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| Hence, just as Mary became
the Mother of God not "because of the will of man but because
of the will of God"23, so neither did Joseph receive his fatherhood
towards Christ except by the will of God. Mary cooperated much more
proximately and more intimately in the Incarnation than Joseph, so
that she is not only morally the Mother of God, but <physically>
as well. Her motherhood is perfect in every sense of the word. The
fatherhood of Joseph does not have the perfection of physical fatherhood
but it immeasurably surpasses any form of human adoptive fatherhood. How is it possible for Joseph to have become the father of Jesus in the sense described without his knowledge or consent? Furthermore, there is the constant belief of the Church that he and Mary agreed to remain virgins. Does that fact not imply the resolve to have no children? These objections are easily answered. When Mary and Joseph married, even with the resolve to abstain from the use of the sexual privileges of marriage, they were entering marriage with the idea of consecrating themselves to one another for the love of God. They were completely "open" to the designs of God's will, even though at the time they did not know what that Will implied. It is basically unimportant whether they understood down to the most minute detail what God was demanding of them; it was sufficient that they surrendered themselves without reserve to His unfathomable designs. Their call to marriage was not a private vocation, a vocation that only concerned themselves; it was a call that was to affect the entire community of the human family. In all likelihood the only thing they were sure of in their hearts was that God was calling them to marriage and that they were to live a virginal life; they determined to live their married life according to the good pleasure of God. This attitude of mind and heart was the all-important thing at that moment. As yet they had no idea what great things God had in store for them. Perhaps a simple example might shed some light on this matter. Consider the parents of St. Theresa of Lisieux, or the parents of Saint Thomas Aquinas at the time of their marriages. They certainly had no idea that a child would be born to them who would one day be a canonized saint and who would have such a profound spiritual influence on millions of souls. On their wedding day they simply resolved to follow their calling in the state of matrimony and to put their marriage at the service and good pleasure of their Creator. Thus it was with Mary and Joseph. Only with the passing of time did they begin to understand how their marriage was to be the most privileged marriage of all times because, as Saint Augustine states, "the Holy Spirit gave a divine child to both of them"24. In the miraculous fruit of their marriage, God's most decisive and important intervention into human history took place. What is the best title to express the unique fatherhood of Saint Joseph? There are any number of terms employed by the faithful and spiritual writers such as a fatherhood that is legal, reputed, foster, vicar of the Eternal Father, or virginal. Most of these titles express a partial aspect of the reality. Father Francis Filas, S.J., the greatest living American Josephologist, along with a number of other writers, prefers the title: Joseph, the <Virginal Father> of Christ. He justifies his choice of title in these words: 'Virginal father' seems to approach the requirements for an adequate description because it is brief, exclusive, and clear ,or perhaps we should say that it is as clear as any title ever will be in referring to a fatherly relationship that so utterly transcends all ordinary categories. Extrinsically, 'virginal father' has been recommended in the words of Augustine. Intrinsically, according to its meaning, it so limits the significance of the word 'father', by calling the fatherhood <virginal>, that it excludes all connotation of physical generation, with no ambiguity whatsoever. On the other hand, by its mention of a virginal <fatherhood>, it indicates that some sort of fatherhood is being referred to. Since physical paternity is excluded by the word 'virginal', the rights and duties of a fatherhood in the moral order seem to be the logical conclusion. A little later in the same book, Fr. Filas continues: Now to apply this principle to 'virginal father'. St. Joseph is father of Jesus <in so far as he, a virginal man, can be the father of Christ>,and in saying this we have exactly the thought of many centuries that Joseph was father in all respects, physical generation alone excepted! An adoptive father, whose son is extraneous to him and to his marriage, does not possess paternity in a fashion such as this. The description fits only St. Joseph's relationship, according to which Christ was Joseph's true son in the moral order, and not extraneous to him. The Saint could not have obtained such a fatherhood except through the fact that Jesus was born of Joseph's wife. There is no other source possible, the marriage was the channel of parenthood to St. Joseph.25 5. Saint Joseph had true paternal sentiments toward Jesus Since Joseph was granted the privilege of virginal fatherhood towards Jesus, it is necessary to say a few words about the special interior grace he possessed of experiencing true paternal sentiments towards the child. It is a general principle of theology that when God calls a man to perform a special service, He gives all the graces necessary for the perfect execution of that vocation. The fatherhood of Joseph was not granted by nature and therefore God who, in a supernatural manner had made Joseph a virginal father, also granted him profound sentiments of love and solicitude for Christ that no human father ever felt for his son. This can be called the principal grace of his state of life in God's plan for him in salvation history. Bossuet explained this grace in a manner that has never been surpassed. He wrote: That same divine hand that fashions each man's heart gave a father's heart to Joseph and a son's heart to Jesus, so that Jesus obeyed Joseph and Joseph did not fear to command Jesus. And how can he to be so bold as to command his Creator? It was because Christ's true Father, the God who had begotten Him from all eternity, had chosen Joseph to act as father to His son in this world; and in so doing God had, as it were, charged Joseph's breast with some ray or spark of His own boundless love for His Son. It was this that changed Joseph's heart, it was this that aroused a father's love in him, so much so that, feeling a father's heart burn within him at God's word, Joseph felt also that God was telling him to use a father's authority: therefore he did not fear to command Him whom he acknowledged as His Master.26 His fatherly sentiments enabled him to exercise that holy care and solicitude in caring for the child. This is especially evident in the course of the endless troubles that occurred during the first few years of 'Christ's existence. But, again following the keen insights of Bossuet, the greatest proof of his fatherly solicitude was given in the agonizing experience of being separated from Christ for three days when the Holy Family went up to Jerusalem. Consider this further ordeal, and a remarkable one. It was not enough that men should distress him, Jesus did so too: the Boy eluded his watchful eye, slipped away, and was lost for three days. What had faithful Joseph done? What had happened to the sacred trust that God had put into his hands? We can hardly imagine Joseph's alarm and lamentations. If you do not yet understand his fatherhood, look upon his tears now, see his misery, and be convinced that he is a father. His grief made it abundantly clear, and Mary was right when she said to Jesus, "Thy father and I have been seeking thee sorrowing". It was as if she said: "Son, I am not afraid to call him your father now, and by doing so I throw no shadow on the virginal marvel of your birth. I call him your father because of his solicitude and disquiet, his concern on your behalf is truly fatherly. I and your father: I join him with myself in our common sorrowing.27 6. Holiness and dignity of Saint Joseph From the sixteenth century there has been a growing consensus among theologians about the outstanding holiness of Saint Joseph. Today it can be affirmed that it is the common teaching of the Church that Joseph occupies a very special place in heaven, because of his exceptional holiness, that is second only to the place occupied by the Mother of God. In his encyclical letter <Quamquam pluries>, Leo XIII wrote: Joseph... indeed was the husband of Mary and the father, as was supposed, of Jesus Christ. From this arise all his dignity and grace, holiness and glory... There can be no doubt that more than any other person he approached that supereminent dignity by which the Mother of God is raised far above all created natures... Joseph alone stands out in august dignity because he was the Guardian of the Son of God by divine appointment.28 Several things are worthy of note in this encyclical of Leo: first, he mentions the measure of the holiness of Saint Joseph. The norm that determined the amount of grace that Joseph received was the twofold office that he possessed, namely, that of being the husband of Mary, and the father of Jesus Christ. The grace God bestowed upon his soul coincided with the supereminent dignity of those two offices. Secondly, Leo's insistence that Joseph <more than any other person> approached the holiness of Mary. Mary was raised far above <all created nature>, does this mean that the Pope was teaching that Mary is holier than the angels themselves? It does, and this has been the common teaching of the Church for many centuries. But, what is more pertinent to this study of ours, does this mean that Joseph is also higher in dignity and holiness that the angels? Leo does not explicitly say this, but he certainly supplies the premise from which such a conclusion can legitimately be drawn. Pius XI in his characteristically incisive and clear language dispelled any doubt that might still linger when he wrote: "... between Joseph and God we do not see, and we can not see, anyone except Mary with her divine motherhood"29. Because of the words of Christ that "of those born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist"30, some have questioned whether John the Baptist did not surpass Joseph in holiness. This objection is not as strong as may appear. Taking into account the parallel text of Luke (7:28), exegetes assure us that Christ did not state that John the Baptist was the holiest person who ever lived, otherwise we would have to maintain that he was holier than the Mother of God! Christ was only speaking of John the Baptist as the greatest of the <prophets> of the Old Testament. He was saying that the other prophets were given the mission of foretelling the coming of the future Messiah, but John was the last of the prophets and the greatest of them all because he was given the mission of pointing out to his contemporaries the expected one of the hopes of Israel: "Behold, the Lamb of God!" The dignity of a Saint is measured by the degree of grace and virtue he possessed. In this sense, not all saints had an equal amount of grace, but each one was given the amount of grace "according to the will of God" that would enable him to perform the mission assigned him. In the case of Joseph, the fact that he was assigned the privilege of living in the intimate presence of Jesus and Mary indicates the rapid growth in grace and in virtue that must have occurred in his life. 7. Patron of the Universal Church In 1870 Pope Pius IX declared Saint Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church. In the providence of God, nothing has, I believe, made the faithful so directly conscious of the special importance of Saint Joseph. From that time, devotion to Joseph has grown by leaps and bounds within the Church. What prompted the Church to declare herself to be under the special protection of Joseph? Incidentally, there are many writers who do not hesitate to say that the Pope did not <make> Saint Joseph the Patron of the Church, but that he only <declared> this to be a fact. This observation is not without merit, for Papal documents only refer to a declaration on the part of the Church and they never speak of the Church herself constituting Joseph in this role. Hence, it is best to follow this terminology. Leo XIII sums up the teaching of the Church on the matter: The divine household which Joseph governed as with paternal authority contained the beginnings of the new Church. The Virgin most holy is the mother of all Christians, since she is the mother of Jesus and since she gave birth to them on the mount of Calvary amid the indescribable sufferings of the Redeemer. Jesus is, as it were, the firstborn of Christians, who are His brothers by adoption and redemption. From these considerations we conclude that the Blessed Patriarch must regard all the multitude of Christians who constitute the Church as confided to his care in a certain special manner. This is his numberless family scattered throughout all lands, over which he rules with a sort of paternal authority, because he is the husband of Mary and the father of Jesus Christ. Thus, it is conformable to reason and in every way becoming to Blessed Joseph that as once it was his sacred trust to guard with watchful care the family of Nazareth, no matter what befell, so now by virtue of his heavenly patronage he is in turn to protect and to defend the Church of Christ.31 It was the mission of Joseph to be the head of the Holy Family on earth, and in caring for wife and son he began his office of protecting the Church, because, as Leo pointed out, the Church was then in the embryonic state of her existence. He was chosen to watch over the source of salvation and of sanctification for humanity, and in heaven he continues the sacred trust that he exercised so well here on earth. But it should not be forgotten that this office of Joseph is a <paternal> office. He exercises it because he is the father of Jesus Christ. Joseph is the spiritual father of all the faithful, and this office is a natural consequence of his office as virginal father of Christ. In becoming the father and protector of Christ, he was given spiritual charge of all those who would receive the graces of the redemption, just as Mary became the spiritual Mother of all precisely because of her Divine Motherhood. 8. St. Joseph assumed into heaven? Theologians have raised the question of Saint Joseph's assumption into heaven. Was Joseph granted the privilege of being taken to heaven in body as well as in soul? Many theologians have based their belief in the resurrection of Joseph into heaven on the words of Saint Matthew: "Many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose; and coming forth out of the tombs after His resurrection, they came into the holy city and appeared to many"32. There is not unanimous agreement among the exegetes that this text can be used as a real proof of his assumption. Nevertheless, there are some noted scholars who have made the claim that those who rose at that time died no more and rose to heaven with Christ. Some of them think Joseph must certainly have been one of this group; and there are not lacking strong reasons for thinking this must be so. go to page 1, 2, 3 |
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