THE glorious St. Joseph was lineally descended from the greatest kings
of the tribe of Juda, and from the most illustrious of the ancient
patriarchs; but his true glory consisted in his humility and virtue. The
history of his life hath not been written by men; but his principal
actions are recorded by the Holy Ghost himself. God intrusted him with
the education of his divine Son, manifested in the flesh. In this view
he was espoused to the Virgin Mary. It is an evident mistake of some
writers, that by a former wife he was the father of St. James the Less,
and of the rest who are styled in the gospels the brothers of our Lord;
for these were only cousin-germans to Christ, the sons of Mary, sister
to the Blessed Virgin, wife of Alphaeus, who was living at the time of
our Redeemer's crucifixion. St. Jerom assures us,[1] that St. Joseph
always preserved his virgin chastity; and it is of faith that nothing
contrary thereto ever took place with regard to his chaste spouse, the
blessed Virgin Mary. He was given her by heaven to be the protector of
her chastity, to secure her from calumnies in the birth of the Son of
God, and to assist her in his education, and in her journeys, fatigues,
and persecutions. How great was the purity and sanctity of him who was
chosen the guardian of the most spotless Virgin! This holy man seems,
for a considerable time, to have been unacquainted that the great
mystery of the Incarnation had been wrought in her by the Holy Ghost.
Conscious therefore of his own chaste behavior towards her, it could not
but raise a great concern in his breast, to find that, notwithstanding
the sanctity of her deportment, yet he might be well assured that she
was with child. But being _a just man_, as the scripture calls him, and
consequently possessed of all virtues, especially of charity and
mildness towards his neighbor, he was determined to leave her privately,
without either condemning or accusing her, committing the whole cause to
God. These his perfect dispositions were so acceptable to God, the lover
of justice, charity, and peace, that before he put his design in
execution, he sent an angel from heaven not to reprehend any thing in
his holy conduct, but to dissipate all his doubts and fears, by
revealing to him this adorable mystery. How happy should we be if we
were as tender in all that regards the reputation of our neighbor; as
free from entertaining any injurious thought or suspicion, whatever
certainty our conjectures or our senses may seem to rely on; and as
guarded in our tongue! We commit these faults only because in our hearts
we are devoid of that true charity and simplicity, whereof St. Joseph
sets us so eminent an example on this occasion.
In the next place we may admire in secret contemplation, with what
devotion, respect, and tenderness, he beheld and adored the first of all
men, the new-born Saviour of the world, and with what fidelity he
acquitted himself of his double charge, the education of Jesus, and the
guardianship of his blessed mother. "He was truly the faithful and
prudent servant," says St. Bernard,[2] "whom our Lord appointed the
master of his household, the comfort and support of his mother, his
fosterfather, and most faithful co-operator to the execution of his
deepest counsels on earth." "What a happiness," {621} says the same
father, "not only to see Jesus Christ, but also to hear him, to carry
him in his arms, to lead him from place to place, to embrace and caress
him, to feed him, and to be privy to all the great secrets which were
concealed from the princes of this world!"
"O astonishing elevation! O unparalleled dignity!" cries out the pious
Gerson,[3] in a devout address to St. Joseph, "that the mother of God,
queen of heaven, should call you her lord; that God himself, made man,
should call you father, and obey your commands. O glorious Triad on
earth, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, how dear a family to the glorious Trinity in
heaven, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Nothing is on earth so great, so
good, so excellent." Amidst these his extraordinary graces, what more
wonderful than his humility! He conceals his privileges, lives as the
most obscure of men, publishes nothing of God's great mysteries, makes
no further inquiries into them, leaving it to God to manifest them at
his own time, seeks to fulfil the order of providence in his regard,
without interfering with any thing but what concerns himself. Though
descended from the royal family which had long been in possession of the
throne of Judaea, he is content with his condition, that of a mechanic
or handicraftsman,[4] and makes it his business, by laboring in it, to
maintain himself, his spouse, and the divine Child.
We should be ungrateful to this great saint, if we did not remember that
it is to him, as the instrument under God, that we are indebted for the
preservation of the infant Jesus from Herod's jealousy and malice,
manifested in the slaughter of the Innocents. An angel appearing to him
in his sleep, bade him arise, take the child Jesus, and fly with him
into Egypt, and remain there till he should again have notice from him
to return. This sudden and unexpected flight must have exposed Joseph to
many inconveniences and sufferings in so long a journey, with a little
babe and a tender virgin, the greater part of the way being through
deserts, and among strangers; yet he alleges no excuses, nor inquires at
what time they were to return. St. Chrysostom observes that God treats
thus all his servants, sending them frequent trials, to clear their
hearts from the rust of self-love, but intermixing seasons of
consolation.[5] "Joseph," says he, "is anxious on seeing the Virgin with
child; an angel removes that fear; he rejoices at the child's birth, but
a great fear succeeds; the furious king seeks to destroy the child, and
the whole city is in an uproar to take away his life. This is followed
by another joy, the adoration of the Magi; a new sorrow then arises; he
is ordered to fly into a foreign unknown country, without help or
acquaintance." It is the opinion of the fathers, that upon their
entering Egypt, at the presence of the child Jesus, all the oracles of
that superstitions country were struck dumb, and the statues of their
gods trembled, and in many places fell to the ground, according to that
of Isaiah xix. _And the statues of the Egyptians shall be shaken in his
presence._[6] The fathers also attribute to this holy visit the
spiritual benediction poured on that country, which made it for many
ages most fruitful in saints.[7]
After the death of king Herod, which was notified to St. Joseph by a
vision, God ordered him to return with the child and his mother into the
land of Israel, which our saint readily obeyed. But when he arrived in
Judaea, {622} hearing that Archelaus succeeded Herod in that part of the
country, apprehensive he might be infected with his father's
vices--cruelty and ambition--he feared on that account to settle there,
as he would otherwise probably have done, for the more commodious
education of the child. And, therefore, being directed by God in another
vision, he retired into the dominions of his brother, Herod Antipas, in
Galilee, to his former habitation in Nazareth, where the wonderful
occurrences of our Lord's birth were less known. St. Joseph being a
strict observer of the Mosaic law, in conformity to its direction,
annually repaired to Jerusalem to celebrate the passover. Archelaus
being banished by Augustus, and Judaea made a Roman province, he had now
nothing more to fear at Jerusalem. Our Saviour being advanced to the
twelfth year of his age, accompanied his parents thither; who having
performed the usual ceremonies of the feast, were now returning with
many of their neighbors and acquaintance towards Galilee, and never
doubting but that Jesus had joined himself with some of the company,
they travelled on for a whole day's journey without further inquiry
after him, before they discovered that he was not with them. But when
night came on, and they could hear no tidings of him among their kindred
and acquaintance, they, in the deepest affliction, returned with the
utmost speed to Jerusalem: where, after an anxious search of three days,
they found him in the temple, sitting among the learned doctors of the
law, hearing them discourse, and asking them such questions as raised
the admiration of all that heard him, and made them astonished at the
ripeness of his understanding: nor were his parents less surprised on
this occasion. And when his mother told him with what grief and
earnestness they had sought him, and to express her sorrow for that,
though short, privation of his presence, said to him: "Son, why hast
thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I sought thee in great
affliction of mind;" she received for answer, that being the Messias and
Son of God, sent by his Father into the world in order to redeem it, he
must be about his Father's business, the same for which he had been sent
into the world; and therefore that it was most likely for them to find
him in his Father's house: intimating that his appearing in public on
this occasion was to advance his Father's honor, and to prepare the
princes of the Jews to receive him for their Messias; pointing out to
them from the prophets the time of his coming. But though in thus
staying in the temple, unknown to his parents, he did something without
their leave, in obedience to his heavenly Father, yet in all other
things he was obedient to them, returning with them to Nazareth, and
there living in all dutiful subjection to them.
Aelred, our countryman, abbot of Rieval, in his sermon on losing the
child Jesus in the temple, observes that this his conduct to his parents
is a true representation of that which he shows us, while he often
withdraws himself for a short time from us to make us seek him the more
earnestly. He thus describes the sentiments of his holy parents on this
occasion.[8] "Let us consider what was the happiness of that blessed
company, in the way to Jerusalem, to whom it was granted to behold his
face, to hear his sweet words, to see in him the signs of divine wisdom
and virtue; and in their mutual discourse to receive the influence of
his saving truths and example. The old and young admire him. I believe
boys of his age were struck with astonishment at the gravity of his
manners and words. I believe such rays of grace darted from his blessed
countenance as drew on him the eyes, ears, and hearts of every one. And
what tears do they shed when he is not with them." He goes on
considering what must be the grief of his parents when they had lost
him; what their sentiments, and how earnest their {623} search: but what
their joy when they found him again. "Discover to me," says he, "O my
Lady, Mother of my God, what were your sentiments, what your
astonishment and your joy when you saw him again, and sitting, not among
boys, but amidst the doctors of the law: when you saw every one's eyes
fixed on aim, every one's ears listening to him, great and small,
learned and unlearned, intent only on his words and motions. You now
say: I have found him whom I love. I will hold him, and will no more let
him part from me. Hold him, sweet Lady, hold him fast; rush on his neck,
dwell on his embraces, and compensate the three days' absence by
multiplied delights in your present enjoyment of him. You tell him that
you and his father sought him in grief. For what did you grieve? not for
fear of hunger or want in him whom you knew to be God: but I believe you
grieved to see yourself deprived of the delights of his presence even
for a short time; for the Lord Jesus is so sweet to those who taste him,
that his shortest absence is a subject of the greatest grief to them."
This mystery is an emblem of the devout soul, and Jesus sometimes
withdrawing himself, and leaving her to dryness, that she may be more
earnest in seeking him. But, above all, how eagerly ought the soul which
has lost God by sin, to seek him again, and how bitterly ought she to
deplore her extreme misfortune!
As no further mention is made of St. Joseph, he must have died before
the marriage of Cana, and the beginning of our divine Saviour's
ministry. We cannot doubt but he had the happiness of Jesus and Mary
attending at his death, praying by him, assisting and comforting him in
his last moments. Whence he is particularly invoked for the great grace
of a happy death, and the spiritual presence of Jesus in that tremendous
hour. The church reads the history of the patriarch Joseph on his
festival, who was styled the saviour of Egypt, which he delivered from
perishing by famine; and was appointed the faithful master of the
household of Potiphar, and of that of Pharaoh and his kingdom. But our
great saint was chosen by God the saviour of the life of him who was the
true Saviour of the souls of men, rescuing him from the tyranny of
Herod. He is now glorified in heaven, as the guardian and keeper of his
Lord on earth. As Pharaoh said to the Egyptians in their distress: "Go
to Joseph;" so may we confidently address ourselves to the mediation of
him to whom God, made man, was subject and obedient on earth.
The devout Gerson expressed the warmest devotion to St. Joseph, which he
endeavored by letters and sermons to promote. He composed an office in
his honor, and wrote his life in twelve poems, called Josephina. He
enlarged on all the circumstances of his life by pious affection, and
meditations. St. Teresa chose him the chief patron of her order. In the
sixth chapter of her life she writes thus: "I chose the glorious St.
Joseph for my patron, and I commend myself in all things singularly to
his intercession. I do not remember ever to have asked of God any thing
by him which I did not obtain. I never knew any one, who, by invoking
him, did not advance exceedingly in virtue: for he assists in a
wonderful manner all who address themselves to him." St. Francis of
Sales, throughout his whole nineteenth entertainment, extremely
recommends devotion to him, and extols his merits, principally his
virginity, humility, constancy, and courage. The Syrians and other
eastern churches celebrate his festival on the 20th of July; the western
church, on the 19th of March. Pope Gregory XV., in 1621, and Urban
VIII., in 1642, commanded it to be kept a holyday of obligation.
The holy family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, presents to us the most
perfect model of heavenly conversation on earth. How did those two
seraphims, Mary and Joseph, live in their poor cottage! They always
enjoyed {624} the presence of Jesus, always burning with the most ardent
love for him: inviolably attached to his sacred person, always employed
and living only for him. What were their transports in beholding him,
their devotion it, listening to him, and their joy in possessing him!
heavenly life! anticipation of the heavenly bliss! divine conversation!
We may imitate them, and share some degree of this advantage, by
conversing often with Jesus, and by the contemplation of his most
amiable goodness, kindling the fire of his holy love in our breasts. The
effects of this love, if it be sincere, will necessarily appear in our
putting on his spirit, and imitating his example and virtues; and in our
studying to walk continually in the divine presence, finding God
everywhere, and esteeming all the time lost which we do not spend with
God, or for his honor.
Footnotes:
1. L. adv. Helvid. c. 9.
2. Hom. 2. super missus est, n. 16, p. 742.
3. Serm. de Nativ.
4. This appears from Mat. xiii. 55. St. Justin, (Dial. n. 89, ed. Ben.
p. 186,) St. Ambrose, (in Luc. p. 3,) and Theodoret (b. 3, Hist. c.
18) say he worked in wood, as a carpenter. St. Hilary (in Mat. c.
14, p. 17) and St. Peter Chrysologus (Serm. 48) say he wrought in
iron as a smith; probably he wrought both in iron and in wood; which
opinion St. Justin favors, by saying: "He and Jesus made ploughs and
yokes for oxen."
5. Hom. 8, in Mat. t. 7, p. 123, ed. Ben.
6. This is affirmed by St. Athanasius, (l. de Incarn.) Eusebius,
(Demonstrat. Evang. l. 6, c. 20.) St. Cyril (Cat. 10,) St. Ambrose,
(in Ps. 118, Octon. 5,) St. Jerom, (in Isai. 19,) St. Chrysostom, St.
Cyril of Alexandria, (in Isai.) Sozomen, (l. 5. c. 20,) &c.
7. See the Lives of the Fathers of the desert.
8. Bibl. Patr. t. 13.