Suppose a multi-billionaire who owned many worldwide corporations had one son and one daughter. Though he made many important decisions regarding who would lead various branches of his enterprises, two decisions tower above all the rest. One, in his absence, who would be the guardian over his son, and two, who would be the spouse of his daughter.
God had to make two similar decisions when he sent his only Son to earth. Who would stand in his place to be legal guardian of his Son, and who would be spouse of his most special daughter. Among the many holy men of Israel, God put his hand on Joseph to be both legal guardian of Jesus and spouse of the blessed among women, Mary. There has never been a more important assignment given to any man, has there?
Today is the feast day of St. Joseph, the guardian of Jesus and spouse of Mary. No saint comes even close to him in terms of mission and holiness. Today we read a portion of chapter 1 of Matthew’s gospel in which Joseph is mentioned five times (Matthew 1:16-24).
“Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary…Mary was betrothed to Joseph…Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly…the angel said…’Joseph, son of David do not be afraid to take Mary your wife…When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded.”
Joseph is identified as “a righteous man.” This means that his whole life was guided by the Law of God as revealed through Moses. Everything he did was in conformity with what God expected of him. In this sense he was filled with what the Old Testament writers call “fear of the Lord.” So, when he learned from Mary that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, he knew that the Law required him to divorce her. Knowing that the Holy Spirit was her true spouse, Joseph knew he was neither qualified nor worthy to be her spouse as well. He must have gone through a personal “crucifixion” to make the decision to divorce his beloved Mary. This was equivalent to the decision Jesus made in the Garden of Gethsemane, “not my will but thine be done.”
Then God sent an angel, just as he did when Abraham was about to slaughter his beloved son Isaac. The angel told him not to be afraid, that it was God’s will for him to stand in for the Holy Spirit as the human spouse of Mary. Joseph is the “new Abraham!” Being the spouse of Mary, he therefore became the foster father and mentor of Jesus. Imagine that! Joseph was God’s appointed vessel for teaching Jesus about how to be a righteous man. We wonder how many of Jesus’ teachings were passed along from Joseph.
Saint Teresa of Avila who vigorously promoted St. Joseph, said that she never asked Joseph for anything that he didn’t deliver on. In recent days Fr. Donald Calloway has awakened the practice of consecration to St. Joseph, which means we officially adopt Joseph as our own foster father. Imagine, we are privileged to have Jesus’ own parents as our own!
Let us be bold in seeking St. Joseph’s intercession!
