Gospel Reflection For The 19th day of March in the year of Our Lord, 2024
Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Gospel
Matthew 1:16 - 24
1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Judas and his brethren. 3 And Judas begot Phares and Zara of Thamar. And Phares begot Esron. And Esron begot Aram. 4 And Aram begot Aminadab. And Aminadab begot Naasson. And Naasson begot Salmon. 5 And Salmon begot Booz of Rahab. And Booz begot Obed of Ruth. And Obed begot Jesse.
6 And Jesse begot David the king. And David the king begot Solomon, of her that had been the wife of Urias. 7 And Solomon begot Roboam. And Roboam begot Abia. And Abia begot Asa. 8 And Asa begot Josaphat. And Josaphat begot Joram. And Joram begot Ozias. 9 And Ozias begot Joatham. And Joatham begot Achaz. And Achaz begot Ezechias. 10 And Ezechias begot Manasses. And Manasses begot Amon. And Amon begot Josias.
11 And Josias begot Jechonias and his brethren in the transmigration of Babylon. 12 And after the transmigration of Babylon, Jechonias begot Salathiel. And Salathiel begot Zorobabel. 13 And Zorobabel begot Abiud. And Abiud begot Eliacim. And Eliacim begot Azor. 14 And Azor begot Sadoc. And Sadoc begot Achim. And Achim begot Eliud. 15 And Eliud begot Eleazar. And Eleazar begot Mathan. And Mathan begot Jacob.
16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations, from Abraham to David, are fourteen generations. And from David to the transmigration of Babylon, are fourteen generations: and from the transmigration of Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations. 18 Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost. 19 Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name JESUS. For he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying: 23 Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 And Joseph rising up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took unto him his wife. 25 And he knew her not till she brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
Being a woodcarver and craftsman, I have a special fondness for Saint Joseph. He is a saint whose life I can understand. There are many conflicting stories surrounding the life of Saint Joseph. Much confusion has been sown by a trend in Catholic moral education right now that seeks to convince Catholic youth that Saint Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary were somewhat of an ordinary couple as one might find today – close in age and similar backgrounds, but chaste before and during marriage, devoted to living very devout lives as a normal married couple and very much in love. It is a nice story, that seeks to emphasize chastity for teens and young adults. Frankly, there is no historical evidence that this is the case.
Although no one knows for sure, several histories in Catholic tradition state that Saint Joseph was much older than the Blessed Virgin Mary. Some say that he was a widower with grown children who, in his later years, decided to live a life that we might call lay religious. He took a vow of chastity and devoted himself to a quiet life of work and prayer. Mary, was only 14-15 years of age, but she had taken a vow of chastity at an early age and was also living a life devoted to God. There is no evidence of any romance between the two, which is to be expected as romantic love was not considered a basis for marriage in ancient times. Marriages were arranged. That Saint Joseph would have been asked to marry the Blessed Virgin then, makes perfect sense… especially if her pregnancy by the Holy Spirit was known to her parents. Their union would have been intended to be chaste from the start and Saint Joseph was chosen to protect and provide for our Lord and His mother. Likely, very little that would be common in a normal marriage was shared by them – their lives were lives of service, chaste, Christian love and duty. They were also well aware that Jesus was the Messiah and of the prophecy of Simeon foretelling His death and Mary’s heartache.
Still though, I imagine those quiet days of Jesus’ childhood as He worked along side his foster father. It seems Saint Joseph was a tool maker, but may have made furniture as well. Our Lord’s work with Saint Joseph sanctified work, especially manual labor. The bonds of love in this odd family were very great and we must imagine that peace and joy filled their home as our Lord is the embodiment of love, peace and joy.
No one knows exactly when Saint Joseph passed away, but it was before Jesus began His public ministry. Saint Joseph died with Jesus and Mary by his side and was very likely the first person to enter heaven. Families, virgins, expectant mothers, unborn children, the Jewish people, carpenters, workers, those who are sick or dying and the Catholic Church are especially under his care and patronage. His example of obedience, duty and care is certainly one we should all seek to imitate. Interestingly, the oldest existing prayer to a saint is not to the Blessed Virgin Mary, but to Saint Joseph. We may speculate that Jesus told his Apostles about his foster father and that they composed this very prayer. Archaeological evidence for the following prayer is believed to date to around 50 AD… several of the Apostles were still alive. This prayer to Saint Joseph was very likely prayed by the Apostles, themselves, and was common among Christians:
O St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in thee all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph, do assist me by thy powerful intercession and obtain for me from thy Divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that, having engaged here below thy heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers. O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating thee and Jesus asleep in thy arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near thy heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen.
In 1505, this ancient prayer to Saint Joseph was sent from the Pope to Emperor Charles when he was going to battle, because the Church states, “Whoever reads this prayer or hears it or carries it, will never die a sudden death, nor be drowned, nor shall poison take effect on them; neither shall they fall into the hands of the enemy, nor be burned in any fire, nor shall they be overpowered in battle.”
Saint Joseph, pray for us!
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Gospel passages are taken from the Douay Rheims Bible.