As
scripture tells us, a good Jewish man named Joseph, the son of Jacob, was
betrothed to Mary who would become the mother of Jesus Christ. This all came to
pass to fulfill the scriptures that foretold of a Messiah coming from the
lineage of David. If you read much about David, you have to wonder why God
wanted His only Son to come from that family tree, and yet if you read much
about David’s Faith in God, you will understand why God chose this family tree.
An excellent book on David is by Max Lucado – “Facing Your Giants.” If you read
that book, you will better understand this family tree plan of God’s. David did
a lot of bad things, as well as a lot of good things. But his heart was with
God most of the time, which became his saving grace. We can all relate to David
– perhaps another blog on him later.
I
have always had a respect for Joseph in my heart. He was the earthly father of
Jesus Christ. He knew that Jesus was the Son of God, in fact, Joseph was told
what to name the child. Joseph had to have faith that we cannot imagine and
trust in God’s plan.
His
young fiancé left to visit her elderly relative, Elizabeth and to help her have
a baby for about three months. Elizabeth was the sister of Anna, Mary’s mother.
The Canticle of Mary are the words Mary spoke when she and Elizabeth first saw
each other. There is no way except through the Holy Spirit that Elizabeth could
have known that Mary was even pregnant when they first met, yet she says. “How
is it that the Mother of my Lord comes to visit me.” Think about that for a
minute – no cell phones, no land lines, no telegraphs, no twitter– there is no
way except through God that Elizabeth could know that Mary was pregnant at all.
Let alone be carrying God’s Son!
When
Mary returns home to Joseph, she would have been about four months pregnant –
young Joseph is wondering what is going on I am sure. An angel appeared to him
and things got worked out. I have pondered that relationship for years, and I
found something in the Magnificat on Monday, March 19th, the Feast
Day of Saint Joseph that pretty well sums up what we as Catholics believe, and
what I have come to firmly believe. There have been many arguments about this
Holy Family over the years – Did Jesus have brothers? Did Joseph have children
from a previous marriage? Could Mary have a baby and remain a virgin?
I
assume that Joseph raised Jesus in their home and was with Mary and Jesus until
Jesus was in his early twenties – there is not much written about Joseph’s
death. Joseph was a carpenter and provided a loving and safe home for the Son
of God all based on his Faith in God’s plan. Enough of my babble – the good
stuff:
Taken
from the Magnificat Meditation of the Day on March 19, 2012:
Joseph,
Husband of Mary
Virginity is the law of this marriage;
a marriage, however, is called to bear fruit. “That fruit,” says Saint Augustine,
“God gives in the Person of his own Son taking flesh in the womb of Mary.” In
the hidden designs of God, the union of the two spouses prepared for the coming
of the Messiah. Now, the Messiah becomes their Child. Yes, affirms the great
Doctor, Saint Augustine, Jesus can rightly be called the fruit of the virginal
marriage of Mary and Joseph; he is given, not separately to Mary, but to her and
to her spouse, to be theirs together.
Saint Joseph was not informed
immediately of the Incarnation of the Son of God in his chaste spouse, because
she stands ahead of him in election and holiness. Furthermore, the perplexity
of Joseph was to serve as witness to the virginal conception of the Savior.
Consider the words of the angel to Saint Joseph. He does not give him rights
over the Child, rights which he could not have; he simply informs him that Mary
has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that she remains his spouse in her divine
maternity. The bond of marriage is not destroyed by the intervention of the Holy
Spirit, who gives it its fruit; it is strengthened by the coming of the divine
child.
Joseph was the spouse of the Virgin
Mary; now he is the spouse of the Mother of God. He is invited to exercise the
right of a father over the child by giving him his name, Jesus.
O Joseph, spouse of the Mother of God!
What a dazzling greatness is concealed in that matchless title! And that
greatness springs from the exquisite purity of your soul. You are the spouse of
the Virgin Mother of God, because you are a virgin yourself, a virgin in soul
and body. Ah! Obtain for us something of that celestial purity which made you
so great, yet which left you so humble.
Dom
Bernard Marchaux
Father Marchaux was a Benedictine
Priest
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