♔ THE PERFECT CHASTITY OF ST. JOSEPH ♔

By Dom Bernard Marechaux O.S.B: The spirit in St. Joseph was submitted to God in perfect justice, which, actually identified with charity and adorned with the gift of wisdom, made him feel and follow the will of God in all things and made him admirable docile to the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Subsequently, the flesh, in this chosen one of God, was particularly submissive to the spirit: Joseph the just was the most chaste among men.

There is a logical consequence of the spirit’s disposition on the flesh, which is confirmed with the rigor of a law imposed by God Himself. Insofar as the spirit withdraws from the submission it owes to God, the flesh withdraws from the submission it owes to the spirit. Man finds punishment for his pride, which causes him to revolt against God, in the rebellion of his passions which rise up against reason and make him feel ashamed of himself. Fortunate is he when the resulting humiliation, through the direct action of grace which brings good out of evil, contributes to his return to God!

No other man was more just than St. Joseph or more humble in his justice, and no one will ever surpass or even equal him in chastity. The fact that he was chosen by God from the whole of humanity to become the Spouse of Mary, bears witness to a purity brighter than the sun.

Reflect upon this: St. Joseph’s heart was created by God to love the most pure Virgin Mary. Hence, we can hold as certain that even though St. Joseph was conceived with original sin, by a special act of grace, no impure desire ever tainted his heart. (It is correct to believe that as St. John the Baptist was sanctified in his mother’s womb so too was St. Joseph, by the future merits of Jesus Christ.) God grants to certain saints an angelic favor: that concupiscence be extinguished in their flesh. We believe unquestionably that Mary’s future spouse enjoyed such a favor to an eminent degree. He was transported thereafter to the state St. Thomas Aquinas qualified as “the state of a purified soul” whereby earthly lusts are ignored. In short, the chastity of St. Joseph was not a chastity of conflict and struggle, but a chastity which became a part of his nature, very peaceful, as was necessary in order to be entitled to enter into marriage with Mary, the most holy Virgin.

Mary, likewise, found Joseph’s heart in such perfect harmony with hers, that she entrusted herself to him, to remain a virgin in complete security.

God delighted in depicting an image of the chastity of St. Joseph in the person of Joseph of the Old Testament. This great patriarch had an innate horror of impure vice; he resisted the seduction of the wife of his master, the Egyptian Putiphar; he accepted being thrown into prison and being exposed to torture for love of chastity (Genesis 39:7-20). This enlightened soul prefigures that of our St. Joseph.

The chastity of the old Joseph predisposed him to divine communication; he was instructed about the future through mysterious dreams (Genesis 37, 40 & 41). Similarly, related St. Bernard, the new Joseph was made guardian of the celestial secrets of the angels, who were familiar at his bedside (Matthew 1:20-21, 2:13; 2:19-21).

O Saint Joseph, truly angelic and seraphic! O soul elevated above earthly things! O great saint, inspire all those who put their trust in you with chaste and celestial thoughts; obtain for all Christian spouses to unite only under holy intentions. With you, the flesh lived uniquely by the life of the spirit. How truly the lilies of virgins are secure in your hands! May the fragrance of these lilies, which embalm both the heavenly and the earthly Church, instill in us a desire for and love of purity!