The Life of Saint Joseph
by Father Alban Butler (1864)
 The glorious Saint Joseph was
lineally descended from the greatest kings of the tribe of Judah,
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 entrusted Saint Joseph 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 Saint 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. a just man
Saint Jerome assures us that Saint
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 into
execution He sent
an angel from heaven, not to reprehend anything 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 Saint
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 Savior 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 Saint Bernard, "whom our Lord appointed the master of His household, the comfort and
support of His mother, His foster-father, and most faithful co-operator in the execution
of His deepest counsels on earth." "What a
happiness," 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, in a devout address to Saint
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 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 fulfill the order of Providence
in his regard without interfering with
anything but what concerns himself. Though
descended from the royal family which had long been in the possession of
the throne of Judea, he
is content with his condition, that of a
mechanic or handicraftsman, 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. Saint
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. "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 superstitious country
were struck dumb, and the statues of their gods trembled, and in many places fell to the
ground, according to that of Isaiah 19. 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.
After the death of
King Herod, which was notified
to Saint 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 Judea,
hearing that Archelausa 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 Antipasa, in Galilee, to his former habitation in
Nazareth, where the wonderful occurrences of our Lord's
birth were less known. Saint 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 Judea made a Roman province,
he had now nothing more to fear at Jerusalem.
Our Savior 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 acquaintances towards Galilee, and, never doubting but that
Jesus had joined Himself
with some of the company, they traveled 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 Messiah 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 the Messiah;
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.
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Jesus among the Teachers
in the Temple -
by VERONESE, Paolo -
from Museo del Prado, Madrid |
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,
whilst 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:
"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 lie 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 search; but what their joy when they found Him again. "Discover
to me," says Aelred, "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 Him, 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 in
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 Saint
Joseph, he must have died before the marriage feast of
Cana and the beginning of our divine Savior'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 savior 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 savior of the life of
Him Who was the true
Savior 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 Saint 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 enlarges on all the circumstances of his life by pious affections and meditations.
Saint Teresa chose him the chief patron of her order. In the sixth chapter of her life she writes thus: "I chose the glorious Saint 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
anything by him which I did not obtain. I never knew anyone who, by invoking him, did not
advance exceedingly in virtue; for he assists in a wonderful manner all who address
themselves to him." Saint 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 holiday 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 seraphim, Mary
and Joseph, live in their poor cottage! They
always enjoyed 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 in listening
to Him, and their joy in possessing Him! O heavenly life! O anticipation of the heavenly bliss! O 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.
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