St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
O GOD, who from the house of thy servant David didst raise
up Saint Joseph to be the guardian of thine incarnate Son, and spouse of His
Virgin Mother: give us grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his
obedience to thy commands; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth
and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world
without end. Amen.
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| St Joseph by Murillo |
Standing with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, King of
kings and Lord of lords, and also the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and
Queen of Angels, St Joseph tends to fade into the background somewhat. And this
is of course understandable and to an extent quite right. However on this his
day we do well to consider this man.
We do not have too much information about him beyond what
the gospels tell us. His lineage is that of the House of David, but he is a
humble artisan. He is betrothed to the Virgin Mary, who like him is of a poor
Nazareth family. He is a carpenter; a man of wood and tools. We are told he was
an upright man. For Joseph to be espoused to Our Lady, we can assume that her
parents must have regarded him as a suitable husband for their remarkable and
highly virtuous daughter.
As the drama of the Incarnation unfolds in the Gospels
(especially Matthew and Luke) St Joseph receives his vocation by an angel in a
dream. Here we receive a clue that St Joseph was a man of faith and
discernment. He knew the truth of the dream, and he acted upon it decisively.
How remarkable was the message the angel gave him! Yet Joseph obeyed his Lord
through the Angel. This obedience led him to accept his betrothed in marriage
as the Mother of God. As a husband and as guardian of the divine child he
protected them from the forces of evil. In Bethlehem he thwarted Herod’s plan
to eradicate challenges to the throne of David by once again trusting the
message of the Angel in a dream. He led his family to Egypt for a time and then
home to Nazareth where he could return to his trade. In the hidden life of
Jesus’ childhood (hidden except for the incident in Jerusalem) we can only
surmise that the fatherly and manly example of Joseph would positively
influence the human nature of the Christ-child. We presume that Joseph died
some time after Jesus had reached 12 years old (for he was with them on the
pilgrimage to Jerusalem) and before Jesus’ own death, for Christ places His
mother into the care of St John on the cross.
St Joseph was a man chosen by God and set apart. It was
under his guardianship and fatherly care that Jesus was introduced into the
world. Yes we honour and are indebted to the Virgin Mother because through her
came the Christ, but after her we owe special gratitude for Saint Joseph.
Christ does not now of course deny Joseph that intimacy, reverence and honour
He had shown His foster-father on earth.
St Joseph is not patron, I believe, to any particular matter
in human life (like other saints) except that he is patron of the whole Church.
As he was chosen by God as guardian to the Holy Family so St Joseph continues
to be guardian of all the brothers and sisters of Christ by adoption. Let us
call on his intercession for protection from all evil and for guidance to walk
the right path. May all earthly fathers find in him a worthy and chaste example
to follow. May all men find in him an example to follow of honour and virtue.
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