Saint Joseph, the Just Man

I was assigned to write a post for the Oblate seminarians' blog this week, so I took the opportunity to explain a little of what the Solemnity of St. Joseph means to us.

This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of Mary and Patron of the Universal Church. It is an important day for Oblates of the Virgin Mary, and not just because of zeppole and cannoli; St. Joseph is the patron of our Congregation.

In the late 19th century, there was an entire decade when the Oblates had no new vocations. After struggling through tumultuous times during the foundation and early years of the Congregation, the relative political stability following the unification of Italy in 1870 brought little peace. The Church was under attack from the modernist movement that caused many to question the relevance of faith and morals and even reject them outright, and Pope Pius IX responded by naming St. Joseph, the protector of the Holy Family, Patron of the Universal Church in 1870. At the same time, the Oblates of the Virgin Mary also named St. Joseph patron and began asking his intercession for vocations. There was much doubt; after enduring 40 years of struggle and abuse at the hands of political authorities and socially influential figures, was the Oblate mission over? Was God doing something new at a time when it seemed the charism was needed more than ever? Well, St. Joseph came through and the rest is history.

As our Patron, St. Joseph is an important intercessor, but also a model of virtue. He is a man of obedience: he listened to what was spoken to him by God and acted accordingly (Matthew 1:24, 2:14, 2:21). In this St. Joseph is a model especially for us men in formation, when it is crucial to learn to listen to the voice of God in different ways- through spiritual movements, the discernment of superiors, the circumstances of community life- and to freely embrace his will.

I have personally experienced the important role of St. Joseph’s humble obedience in our Congregation’s works of accompaniment in spiritual direction and retreat ministry, both important for many people who are discerning the will of God in their lives. This ministry requires much preparation in spiritual and intellectual formation, which can seem like an endless uphill climb. But St. Joseph was a man of obedience before action. He is the Just Man because he sacrificed to God what was his due- the mind and heart that God has given to men for the custody of others. It is good for me to be reminded that before anything I study, practice, or preach, the only good I can really do for others is what God asks of me in ordinary daily life.

The Mystery of Saint Joseph

As the Divine Praises remind us, St. Joseph is Mary's most chaste spouse. He is a master of purity and a master of modesty, even if he needs a little convincing on this point. A master of purity is able to see, to read, in the language of the body, the mystery of God's presence hidden in the intimate center of another. A master of modesty does not exploit this mystery, nor expose this mystery, nor run away from this mystery, but rather veils the mystery with his love. In the end, St. Joseph both sees and veils the mystery of God's spousal love for mankind expressed in the body of the Blessed Virgin Mary. But it took an angel to help him understand this and have the courage to accept the task.

We turn to the Catechism to understand more clearly the two virtues of purity of heart and modesty. The Catechism teaches us: "[purity of heart] enables us to see according to God...; it lets us perceive the human body-ours and our neighbor's-as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty" (CCC, 2519). Purity of heart allows us to behold the mystery, the beauty hidden in the heart of another, but seen through the body. In regard to modesty, the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2521 reads, "Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden..."and in paragraph 2522 we read, "Modesty protects the mystery of persons and their love... it keeps silence or reserve where there is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. It is discreet."

Let us turn now to the Scriptures to see how the drama of St. Joseph's life unfolds. Throughout the ages, the "Masters of Suspicion," as Bl. John Paul II names them, read the Annunciation to St. Joseph with the suspicion that no one, even St. Joseph, could have sufficient purity of heart to see the mystery of God's love in the unexpected pregnancy of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This presumption colors the interpretations of key biblical passages, supposing that St. Joseph saw Mary as an adulteress. Modern Scripture scholarship and the Doctors of the Church help us to reread these passages in the light of truth. The passage in question comes from St. Matthew's Gospel and we hear it each year on the Solemnity of St. Joseph: "Joseph, her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly." (Mt 1:19)

First, we need help with two Greek words-namely the verb "deigmatizo", translated here as "expose to shame" and "apoluo" translated here as "divorce." While we cannot go into all the details, a valid re-translation of this passage is proposed by the Jesuit scripture scholar Fr. Ignace de la Potterie, "But Joseph, her spouse, who was a just man, and who did not wish to unveil (her mystery), resolved to secretly separate (himself) from her." (Mary in the Mystery of the Covenant, p. 39)

From this we get a better understanding of the insight of St. Bernard of Clairvaux who wrote, "Why did he wish to leave her?... He saw, with sacred astonishment, that she bore a special quality of the divine presence, and while not being able to understand this mystery, he wished to leave her." (Hom. "Super Missus Est") St. Thomas Aquinas reiterates this insight in his Summa Theologica writing, "Joseph wanted to give the Virgin her liberty, not because he suspected her of adultery, but out of respect for her sanctity he feared to live together with her." (Supplementum III, q. 62, art. 3)

Then the angel appears to St. Joseph in a dream and helps him (and us) to understand the following truth expressed by Bl. John Paul II in his reflections on the Sermon on the Mount in the Theology of the Body, "[Christ] assigns the dignity of every woman as a task to every man." And "he assigns also the dignity of every man to every woman" (TOB 100:6). Upholding this dignity "is assigned as ethos to every man, male and female: it is assigned to his 'heart,' to his conscience, to his looks, and to his behavior" (TOB 100:7). St. Joseph is assigned the "task" of Mary's dignity. This task requires two virtues: purity, to see, and modesty, to protect.

Scripture scholarship and the Doctors of the Church reinforce our faith that St. Joseph's purity of heart allowed him to behold a great mystery in the body of Mary. In the purity of his heart, St. Joseph beheld in his virginal bride not the sin of an adulteress but the awesome mystery of God's presence. The body of Mary caused the sacred astonishment of St. Joseph as he beheld the great mystery of divine, spousal love in the language of Mary's virginal pregnancy. 

At the same time, St. Joseph recognized the virtue necessary to protect such a profound mystery. He feared that in his human weakness, he might defile the mystery by remaining close. Like St. Peter and the centurion who both said, "I am not worthy," St. Joseph did not consider himself virtuous enough to veil this mystery by his presence; rather he thought he could do so better by his absence. But, in God's gentle Providence, He sent an angel to St. Joseph to reassure him that he protect her mystery by remaining her husband, by taking her mystery with him under his roof.

Let us ask St. Joseph to teach us true chastity, in purity of heart and in modesty-first by teaching us to have sensitive hearts that can recognize the beauty of the mystery of God's presence in us and in others, then by teaching us to have the virtue to protect that mystery by entering into deeper communion with Mary and the Mystery of God's love made flesh in her womb.

-Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.