Excerpt from Chapter 2 of the BOOK OF JOSEPH: As the child Joseph grows the devil takes notice of him. He is aware that Joseph is unlike other children. This child possesses the reasoning and virtues of a grown man, lives piously, and communes with angels. He knows that he will associate with the Messiah when He comes, but does not know in what capacity. The devil is confused; he does not fully know what this boy’s role is in God’s redemptive plan, but he makes war on him regardless, as Mother Cecelia Baij acknowledges:
The devil, that hellish fiend, was aware of the light that abided in Joseph and he feared that this child would arouse others to take up the struggle against him. He attempted several times to take the child’s life, but his plans always went awry, for Joseph was protected by the almighty arm of God. Joseph was guarded by two angels … and the angel who had been assigned to speak to him in his dreams continually advised him on what to do to overcome the infernal demon … Joseph never failed to carry out the admonitions of the angel.
Seeing the difficulty posed by the child’s protective angels, the devil then decided to go after those close to Joseph, namely his parents and the domestic servants. He tried to instill in them hostility and confusion with the desired outcome of mistreatment and abuse of little Joseph. Mother Cecelia Baij continues:
The devil devised another ruse, whereby, he endeavored to instigate strife and confusion between Joseph’s parents. This too failed. … Satan then attempted an attack upon the domestics of the household, but even this miscarried, for Joseph prayed for them all and God heard his petitions (C. Baij, 1997, pg. 11).
The angel who had been assigned to speak to Joseph in his dreams continually advised him in how to overcome the demon. He would inform Joseph as soon as he saw that the devil was preparing to launch another attack against the household, and Joseph never failed to carry out the admonitions of the angel. The devil often endeavored to stir up the domestics to mistreat Joseph, for the purpose of seeing him fail in the virtue of patience during affliction. But in this the demon never succeeded (C. Baij, 1997, pg. 16).
The devil, being increasingly angry and frustrated, then instilled in some of the townspeople a great hatred for Joseph, inciting them to abuse him in various ways. It is revealed that among them, the devil chose to act through, as Mother Cecelia writes, “undisciplined youths” and “a woman who led an evil life”:
Satan continued in his harassment of Joseph by stirring up against him several people who were leading bad lives; he implanted in them a great hatred for this holy soul … Undisciplined youths agreed to bombard him with invective whenever they would meet him ... they would scoff and jeer at him. The saintly Joseph would merely bow his head … and beg God that his enemies would be enlightened and realize their error. When the youths observed this, they labeled him a blockhead, a coward, and a frightened rabbit. Joseph calmly continued his way. The youths followed him, hurling at him their offensive language (C. Baij, 1997, pg. 26).
The harassment endured by Joseph is also revealed in the writings of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and Mother Cecelia Baij who were shown visions of these events:
I often saw young Joseph under the colonnade in the outer court kneeling with his face to the wall, praying … and I saw the boys creep up and kick him. I once saw him kneeling like this, when one of them hit him on the back, and as he did not seem to notice it, he repeated his attack with such violence that poor Joseph fell forward onto the hard, stone floor. From this I realized that he was not in a waking condition, but had been in an ecstasy of prayer. When he came to himself, he did not lose his temper or take revenge, but found a hidden corner where he continued his prayer (A. Emmerich, 1953, pg. 76).
The sight of this virtuous child put the devil into a frightful rage. He became violent, and undertook one day, to cast Joseph down headlong over a flight of stairs ... Joseph called to God for help and the Most High prevented him from being harmed … the devil was now forced to withdraw (C. Baij, 1997, pg. 17).
The devil made use of a woman who, because of her evil life, hated the very sight of the little Saint. He incited her to go often to Joseph’s mother to harass her and to report falsehoods against her son. … Although he knew who was causing all the trouble, Joseph’s heart bore no hostility (C. Baij, 1997, pg. 27).
The purposes of these attacks by the devil were not just meant to produce some physical harm to Joseph, but to destroy or at least diminish his spirituality, his sanctity, by causing him to despair and to retaliate hatred with hatred. But this did not happen. Through all this, the child Joseph prayed for those who mistreated him, with the maturity of a grown man but with the innocence of a child. Mother Cecelia Baij and Pope Francis reflect on the peace of St. Joseph, even in difficult times:
Joseph was so submerged in the thought of God’s love, and so joyful over the realization of God’s presence in his soul, that nothing could disturb the peace within his heart (C. Baij, 1997, pg. 17).
St. Joseph did not allow bitterness to poison his soul; rather, he was ready to make himself available to God’s plan. He did not hate. Yet how many times does hatred, or even dislike and bitterness poison our souls! And this is harmful. Never allow it: he is an example of this (Francis, 2013).
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