St. Joseph: Patron of the house at Nazareth and the Church today
St. Matthew’s Gospel records how St. Joseph “did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him” – a phrase not just applicable to his decision to take the Blessed Virgin as his wife, but to all his life.
(PerMariam) — St. Joseph’s demonstration of pure, trusting and deeply loving faith is at the forefront of Scriptural passages concerning his life.
St. Matthew’s Gospel records how St. Joseph “did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him” – a phrase not just applicable to his decision to take the Blessed Virgin as his wife, but to the entirety of his life as her spouse and foster-father of Christ.
So silent through Scripture, St. Joseph nevertheless bears bold testimony to the living embodiment of true faith, uniting his will to God’s and trusting always in His plan. Pope John Paul II writes that: “One can say that what Joseph did united him in an altogether special way to the faith of Mary. He accepted as truth coming from God the very thing that she had already accepted at the Annunciation.”
Such a faith is so desperately needed in modern society, but so also is that other aspect of Joseph’s life: namely his exemplary fatherhood. Pope Pius XII commented in his 1958 address to American schoolchildren:
“With Mary, his wife, he shared all the joys and sorrows, the plans and anxieties that come to a mother in bringing up her child sorrows, the plans and anxieties that come to a mother in bringing up her child. Day after, at home and in the carpenter shop, his eyes rested on Jesus; he protected Him against the dangers of childhood; he guided His advancing years, and by hard work and with religious devotedness he provided for the increasing needs of the Mother and the Son.”
As Pope Leo XIII wrote in Quamquam pluries:
“And Joseph shines among all mankind by the most august dignity, since by divine will, he was the guardian of the Son of God and reputed as His father among men. Hence it came about that the Word of God was humbly subject to Joseph, that He obeyed him, and that He rendered to him all those offices that children are bound to render to their parents.”
But to St. Joseph’s faith and exemplary fulfillment of his fatherhood must be added also his direction of souls to Christ. Ever like his spouse, Joseph points souls not to himself but to the Christ-child, in Whom is found salvation.
Pius XII noted this aspect, saying to the schoolchildren in 1958:
Now let us ask you, dear children, if Joseph was so engaged heart and soul in protecting and providing for that little family at Nazareth, don’t you think that now in heaven he is the same loving father and guardian of the whole Church, of all its members, as he was of its head on earth? We hear you answer: yes.
And does he not know that, oh so many of its children are terribly in need of help? They need help for their souls – the grace of repentance, the grace of perseverance, the grace of humble, unstinted surrender to the Holy will of God; and Joseph turns to Jesus, of old his boy of Nazareth, and at once graces flow abundantly for the souls of men.
They need help also for their bodies: fathers are out of work, mothers are bending beneath burdens far too heavy, children are without sufficient food and clothing and medicines when ill; and Joseph turns to you. Yes, it is to you he turns. He must look to you to aid and encourage those children, who are also your little brothers and sisters. We know you will not fail him. Your devotion to him will spur you on to make little sacrifices and big ones too, so that the vast human family, that Jesus yearns to unite in faith and charity, will know that St. Joseph is still the alert and generous guardian and protector, working now through his loyal clients.
Just as Pope Pius IX’s 1870 decree summarized the Church’s devotion to Joseph, so also does Leo XIII’s Quamquam pluries summarize the beautiful aspects of his life which have been the cause for said devotion to the spouse of Mary:
The special motives for which St. Joseph has been proclaimed Patron of the Church, and from which the Church looks for singular benefit from his patronage and protection, are that Joseph was the spouse of Mary and that he was reputed the Father of Jesus Christ. From these sources have sprung his dignity, his holiness, his glory. In truth, the dignity of the Mother of God is so lofty that naught created can rank above it.
But as Joseph has been united to the Blessed Virgin by the ties of marriage, it may not be doubted that he approached nearer than any to the eminent dignity by which the Mother of God surpasses so nobly all created natures. For marriage is the most intimate of all unions which from its essence imparts a community of gifts between those that by it are joined together. Thus in giving Joseph the Blessed Virgin as spouse, God appointed him to be not only her life's companion, the witness of her maidenhood, the protector of her honour, but also, by virtue of the conjugal tie, a participator in her sublime dignity. And Joseph shines among all mankind by the most august dignity, since by divine will, he was the guardian of the Son of God and reputed as His father among men.
Hence it came about that the Word of God was humbly subject to Joseph, that He obeyed him, and that He rendered to him all those offices that children are bound to render to their parents. From this two-fold dignity flowed the obligation which nature lays upon the head of families, so that Joseph became the guardian, the administrator, and the legal defender of the divine house whose chief he was. And during the whole course of his life he fulfilled those charges and those duties. He set himself to protect with a mighty love and a daily solicitude his spouse and the Divine Infant; regularly by his work he earned what was necessary for the one and the other for nourishment and clothing; he guarded from death the Child threatened by a monarch's jealousy, and found for Him a refuge; in the miseries of the journey and in the bitternesses of exile he was ever the companion, the assistance, and the upholder of the Virgin and of Jesus.
Now the divine house which Joseph ruled with the authority of a father, contained within its limits the scarce-born Church. From the same fact that the most holy Virgin is the mother of Jesus Christ is she the mother of all Christians whom she bore on Mount Calvary amid the supreme throes of the Redemption; Jesus Christ is, in a manner, the first-born of Christians, who by the adoption and Redemption are his brothers.
And for such reasons the Blessed Patriarch looks upon the multitude of Christians who make up the Church as confided specially to his trust - this limitless family spread over the earth, over which, because he is the spouse of Mary and the Father of Jesus Christ he holds, as it were, a paternal authority.
It is, then, natural and worthy that as the Blessed Joseph ministered to all the needs of the family at Nazareth and girt it about with his protection, he should now cover with the cloak of his heavenly patronage and defend the Church of Jesus Christ.
On this glorious feast of St. Joseph, may the Terror of Demons and Protector of the Church intercede as always for the Church and Her many members.
Prayer of Pope Leo XIII to St. Joseph
To thee, O blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our affliction, and having implored the help of thy thrice holy Spouse, we now, with hearts filled with confidence, earnestly beg thee also to take us under thy protection. By that charity wherewith thou wert united to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and by that fatherly love with which thou didst cherish the Child Jesus, we beseech thee and we humbly pray that thou wilt look down with gracious eye upon that inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by His blood, and wilt succor us in our need by thy power and strength.
Defend, O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen off-spring of Jesus Christ. Keep from us, O most loving Father, all blight of error and corruption. Aid us from on high, most valiant defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness. And even as of old thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from the peril of His life, so now defend God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield us ever under thy patronage, that, following thine example and strengthened by thy help, we may live a holy life, die a happy death, and attain to everlasting bliss in Heaven. Amen.