The happy but rare celebration of a Betrothal, between Laura and Danny, on this festal day of St Joseph, gives us a chance to pause and comment on these words of the Gospel: “His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.” This scene, beautifully depicted in the stained glass windows around our Altar of St Joseph, and this sentence from St Matthew’s Gospel tells us what a Jewish betrothal entails: firstly, there is a union, a commitment, a pledge between a couple, and that secondly, this couple, although promised to one another in a bond as solemn as marriage, do not yet live together and therefore do not yet enjoy marital relations.
In this sense, therefore, the Jewish Encyclopædia describes a betrothal, kiddushin as a rite that establishes the marriage bond albeit one that is incomplete because the bride does not yet live in the home of her husband. The Jewish custom was to allow a twelve month period between the betrothal and the marriage ceremony. Why? So as to allow the husband time to prepare the marital home, and for the local community, the family and the whole village, to prepare the necessary goods and foods for the marriage feast. It is during this preparation period, therefore, during these twelve months that the Blessed Virgin Mary conceives by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit.
St Joseph, therefore, when he hears the angel’s message in a dream, understands that God is doing something wonderful and new through his wife. For through Mary, in the person of Jesus Christ, God has betrothed our humanity. There is a fittingness to this in God’s plan of salvation because, through his Incarnation, God now enters our time and space; human history is changed so that, through grace, we all now live in a time of betrothal as we, the Baptised, must now all prepare for the marriage feast of heaven. Indeed this Lenten period with its characteristic penances in preparation for Easter focusses our mind, as Christians, on the necessary good works and prayer and penance we must do throughout our lives, from the moment of our Baptismal betrothal, in order to prepare for the Paschal nuptial feast of heaven. But we don’t just do this for ourselves – as a priestly people we do this for the good of the world, for the rest of God’s created order.
The feast of St Joseph today, therefore, calls to mind once more the pledge that God has made to humanity. At a time when people might feel uncertain and doubtful, or when many might wonder if God has abandoned them, or they perhaps feel bereft of his presence, it is good to be reminded that God has betrothed himself to Man. And as the word ‘betroth’ indicates, coming as it does from the Old English word triewð, God pledges himself to us, he makes a covenant with us, and he does so in faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty, truthfulness. Hence St Paul says: even “if we are faithless, [God] remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Tim 2:13) Through the Incarnation, God the Second Person of the Holy Trinity has forever united himself to our humanity, and so he cannot deny himself, and he is forever faith, ever present, always Emmanuel, God-with-us.
St Joseph, through his faith and his obedience, through his docility to the word of God revealed by angels, exhibits, therefore, this righteous trust in God’s ever-present help. Despite the dangers and difficulties he faced, he kept faith with God because he believed in the faithfulness of God, a God who has first betrothed himself to us with a love beyond all telling. And so today we are encouraged in faith, to remember the fidelity of God, and to trust in his mercies and steadfast love, and so to heed his word with serenity, as St Joseph does. As always, we are being challenged to keep faith with God, to trust in his promises even in moments when things seem humanly impossible.
St Joseph, again, shows us the way forward in this respect. The Gospel passage we hear today contains a clue, but only if we pay attention to the Greek text! When Joseph learns of the pregnancy of Mary, he, being a just and righteous man, decides to spare her undue publicity. The word St Matthew uses to describe St Joseph’s course of action is apoluo.Now, this word could mean ‘divorce’ as it’s been translated in the lectionary somewhat unfortunately. But the word can also mean to ‘distance oneself from’, ‘conceal’ or ‘hide’. Now, as Joseph trusts in God’s Word, and as he also believes in the goodness of his wife Mary, who scholars now realise had in fact dedicated herself to God in consecrated virginity from her childhood, then St Joseph could not have wanted to divorce his wife. For that would be as good as abandoning her! Rather, this just man of faith, knowing well the Scriptures, was chosen by God to be the chaste husband of Mary to protect her, to love her, and indeed to guard her chaste modesty and virginity. Thus St Thomas Aquinas says that “Joseph wanted to give the Virgin her liberty, not because he suspected her of adultery, but [because] out of respect for her sanctity he feared to live together with her”. Just as St Peter would ask the Lord Jesus to depart from him because he was a sinful man, so Joseph wants to distance himself from Mary, the Mother of God, because he feels himself unworthy of her! Thus St Bridget of Sweden revealed in one of her mystical revelations that “Joseph would not suspect evil but remembered the words of the prophet who foretold that the Son of God would be born of a virgin, [but] he reputed himself unworthy to serve such a mother, until the angel in a dream commanded him not to fear to minister to [Our Lady] with charity.” Joseph’s response, therefore, is one of tremendous faith in God, and in his promises, which are being fulfilled through his betrothed, the Virgin Mary.
So, Laura and Danny, in your days together from henceforth, and in your stewardship of the household of faith and love that God establishes today between you, look to St Joseph’s example: Remain steadfast in faith, protect and cherish the virtues of each other, and be attentive and prudently responsive to the Word of God. St Joseph, pray for us: that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ!
St Joseph, Guardian of Sons – Melchior Paul von Deschwanden
Eternal God, originator of Fatherhood, I offer to you the blessed office of Father. May the men who occupy this dignified place protect and care for their children and wives with valiant honesty, heroic chastity, noble humility, and stern sobriety.
Ignite a fire in the hearts of men, O God, so that they may respond to the Divine call to fatherhood, both natural and spiritual, and model themselves after the holy example of Blessed Joseph, Father of the Universal Church.
Through his intercession, may fathers be strengthened to flee from sin, subdue their flesh, wrestle with the powers of corruption, banish the darkness, and obtain victory over hell and its agents.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, sanctifier of all men, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
JOKE-OGRAPHY: The gift Joseph is making for Jesus in this cartoon is foreshadowing two Bible stories from Jesus’s adulthood: 1) The first is Jesus’s famous conversation with Peter where He says, “Upon this rock, I will build My Church.” Instead, Joseph refers to the rocking mule, which is missing a seat for Jesus, and says, “Upon this *rocker*, I will build His *perch*.” Whimsical, is it not? 2) The second is Jesus’s famous ride on a mule, where people placed palms on the road in front of Him. He seems to have a poetic connection to beasts of burden.
Next week’s cartoon will be posted on Easter Sunday instead of Good Friday. See you then!
JOKE-OGRAPHY: In the Bible, the adult Jesus prays in a garden before His crucifixion, asking God the Father to let the figurative “cup” of Jesus’s suffering and death pass away without having to be “drunk”, but despite His request, Jesus acknowledges that the Father has the final say, and Jesus submits Himself to the Father’s Will, even if it means doing something He knows He won’t like. In this cartoon, Jesus is speaking to His earthly father, Joseph, asking not to have to drink a literal cup of fruit juice because He thinks it smells weird, but at the insistence of His father, He obediently takes the cup as willed.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations.
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.
When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Fresh and long-awaited news arrived yesterday : so now I can say I’m officially going to teach French in an American university in August, and that will be in St Joseph, Missouri ! Which is very funny for a Jesse James fan. Family is a bit scared by tornadoes and winter, but for my part it’s such a relief to get a visa after one year of procedures that I cannot wait to be there :-)
Happy Feast Day Saint Joseph Feast day: March 19 May 1 Patronage: The Catholic Church, unborn children, fathers, purity, immigrants, workers, against doubt and hesitation, and of a happy death
Saint Joseph was the representative of our Heavenly Father on earth because he acted as Christ’s father in His life on earth, he is the divinely appointed head of the Holy Family. The Holy Family; of Saint Joseph, The Blessed Mother, and the Son of God is the beginning and the model for the great Family of God, His Church here on earth. In this way, Saint Joseph is a father to all of us. {website}
