovereign Pontiff their own petitions and those of the faithful committed to their charge, praying that he would deign to constitute St. Joseph Patron of  the Church. … Accordingly, it has now pleased our Most Holy Sovereign, Pope Pius IX, in order to entrust himself and all the faithful to the Patriarch St. Joseph’s most powerful patronage, has chosen to comply with the prelates’ desire and has solemnly declared him Patron of the Catholic  Church. – Pope Pius IX

We see from this excerpt that initially it was the people who wanted St. Joseph’s help for the Church, who petitioned their bishops, who then approached the Holy Father. Humanity was crying out for St. Joseph’s intercession. The Pope lamented that “The Church is beset by enemies on every side…” and this was all too obvious at the time as the 19th century brought much violence against the Catholic Church. How much more does our Church suffer at the hands of the world today. The Franco-Prussian war was being fought; the Italian governments wanted to take over Rome which before then had always been under the Pope’s authority; King Victor Emmanuel II waged open war against Pope Pius IX and the anti-clerical newspapers applauded the taking over of the Papal States.

This is one of the great reasons why Pius IX turned to Joseph, to protect the Papacy and the Church. The proclaiming of St. Joseph as Patron of the Catholic Church was no idle gesture. In times of calamity the papacy looked to him who had the duty of protecting none other than God the Son and His Blessed Mother.

If we truly believe that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, then we must have a special devotion to St. Joseph who guards this Body! He resembles the cherub who held the flaming sword, appointed by God to guard the Garden of Eden. If we hold to be true that the Holy Father is the Vicar of Christ then we must believe in the Church’s pronouncement of St. Joseph being named Patron of the Catholic Church. When a Pope speaks, his are not just meaningless words: his words are binding.

Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven… – St. Matthew 18:18

St. Joseph is pure, humble and obedient, whereas the Devil and his followers are the far opposite. They know nothing of love or purity and since these attributes are a part of the embodiment of St. Joseph, they are afraid of him. The serpent who seduced in the Garden of Eden—the Dragon who makes war on the Church in the Book of Revelation, is terrified of all that is true and holy. The Devil tempts Eve to disobey God because he is afraid of those who follow the Lord. By being afraid and at the same time too proud, the Devil resorts to manipulation and seduction to divert Eve from what is good, with Adam falling with her. The downfall of Adam and Eve is the Serpent’s triumph. Satan, in the guise of the Dragon of Revelation, makes war on the wondrous Woman Clothed with the Sun and seeks to devour her Son and those who follow him. The Dragon seeks to destroy what he does not know. He does not know love; therefore he is afraid of it, seeking to eradicate it. Since the Church is the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, which was instituted by Christ himself, the Devil wants to destroy it. If he can conquer the Church, and those who are a part of it, he is victorious.

Pope Leo XIII knew this, and even after going to St. Michael the Archangel in 1884, he still wanted more reinforcement. In 1889 he composed the Encyclical Quamquam Pluries  concerning devotion to St. Joseph. He called upon St. Joseph, because no saint, save the Blessed Virgin Mary, is as holy, as valiant, and as powerful as he is. Just as Satan is afraid of the Immaculate One, so too is he terrified of her Blessed Spouse. St. Joseph is pure of heart, body, mind and intention. St. Joseph was a man, born of a woman, and yet he is holier than the angels themselves! The demons were once holy angels and their pride brought about their downfall, so seeing this man who is all holy and all obedient to God, scares them. How could a mere man attain such greatness and glory through God? Their pride will not allow them to see this man. They are blinded with rage and are confused as to why God chose to subject himself as the Son of St. Joseph of Nazareth, a mortal.

When on Earth the Infant Jesus was hunted by King Herod, St. Joseph took him and his mother, stealing them away into the night. The Devil hoped that through the tyrant King, Jesus would be found and killed—putting a stop to God’s plan for salvation. Even before Jesus was born, St. Joseph himself was tempted to abandon the Blessed Virgin and the Son of God, but Satan would be disappointed as Joseph would prove to be, by the grace of God, the most determined of men. St. Joseph was to become one of the Devil’s greatest adversaries—even to this day.

St. Joseph was rewarded for all that he had done on Earth for God’s greater glory and has become a Prince in the Royal Court of Heaven as well as in the Holy Church on Earth. He has been granted the gifts of power and position and Satan knows this and loathes him for it. He reels with anger as he contemplates this man who God has deigned to elevate as the noble Prince of the Church. Since the Devil cannot destroy Jesus Christ, he tries to destroy the Church and those souls who are a part of it.

Pope Leo XIII, knowing the importance of St. Joseph and his position in Heaven, turns the Church, and the souls of the faithful, over to his care. The prayer he has composed is thematically similar to the prayer addressed to St. Michael, stressing the invocation for protection:

To you, O Blessed Joseph, we come in our trials, and having asked the help of your most Holy Spouse, we confidently ask your patronage also. Through  that sacred bond of charity which united you to the Immaculate Virgin   Mother of God and through the fatherly love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you to look graciously upon the beloved inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by his blood, and to aid us in our necessities with your power and strength. O most provident guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ. Most beloved father, dispel the evil of falsehood and sin. Our most mighty protector, graciously assist us from heaven in our struggle with the powers of darkness. And just as you once saved the Child Jesus from mortal danger, so now defend God’s Holy Church from the snares of her enemies and from all adversity. Shield each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your help, we may be able to live a virtuous life, to die a holy death, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. + Amen.

Pope Leo XIII has given the command to invoke and venerate a man and an angel—both beloved by the Heavenly Father. St. Joseph and St. Michael the Archangel are given to us by God as militant saints who are entrusted with the honorable duty of defending the Mystical Body of Christ. Let us not ignore the pleadings of this great Pontiff but rather take heed and listen to his words. The message of Pope Leo is just as urgent now as it was in the 19th century. 

Thirty-three years later St. Joseph appeared at Fatima, Portugal on the very anniversary of the Vision of Pope Leo, October 13, 1917. In this apparition, St. Joseph traced the Sign of The Cross with his right hand, blessing the world, as if to say that he was still vigilant in his role as Patron of the Church and still keeping watch over the faithful. He will not abandon God’s Church, nor His people.

We beheld St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white with a blue mantle, beside the sun. St. Joseph and the Child Jesus appeared to bless the world, for they traced the sign of the cross with their hands.  – Servant of God, Sister Lúcia of Fátima

Successive Popes since the time of Leo XIII have continually exhorted the faithful to form a special devotion to St. Joseph the Patron of the Church. Just as St. Joseph led his family into and out of exile, so too does he lead the Mystical Body of Christ who is experiencing hardship and trial. More recently, on July 5, 2014, His Holiness Pope Francis has consecrated the Vatican City State to the protection of both St. Michael the Archangel and St. Joseph, showing us that the mission of these two saints has not ended, but is very real even today:

Michael is the champion of the primacy of God, of His transcendence and power. Michael struggles to restore divine justice and defends the People of God from his enemies, above all by the enemy par excellence, the Devil. And St. Michael wins because in him, there is his God who acts. … Though the devil always tries to disfigure the   face of the Archangel and that of humanity, God is stronger; it is His victory and His salvation that is offered to all men. … In consecrating Vatican City State to St. Michael the Archangel, I ask him to defend us from the evil one and banish him. We also consecrate Vatican City State to St. Joseph, guardian of Jesus, the guardian of the Holy Family. May his presence make us stronger and more courageous in making space for God in our lives to always defeat evil with good. We ask him to protect us, take care of us, so that a life of grace grows stronger in each of us every day.  – Pope Francis  

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!

 ST JOSEPH PATRON OF THE CHURCH PT 1

 

ST JOSEPH PATRON OF THE CHURCH PT 2