By Leon Bent –
Blessed John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation of 1989, Redemptoris Custos (Guardian of the Redeemer), teaches us that Joseph’s “fatherhood is expressed concretely in ‘his having made his life a service…a total gift of self.” God entrusted a very precious gift to Joseph when He called him to be the guardian of Jesus, in a dream.
When Joseph awoke he did as the angel of the Lord had directed him…Those are the words that stand out from the Gospel of Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24, on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary.
We don’t know a lot about Joseph – we know that he was the husband of Mary. We know that he was a carpenter and that he lived in Nazareth. We know that before he and Mary lived together, after their engagement, he found out that she was pregnant and instead of shaming her or causing a scandal, he decided to divorce her quietly. The Gospel tells us that he did this because he was an upright man, a man of principles.
Joseph was a righteous man who followed the law: He observed religious law – we know he went to Jerusalem for the Jewish festivals. He also followed civil law: He went to Bethlehem for the census. God spoke to him in dreams and he followed them conscientiously.
The four dreams are:
• First dream: In Matthew 1:20-21, Joseph is told not be afraid to take Mary as his wife, because she has conceived by the Holy Spirit. (See also the Annunciation in Luke 1:26-38, when an angel visits Mary and she agrees to conceive “through the power of the Most High”.)
• Second dream: In Matthew 2:13, Joseph is warned to leave Bethlehem and flee to Egypt.
• Third dream: In Matthew 2:19-20, while in Egypt, Joseph is told that it is safe to go back to Israel.
• Fourth dream: In Matthew 2:22, because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee instead of going to Judea.
And just like God had a plan for Joseph, God has a plan for each one of us. The plan does not need to be more than that He wants us to be upright and righteous. He wants us to be loving parents, loving husbands and wives. God wants us to follow the law – observe the commandments. But, just like Joseph, we may feel we don’t have anything to contribute: that we are nothing but simple carpenters…we may feel insignificant, because we have nothing to offer. Still, God has a plan for us. God gives us dreams and speaks to us in our dreams.
What’s interesting is that nowhere in the Gospels do we ever hear anything Joseph speaks. But he’s a man of action: he does what the angel tells him; he takes Mary as his wife; he goes to Bethlehem; he finds a place to stay for the night; he takes his family to Egypt…“Saint Joseph is the Patron of the Hidden Life, asserts James Martin, SJ the author of “My Life with the Saints,” the life that Jesus lives between the ages of twelve to thirty.”
St. Joseph may have been a simple carpenter, who did not amount to much during his life, but he is venerated as one of the greatest saints in the Church. Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary. There aren’t a lot of Saints for whom we have solemnities. The Church has been observing this feast since the 10th century. And Joseph gets another feast, a Memorial, on May 1st: the Feast of St. Joseph, the Worker. St. Joseph is the Patron saint of husbands, of fathers, the Patron saint of families, the Patron saint of homes, the Patron Saint of Workers. He is the unofficial Patron against doubt and hesitation, as well as the Patron saint of fighting communism, and of a happy death. Joseph is believed to pray also for pregnant women, travellers, immigrants, and people buying or selling houses.
And so, as we journey through Lent – especially when we gather around the Eucharistic table, let’s pray to St. Joseph: Let him guide us and help us open our hearts to God’s plan; that we may be upright and righteous; that we may be men and women who do God’s will. God has a great plan for everyone. Even for a simple carpenter.
Pope Pius IX proclaimed Saint Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church in 1870. Having died in the “arms of Jesus and Mary” according to Catholic tradition, he is considered the model of the pious believer who receives grace at the moment of death, in other words, the Patron of a happy death.
Of St. Joseph’s death the Bible tells us nothing. There are indications, however, that he died before the beginning of Christ’s public life. His was the most beautiful death that one could have; in the arms of Jesus and Mary! Humbly and unknown, he passed his years at Nazareth, silent and almost forgotten – he remained in the background through centuries of Church history. Only in recent times has he been accorded greater honour.
Every Catholic is called to develop the contemplative dimension of the Christian life. Perhaps, most of us will never become mystics who experience many of the truths of faith, but we can all become ordinary contemplators of our faith, with the help of reason and grace, and grow more deeply in union with Jesus, according to our specific vocations. St. Joseph is just one of those foundations that will enable us to grow toward a deeper Christ-centred spirituality.
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and have 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi. On April, 28, 2018, Leon received the Cardinal Ivan Dias Award for a research paper in Mariology.