ST. JOSEPH REVEALED

ST. JOSEPH REVEALED

+ IMMACULATE or SANCTIFIED?

+ YOUNG VIRGIN or OLD WIDOWER?

+ ASSUMED or IN THE TOMB?

♔ ST. JOSEPH: QUALIFIED GUARDIAN OF THE ETERNAL SON ♔ - St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis de Sales: If princes of this world are most careful in choosing tutors for their sons, taking pains to secure the best that can be found, do you think that God did not select the man who was the most perfectly qualified to be the guardian of His eternal Son, the Lord of heaven and earth?

♔ CROWN OF ETERNAL LIFE: THE ASSUMPTION OF ST. JOSEPH ♔

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“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will
give thee the crown of life.” — Revelation 2:10

Of all the saints in Christendom, the only pair of whom we possess no first-class relics are the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph. We attribute this lack of bodily relics to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven body and soul which is one of the great Marian Dogmas of the Church. This tradition has been popularly believed from the earliest days of the Church but was not officially defined as dogma until November 1, 1950 by Venerable Pope Pius XII.

The same reasoning is applied to lack of bodily relics of St. Joseph, Virgin-Father of Christ and Chaste Spouse of Mary. We can feel validated in the possible belief of the Assumption of St. Joseph by looking to the apparitions of the 20^th century. When St Joseph appeared at Fatima, Portugal, to bless the world on October 13, 1917 holding the Child Jesus and standing next to Our Lady, would he just have been some type of "ghost" holding the flesh and blood Jesus standing next to flesh and blood Blessed Virgin? It doesn't make sense that the Earthly Trinity: Jesus, Mary and Joseph - who were so closely united on Earth, would be hindered in their union in Heaven. That is just one small example.

It is believed that after St. Joseph's happy and holy passing, his body was entombed in the foothills of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem before it was assumed into Heaven on the day of Christ’s glorious ascension. While his body was in the tomb, his soul entered the Bosom of Abraham (Limbo) where he was to announce to the prophets and patriarchs of the Old Covenant the Good News of Christ and their forthcoming entry to Heaven (after the coming Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Our Lord.) When the time for Christ's Ascension came, St. Joseph's soul was united with his body and was assumed into Heaven. Many saints and mystics piously believe in the bodily assumption of St. Joseph into Heaven – just as Our Lord had done for his mother.  Here is just a sampling of them:

St. Francis de Sales: How could we doubt that Our Lord raised glorious St. Joseph up into Heaven, body and soul? For he had the honor and grace of carrying Him so often in his blessed arms, arms in which Our Lord took so much pleasure. St. Joseph is therefore in Heaven body and soul, without a doubt.     

St. Bernardino of Sienna:  In the same way that Mary was assumed into Heaven, it is thought that Jesus deigned to glorify Joseph. In this way, all of the Holy Family – Jesus, Mary and Joseph – who lived together on Earth, would reign together in Heaven.

Servant of God Mother Cecilia Baij:  When the Savior of the world gloriously and victoriously arose from the dead … he thereafter proceeded to deliver and to take with him from Limbo, those souls which had been confined there. Joseph’s glorified soul was, by the power of God, again reunited to his blessed body. … Joseph made his entry into heaven together with the Savior on the occasion of his remarkable Ascension. There the Saint now occupies, in virtue of his    virginity and great purity of soul, a most distinguished throne near to the unspotted Lamb of God.

Pope St. John XXIII:  We name two of the most intimate persons in Christ’s life: John the Baptist – the Precursor, and Joseph of Nazareth – his putative father and custodian. It corresponds to them – we may piously believe – the honor and the privilege of Jesus allowing them to admirably accompany him on the path to Heaven (on the day of his Ascension) and to sing the first notes of the never ending hymn, “Te Deum”. 

If ever a man existed who deserves the splendor of Heaven it is St. Joseph, the just man who lived such an honorable and holy life. He is united with his beloved spouse Mary and with Jesus the Eternal Son, whom he raised as his own flesh and blood. His trials reminiscent of the exile into Egypt have long faded, his anxieties have been calmed, and his rough hands, which supported his family, have been soothed by the Divine Healer, who crowns his achievements and tribulations with everlasting life.            

. . . when he has been tried, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.  — St. James 1:12

♔ ST JOSEPH: FATHER & TEACHER OF CHRIST ♔

,And they kept saying, “Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph?” — St. John 6:42

Pope Benedict XVI, Yaoundé, Homily 18 March 2009:  There is but one fatherhood, that of God the Father, the one Creator of the world, “of all that is seen and unseen”. Yet man, created in the image of God, has been granted a share in this one paternity of God (cf. Eph 3:15). Saint Joseph is a striking case of this, since he is a father, without fatherhood according to the flesh. He is not the biological father of Jesus, whose Father is God alone, and yet he lives his fatherhood fully and completely. To be a father means above all to be at the service of life and growth. Saint Joseph, in this sense, gave proof of great devotion. For the sake of Christ he experienced persecution, exile and the poverty which this entails. He had to settle far from his native town. His only reward was to be with Christ. His readiness to do all these things illustrates the words of Saint Paul: “It is Christ the Lord whom you serve” (Col 3:24).

The Holy Bible does not give us a full account of the life of the Holy Family except for a brief mention in the Gospel of St. Luke, when Jesus is already twelve years of age. These hidden years were no doubt filled with the everyday joys and sorrows that families experience all the time.

According to Venerable Maria de Agreda, upon arriving at their home in Nazareth (having returned from their exile), St. Joseph straightaway set out to re-establish himself as a carpenter, opening up his shop to earn a living for his family:

 

The holy Joseph also ordered his occupations and his work so as most worthily to earn sustenance for the divine Child and his mother as well as for himself. That, which in other sons of Adam is considered a punishment and a hardship, was to this holy Patriarch a great happiness. For while others were condemned to sustain their natural life by the labour of their hands in the sweat of their brows, Saint Joseph was blessed and consoled beyond measure to know, that he had been chosen by his labour and sweat to support God himself and his mother. — Venerable Maria de Agreda

As years went by, Joseph, having now established his family and his work in Nazareth, would go on to teach his son in the ways of life. No doubt that he could learn a lot from his son, but Jesus chooses to respect his intelligence, his hard work, his human nature. In renaissance art, Joseph is often depicted in the background, not playing an active part in the life of Christ when the exact opposite would be true. Who would have spent the most time with Christ besides the Blessed Mother? It would be Joseph, his father.

For the first few years of life, the Child Jesus would have been reared mostly

by his mother while his father went off to work. Once the Child Jesus grew to suitable age, St. Joseph would take over and instruct him in the ways of life through work and schooling.

St. Francis de Sales: If princes of this world are most careful in choosing tutors for their sons, taking pains to secure the best that can be found, do you think that God did not select the man who was the most perfectly qualified to be the guardian of his eternal Son, the Lord of heaven and earth?

Joseph would most certainly have taught Christ how to read, how to pray, and how to work just like any other father would. This scholastic view of Joseph as teacher is rarely thought of among the theologians or painted in the arts. However, during the seventeenth century, many artists began to portray him as somewhat of a scholar, with an open book in front of him. In some of these paintings, he is actually pointing to a verse in the book, which we assume is our Holy Scripture, as he gazes at the Child Jesus. What does this mean to us? What is Joseph telling us? He was well aware of the prophecies that spoke of a future Messiah, and the depiction of him with the book while looking at Jesus is telling us that Jesus is in fact the Promised One and his father is showing this to us.

Let us not assume that just because he worked with his hands, he was illiterate and did not take the time to read the words of the prophets. We are told in Scripture that when Jesus came to this earth, he emptied himself and did not cling to his divinity, so as to be like one of us (Philippians2:5-9.) Jesus genuinely willed himself to learn from his father on earth and to grow as any other Jewish boy would. Joseph was a father, guardian, and teacher to his son. This Joseph of ours is both worker and intellectual, and no doubt he passed these ideals on to Christ our Lord.

The Holy Father, Pope Francis, gives us words to meditate on concerning the fatherhood of St. Joseph:

We look at Joseph – as the model of the educator, who safeguards and accompanies Jesus in his journey of growth "in wisdom, years and grace", as the Gospel of Luke tells us. "He was not the father of Jesus, the Father was God, but he was a father to help him grow in years, wisdom and grace.

Let's start with his age, which is the most natural dimension, physical and psychological growth. Joseph, together with Mary, took care of Jesus, first of all from this point of view, he  'raised him', worrying that he had all he needed for a healthy development. Let us not forget that the faithful care of the life of the Child also led to the flight into Egypt, the harsh experience of living as refugees to escape the threat of Herod. Then, once they returned home and settled in Nazareth, there is the long period of the hidden life of Jesus within the Holy Family. During those years, Joseph also taught Jesus his work, Jesus learned to be a carpenter.

Let's move on to the second dimension of Christ's education, that of "wisdom". Scripture says that the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord. Joseph was an example and teacher of this wisdom for Jesus, which he nourished by the Word of God.  We can imagine how Joseph taught the child Jesus to listen to the Holy Scriptures, especially accompanying him on the Sabbath to the synagogue in Nazareth. Joseph accompanied Jesus so he would listen to the word of God in the synagogue.

And finally, the dimension of "grace". Again St. Luke tells us referring to Jesus: "The grace of God was upon him". Here certainly the part reserved to St Joseph is more limited than in the areas of age and wisdom. But it would be a grave mistake to think that a father and a mother do nothing to educate their children to grow in the grace of God.

The mission of St. Joseph is certainly unique and unrepeatable, because Jesus is unique.  However, in his guarding Jesus, educating him to grow in years, wisdom and grace, he is a model for all educators, especially for parents. St. Joseph is the model educator and father, the model for dads.

 — Pope Francis, Homily 19 March 2014       

Proverbs 4:1-7 – Hear, O children, a father’s instruction, be attentive, that you may gain understanding! . . . When I was my father’s child, frail, yet the darling of my mother, he taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart hold fast my words! Keep my commands, do not forget; go not astray from the words of my mouth.”  

♔ YOUNG ST. JOSEPH - NOT AN OLD WIDOWER ♔

♔ ST JOSEPH THE OLD WIDOWER? ♔

Given the customs at the time, Mary was believed to be no older than sixteen when she was married. We are told by the mystics Venerable Maria de Agreda, Mother Maria Cecilia Baij, and Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, that Joseph was a young man at the time of his espousal to Mary. Through the ages, art has shown him as an elderly man hunched over his walking stick, barely able to stand. Joseph was not a senior citizen.  No offense to the elderly, but God would choose a strong, energetic man who would be able to support his family. Why, then, was Joseph depicted as an old man in so many European art pieces through the centuries? There are two reasons for this:

The first reason was to explain the “brothers and sisters” of the Lord, mentioned in the Bible. The apocryphal book titled, “The History of the Carpenter Joseph,” states that he was once a priest as well as a carpenter who was a widower with four sons and two daughters, meaning Mary’s stepchildren would be far older then she was. Apparently, Joseph was old enough to be Mary’s grandfather. This is false, and the notion of Christ having “brothers and sisters” will be explained in a later post, though some Christians are too proud and do not want an explanation—choosing instead to be deaf to the fact that Mary and Joseph were both young virgins at the time of their marriage and remained so afterward.

The second reason for the elderly Joseph was to protect the virginity of Mary. The idea of the Virgin Mary living with a handsome and robust man was not acceptable as people would think that he might have some inclination to have sexual relations with her, therefore robbing her of her virginal title. This insults both Joseph and his bride. The Bible tells us that the Messiah would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14.) Mary herself tells us this when the angel Gabriel tells her she will conceive: “How can this be since I am a virgin?” (St. Luke 1:27, 34.)

St. Jerome (347–420,) Doctor of the Church, explains the virginal relationship between Joseph and Mary:

That God was born of a virgin we believe because we read it. That Mary consummated marriage after her childbirth we do not believe because we do not read it.  Nor do we say this in order to condemn marriage, for virginity is itself a fruit of marriage, but because there is no license to draw rash conclusions about holy men.

For if we wish to take the mere possibility into consideration, we can  contend that Joseph had several wives because Abraham and Jacob had several wives and that from these wives, the ‘brethren of the Lord’ were born, a fiction which most people invent with not so much pious as presumptuous audacity. You say that Mary did not remain a virgin; even more do I claim that Joseph was virginal through Mary, in order that from a virginal marriage a virginal son might be born. For if the charge of fornication does not fall on this holy man, and if it is not written that he had another wife, and if he was more of a protector than a husband of Mary, whom he was thought to have as his wife, it remains to assert that he who merited to be called the father of the Lord remained virginal with her. — St. Jerome

♔ VOWS OF CHASTITY  ♔

The earliest saints of the Church, who would have had contact with the original twelve Apostles, were all in agreement that the mother of Jesus was a virgin both before and after the birth of Christ. Also, Church traditions fully support that Joseph, being led by the Holy Spirit, chose to offer everything about himself to God, and had made a vow of virginity early on in life. Given that he was sanctified by God, and given many special graces, this doesn’t seem so strange.

Venerable Maria de Agreda: From his twelfth year he had made and kept the vow of chastity… and was known for the utmost purity of his life, holy and irreprehensible in the eyes of God and of men.

St. Francis de Sales: How exalted in this virtue of virginity must Joseph have been who was destined by the Eternal Father to be the companion in virginity of Mary! Both had made a vow to preserve virginity for their entire lives, and it was the Will of God to join them in the bond of a holy marriage…

This was not a common practice; however, Jesus was not a common man, so why should we doubt His parents’ uncommon vows? Joseph and Mary were Jews, and yes, it was unusual to make vows of virginity in their culture, but it is the same in our own culture today! If someone tells you they have made a vow of virginity, would you doubt them? You may doubt them, you may not, but you would be inclined to ask them why they say this. Why would anyone want to live without sex!? Because sex, in its proper context of “making love,” is one of life’s most beautiful treasures, and some people, impelled to serve God in a unique way, choose to offer it to the Lord instead of to themselves. Joseph gave one of the most beautiful gifts he could offer to God. Virginity in our culture is seen as prudishness and “old school,” and some people lie to say that they are not virgins! It is seen as something to lose as early as possible and to brag about losing – more notably among young men. If it were the other way around and virginity was seen as something to cherish, this perpetual virginity of Joseph would not seem so strange.

Pope St. John Paul II: In the Liturgy, Mary is celebrated as "united to Joseph, the just man, by a bond of marital and virginal love." There are really two kinds of love here,   both of which together represent the mystery of the Church - virgin and spouse - as symbolized in the marriage of Mary and Joseph. “Virginity or celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of God not only does not contradict the dignity of marriage but presupposes and confirms it. Marriage and virginity are two ways of expressing and living the one mystery of the Covenant of God with his people,” the Covenant which is a communion of love between God and human beings.

The Bible gives us examples of people who gave their gift of virginity to God and were not ashamed of people knowing it. They were seen as holy, not because sex is bad and they were abstaining from it, but because they saw this God-given gift as being so wonderful and they wanted to offer it and themselves wholly to God. It is a selfless act of love!

Revelation 14:1, 14:4 And I saw, and behold, the Lamb was standing upon Mount Sion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads… These are they who were not known with women; for they are virgins.

♔ VIRGINAL TRINITY ♔

The great St. Gregory Nazianzen (329-389) proclaimed that the first virgin ever is the Holy Trinity. God the Father is a virgin who generates the Son in all His goodness; God the Son is a virgin who existed in Heaven without a mother; God the Holy Spirit is a virgin, who proceeds gloriously from the Father and the Son. As the Heavenly Trinity is the first and altogether virgin, so is the second Trinity, on earth. The Earthly Trinity of Jesus, Mary and Joseph mirror the Heavenly Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Jesus (God the Son) connecting the two Trinities. If Jesus is a virgin and Mary is a virgin, why wouldn’t Joseph, who completes this virginal Trinity, be one as they are?

St. Josemaria Escrivá: You don't have to wait to be old or lifeless to practice the virtue of chastity. Purity comes from love; and the strength and gaiety of youth is no obstacle for noble love. Joseph had a young heart and a young body when he married Mary, when he learned of the mystery of her divine motherhood, when he lived in her company, respecting the integrity God wished to give the world as one more sign that he had come to share the life of his creatures. Anyone who cannot understand a love like that knows very little of true love and is a complete stranger to the Christian meaning of chastity.

The Saints Speak of St Joseph

When God, destines anyone for a particular office, He gives him the graces that fit him for it. Therefore, since God chose St. Joseph to fill the office of father over the person of the Incarnate Word, we must certainly believe that he conferred upon him all the sanctity which belonged to such an office. 

Among other privileges, Joseph had three which were special to him. Firstly, that he was sanctified in his mother's womb, as were Jeremias and St. John the Baptist. Secondly, that he was at the same time confirmed in grace. And thirdly, that he was always exempt from the inclinations of concupiscence—a privilege with which St. Joseph by the merit of his purity, favors his devout clients by delivering them from carnal appetites.

-St. Alphonsus Liguori

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In profound adoration St. Joseph, united himself to the special grace of each one of the events in the life of Jesus. He adored Our Lord in His hidden life... He adored in advance the Eucharistic Christ in His tabernacles: there was nothing that Our Lord could hide from Saint Joseph. Aside from the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph was the first and most perfect adorer of Our Lord.

- St. Peter Julian Eymard

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I find nothing sweeter to my imagination than to see little Jesus in the arms of great Saint Joseph calling him father in childlike words and with an absolute filial and loving heart.

- St. Francis de Sales
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Saint Joseph served the Incarnate Word with perfect fidelity. Think of the lively faith which inspired his uninterrupted contemplation of the Divinity of the Christ Child; think of the love and faith which he adored his God hidden in this little Child Whom he held in his arms and carried about always with the respect due to God. And when the Child had grown a little, notice how Joseph follows attentively every one of His movements, His gestures, His acts, and His works.

- St. Bernardino of Siena
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There are many good reasons to honor Saint Joseph, and to learn from his life. He was a man of strong faith. He earned a living for his family - Jesus and Mary - with his own hard work... He guarded the purity of the Blessed Virgin, who was his Spouse. And he respected - he loved! - God’s freedom, when God made His choice: not only His choice of Our Lady the Virgin as His Mother, but also His choice of Saint Joseph as the Husband of Holy Mary.

- St. Josemaria Escrivá
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