St Joseph: A Man of Dreams; A Man of Actions!

(St Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a dream)

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In our liturgical year, we celebrate two times the feast of St Joseph. On the 1st of May the Church celebrates St Joseph as the Worker and today on the 19th of March, Church celebrates St Joseph, the Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Therefore, in this context we will base our reflections on this topic and how Joseph participated in the salvation work of his divine Son Jesus.

Perhaps we could look at this from three aspects that we find in Joseph. 

1. St Joseph was a refine person and noble in his dealings

2. St Joseph was a responsible husband and father and fully relied on God

3. St Joseph was a man of the future. And that futurity was God

Firstly, St Joseph was a refine person and noble in his dealings

The scriptures speak very little about St Joseph. In fact, he is familiar in statuary, paintings, nativity scenes, children’s stories, Christmas plays and Catholic devotional practices. He has most often been portrayed as quite old, a grandfather in the background of the stable at Bethlehem, a bald man with a flowering staff, and on his deathbed with Jesus at his side and with a much younger Mary standing by. What must be the origin of this image? Such particulars are imaginatively supplied by certain apocryphal writings. Though non-canonical and never considered historical by the Church, such writings have had a great influence on popular devotion including our own. Their content has entered into preaching, art, liturgy, and even patristic writings, though the latter have by and large employed a quite critical approach to them.

Even though Gospels do not supply us the imagery of Joseph as a man in his senior years but due to the influence of certain apocryphal writings we continue to have such an image of St Joseph, the husband of Mary.

Foremost among these apocrypha is the Protoevangelium of James. Protoevangelium signifies that it covers the period prior to that covered by the gospels originally written around the middle or the second half of the second century with a particular purpose. Its aim was to glorify Mary, which means her virginity must be reconciled with the Gospel phrase regarding Jesus’ “brothers.”

Subsequent apocryphal works draw freely on the story of James, adding their own embellishments. Among these are The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew which includes legends of the stay in Egypt, The Syriac-Arabic Infancy Gospel, The Armenian Infancy Gospel, and the Liber de Infantia Salvatoris. The Infancy Story of Thomas recounts numerous bizarre miracles worked by the child Jesus. The resulting composite story has Joseph as a carpenter who makes plows, yokes, other wooden tools for cultivation, and also wooden beds.

Through these texts Mary and Joseph are made into leading characters, rather than supporting participants in the great mission of Christ. The purpose of these works is apologetic, doctrinal, or simply to satisfy one’s curiosity. What we learn from these stories is that St Joseph was a gentle man, a refine man who had a noble dealings. The Gospel of Matthew Chapter 1: 19 says to us that he was “a righteous man”.

Secondly, St Joseph was a responsible person who relied fully on God. Initially, he wanted his engagement to Mary to fall apart because of her conception. He wanted to do it quietly in order to save his and Mary’s reputation. We could imagine their situation in this so uncommon and complicated moment. However, once he hears the voice, Matt 1:20, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” things change in him and he never looks back from his responsibility of a good husband to Mary and foster father to Jesus. 

Joseph is convinced fully that it is a work of God. He never shrugs his responsibility either from making all the arrangements in Bethlehem to find a place for Mary to give birth to the child, or to leave the native land for Egypt in order to save the child from the clutches of murderer Herod or to bring back the child to the native land after the death of the monster king Herod, or even searching Jesus in the temple during their pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Joseph was there as a bedrock to Mary and to Jesus doing everything. Unfortunately, all his dreams were a bit nasty and worrying all the time, Joseph trusted completely in the God of his ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He knew his God. He knew God would not let him and his family down because he had the right and true intentions. 

Thirdly, St Joseph was a man who knew who his God was. He was a man of the future; he knew his futurity was God. Joseph seems to be a man all the time working and labouring in fulfilling his primary duty as bread winner for his family and doing the will of God. He was clear of his vision of God. He was God’s rightful instrument. The destiny or goal of his life was sure once the angel Gabriel woke him up in his sleep. “Take Mary as your wife.” In spite of the bad dreams that he dreamt still he was there to fulfil them and bring to completion God’s work in the life of Jesus. Just as his divine Son Jesus would say later on in his preaching ministry that a tree can be known by its fruits (Luke 6: 44). For every tree is known by its own fruit. So too, we know who Jesus is because of Joseph. Only a good tree produces good fruits (Matthew 7:17–18). Saint Bernardine of Siena writing on St Joseph writes, “What then is Joseph’s position in the whole Church of Christ? Is he not a man chosen and set apart? Through him and yes, under him, Christ was fittingly and honourably introduced into the world.” “In Joseph the Old Testament finds its fulfilment. He brought the noble line of patriarchs and prophets to its promised fulfilment.”

So dear friends, we pray on this wonderful day of the feast of St Joseph, who is the patron saint of the whole universal Church, and also of our house Mount St Joseph, we may always strive to be like Joseph, refine and noble in our dealings, responsible and humble and rely completely on God, as well men and women who find in God the futurity and our destiny. May St Joseph, may bless us abundantly with his graces and interventions when we need them. Amen.

- Olvin Veigas, SJ

Feast of St Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

19th March 2020