4th Week of Lent, Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary

Some Notes on Today’s Solemnity:

St. Joseph was a first century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Bible tells us little about him. What we know shows his great faith and obedience to God.

The first appearance of Joseph is in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, dated from around 80-90 AD. Each contains a genealogy of Jesus showing his ancestry from King David, but through different sons. Matthew follows the major royal line from Solomon, while Luke traces another line back to Nathan, another son of David and Bathsheba. Consequently, all the names between David are different. But Joseph’s Davidic lineage is important, given that the Old Testament promised that the Messiah would come from the Davidic line.

In Matthew’s gospel, he is called the “just man,” i.e., “a holy and righteous man.”

When the angel told him in a dream to take Mary as his wife, he obeyed. When God told him to protect Jesus and Mary by fleeing to Egypt, he did not hesitate.

The last time that Joseph appears in person in any of the canonical gospels is in the narrative of the Passover visit to the Temple in Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 years old. This episode is found only in Luke. No mention is made of him thereafter. He is not mentioned as being present at the wedding in Cana at the beginning of Jesus’s mission, nor at the Passion at the end. It is assumed that Joseph died before Jesus left home for his public ministry, most likely before he was more or less 50 years old.

As to the age of Joseph when he was betrothed to Mary, some traditions say that he was an old man, in order to protect Mary’s virginity. But it is more likely that Joseph was at an age when young men would be usually betrothed. The rabbis at the time of Jesus commonly taught that men should marry between the ages of 13 and 19. As a “just man,” Joseph would no doubt have conformed to this practice.

The Church honors St. Joseph with two feast days. The main one is on 19 March, Joseph the Husband of Mary. The second is on 1 May, St. Joseph the Worker, which celebrates his role as a humble carpenter and an example for workers.

The oldest reference to the cult of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, appears around the year 800 in the north of France. Thereafter, reference to Joseph, the spouse of Mary, becomes more and more frequent from the 9th to the 14th centuries. But it was in the 15th century that the cult of St. Joseph spread due to the influence of St. Bernadine of Siena, and especially of Jean Gerson (+1420) who promoted the cause that a feast to St. Joseph be officially established.

In 1480, Pope Sixtus IV decreed that the feast be celebrated on 19 March and Pope Gregory XV made the date universal in 1621. In 1870, Pope Pius IX declared St. Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church. In 1962, Pope Pope John XXIII inserted his name in the Canon of the Mass immediately after that of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope John Paul II inserted seven new invocations to the Litany of St. Joseph: Guardian of the Redeemer, Servant of Christ, Minister of Salvation, Support in Difficulties, Patron of Exiles, Patron of the Afflicted and Patron of the Poor.

Finally, in 2013, Pope Francis had his name added to the three other Eucharistic prayers.

Joseph was a beloved father, who, by obeying the angel’s revelation, placed himself at the service of Mary and of her Child. From him Jesus learned how to obey the Father’s will, do carpentry work, and follow the religious rites of his time. Because of his loving and protective care of Jesus and Mary, he is the exemplar of someone who watches over us, protects us, is close to us, and loves us.

Prayer: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that by St. Joseph’s intercession your Church may constantly watch over the unfolding of the mysteries of human salvation, whose beginnings you entrusted to his faithful care, through Christ our Lord. Amen.