♔ THE SELECTION OF JOSEPH AS THE HUSBAND OF MARY & THE HOLY ESPOUSALS ♔

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.