An article exploring the significance of Joseph, the importance of a true devotion to Joseph as the perfect means of glorifying Jesus, and a personal reflection upon the time I played Joseph in a nativity play - all within the context of understanding Joseph's role in Christmas and the spiritual life as 'the man behind the scenes'.
No Joseph, No Christmas
The wondrous event of
Christmas involves three main characters: Jesus the star of the show, Mary the
co-star, and Joseph who is at once the co-co-star and the man behind the scenes – the man drawing the curtain and
navigating the spotlight as it were. Each of these three members are essential
and necessary to the Christmas story, yet I want to speak of the least
mentioned: the man behind the scenes. If it weren’t for Joseph there would be
no Christmas. If Joseph hadn’t have believed that Mary was still a virgin and
was made pregnant by the Holy Spirit (Mt 1:24); then according to the custom of
the Mosaic Law, Mary – whose rounded belly would eventually show – would have
been stoned to death under what people would have deemed a certain sign of
adultery. Hence if there was no Joseph, there would have been no Mary and no
baby Jesus, and thus no Christmas.
St. Pope John Paul II in Redemptoris Custos (1989, 7) writes:
Joseph's marriage to Mary is the juridical basis of his fatherhood. It was to assure fatherly protection for Jesus that God chose Joseph to be Mary's spouse… And while it is important for the Church to profess the virginal conception of Jesus, it is no less important to uphold Mary's marriage to Joseph, because juridically Joseph's fatherhood depends on it…The Son of Mary is also Joseph's Son by virtue of the marriage bond that unites them: "By reason of their faithful marriage both of them deserve to be called Christ's parents, not only his mother, but also his father, who was a parent in the same way that he was the mother's spouse: in mind, not in the flesh."[1] In this marriage none of the requisites of marriage were lacking: "In Christ's parents all the goods of marriage were realized-offspring, fidelity, the sacrament: the offspring being the Lord Jesus himself; fidelity, since there was no adultery: the sacrament, since there was no divorce."[2]
St. Joseph: The Highest Place
Indeed St. Joseph is so
important he is definitively honoured by the Church as the greatest Saint after
the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Church applies the title Latria – worship and adoration – to God the Trinity: Father, Son
and Holy Spirit. The term Hyperdulia –
the highest veneration (not worship) – is applied to the Virgin Mary. And the
term Dulia – veneration – is applied
to the saints. However to Joseph alone is Protodulia
– the first veneration – due, which means that after our Lady, Joseph is given
the highest place! This highest place occupied by St. Joseph is exactly because
he was chosen by God the Father to be His living icon and representative on
earth in the flesh. He was in turn chosen by the Word to be His human father;
as well as having been chosen to be the spouse and custodian of the holiest woman and
person – the Virgin Mary, whose honour and virginity Joseph safeguarded.[3]
St. Joseph’s office as Foster Father of Jesus and Spouse of Mary is an office
even greater than Holy Orders and its greatest realisation in the Papal Office;
since a consensus of theologians during the past several centuries in expounding on Church teaching articulate that each member of the Holy Family belonged to the Hypostatic Order – the highest Order of
the Church.[4]
Consequentially, in order to glorify
Jesus perfectly and to honour Mary perfectly, St. Joseph must be given the
highest place in our devotional lives, and our way of thinking. Yet sadly this
is often not the case. The devotional neglect and lack of appreciation and
understanding of Joseph, reflects the crisis of the family, and especially the
crisis of fatherhood and paternity in our world today. Jesus and Mary desire us
to practice true devotion to Joseph, especially Jesus who perfectly fulfilled
the commandment to honour his mother and father – an honouring we are all called
to enter into and imitate.
The Hidden and Forgotten One
Indeed St. Joseph is known as
the Hidden Saint, the Silent Saint and the Forgotten Saint. He never says a
word in the Scriptures, despite the fact that he’s the second greatest Saint-
greater than all the old prophets and the Apostles. Although devotion to him
traces its origins to the Early Church and Early Fathers, a deeper appreciation
and understanding of Joseph’s role in the Mystic Body of the Church has only
really been the case since the fourteenth century, and especially since the sixteenth
century. However despite the cultivation of this Josephine sensibility there
still remains much to be said from the top of the Church, and much to trickle
down to the ordinary believer. For as the Dominican friar Isidore Isolani (1480?
– 1528 A.D.) prophesied:
Before the day of judgement all the peoples will know and revere the name of the Lord, and the magnificent gifts that God has given St. Joseph, gifts he has wanted to keep almost hidden for a long period of time. It is then that the name of Joseph will abound…for the Lord will open the ears of their intelligence and great men will scrutinize the inner gifts of God hidden in St. Joseph…St. Joseph will give graces from heaven on high to people who will invoke him…[5]
Already however, this Josephine
movement and revolution has begun, and we through practicing a true devotion to
him can become a part of it for the greater glory of God – who like any artist receives
honour when we esteem and value his master pieces, namely when we esteem and
honour his greatest creations: Mary and Joseph.
Joseph’s Role as Patron of the Universal Church
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| Joseph - Patron of the Universal Church |
There are various titles are
attributed to St. Joseph, here is a short list of some of his titles.
Light Amongst Patriarchs
Spouse of the Mother of God
Virginal Father of Jesus
Foster-Father of Jesus
Head of the Most Holy Family
Patron of the Universal Church
Patron of the Dying
Guardian of Virgins
Terror of Demons
One of the roles of Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church is to
bring the Church and its individual members – you and me – into a deeper and
more intimate relationship with Mary, as the perfect and efficacious means by
which he brings us at the same time into a deeper and more intimate
relationship with Jesus. This role of Joseph is really the Eternal Father
working in, with and through him. If we want to draw nearer to Jesus, we need
to draw nearer to Mary. If we want to draw even nearer to Jesus, then we have
to draw even nearer to Mary, and we can only do this if we draw near to Joseph.
True Devotion to Joseph
Yet what does devotion to
Joseph look like? It surely involves prayers to and through him, conversing
with him and seeking his aid, and even consecration to him – as the ultimate
means of consecrating oneself to Jesus through Mary. Yet true devotion although
it involves exterior acts, does not consist in exterior acts, since true
devotion to Jesus, Mary and Joseph consists in a habitual disposition and state
of soul. St. Louis de Montfort articulates this in The Secret of Mary and in True
Devotion. In the latter he writes in regards to Mary (yet it can be applied
to true devotion to Joseph as well):
As this devotion essentially consists in a state of soul, it will not be understood in the same way by everyone. Some - the great majority - will stop short at the threshold and go no further. Others - not many - will take but one step into its interior. Who will take a second step? Who will take a third? Finally who will remain in it permanently? Only the one to whom the Spirit of Jesus reveals the secret. (Part I, Chapter 2, 119).
Yet what is distinguishable
about devotion to Joseph is that he, in the likeness of God the Father, is
truly the Hidden and Silent One. Thus more than devotion to anyone else,
devotion to him is more about being, silence, and contemplating, rather than
doing, speaking and conversing. Yet the reason for this is because true devotion
to Joseph is never separate from true devotion to Mary and ultimately to Jesus.
Hence true devotion to Joseph is really that hidden and secret burrow that lies
within the heart of true devotion to Mary, and at the summit of adoration of
the Godhead in Christ Jesus. It is only more distinctly obscure and silent
because it is precisely a deeper penetration into Marian devotion and into adoration
of Jesus. Ultimately true devotion to Joseph is about spiritually entering into
the role of Joseph, by which one enters into Mary – so that surrendered to
them, as was the child Jesus who “was obedient to them” (Lk 2:51), they might
mystically establish their dwelling as the Holy Family within us – making us
their Holy House of Nazareth. A spiritual house which the Father builds through
Joseph, and which the Spirit makes into a home through Mary. This in turn
efficaciously draws down and perfects within us the indwelling of the Holy
Trinity – just as the Trinity perfectly dwelt in the Holy House of Nazareth on
earth.
Practically Living out a Devotion to Joseph
Fr. Andrew Doze, a chaplain at
Lourdes, writes in his book Shadow of the
Father what this devotion to Joseph practically involves:
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| The Holy Family in the Carpentry Shop, Gerrit van Honthorst. |
To become a son of Joseph [like Jesus whom the Scripture calls ‘Son of Joseph’ (cf Jn 6:42)], to imitate what the father does (cf Jn 5:19) is a very simple way of directing one’s mental life by slipping out of one’s thoughts, out of interior locutions, out of various impressions so that these potential “spiritual enemies” (cf Eph 6:12) have no longer any ways of access. Short moments of quiet…of presence to real impressions are much more precious than one might think; they help us tear ourselves away from panic, from negative thoughts, from dangerous distractions…to see what is before our eyes, to touch really what is at hand, to listen to a light sound, if possible as natural as the wind, water or the song of a bird. All these humble exercises draw the human soul away from dangerous influences, on which it has little hold, and open it to divine influence.[6]
This simplicity of being
present in the moment, so that we might encounter the Divine Presence which is
veiled behind the ordinary experiences of daily life is the art which Joseph
perfected. Since he served God in Jesus, through Mary, by living life as an
ordinary carpenter and family man. Yet in the midst of this ordinariness, in
fact in one sense even because of it, he attained the most extraordinary
sanctity and soared into the heights of contemplation – all because he knew how
to make the most of the now – doing all
for the love of Jesus and Mary. St. Teresa of Avila understood Joseph in this
manner, and hence she placed herself in his care as her Master of Prayer.
Biblical Imagery Alluding to St. Joseph
If we consider biblical imagery
applied to Jesus and Mary, we can infer the place of Joseph. Thus whilst Jesus
is the Gold of Salvation, Mary is the Treasure Chest in which this gold is
kept; with Joseph being the Key to the chest and its Guardian. If Jesus is the Manna,
the Bread from heaven, and Mary the Vessel in which it is kept; then Joseph is
the Lid to this vessel. If Jesus is the Rain that descended from heaven, then
Mary is represented by the soil which receives it, and Joseph by the cloud
which is ultimately a symbol of the Father. If Jesus is the Temple of God, and
Mary the Mystic Jerusalem in which this Temple is housed, then Joseph is the
Walls and Watchman of the Mystic City.
Joseph the Patriarch as a Type of St. Joseph
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| The Dream of St. Joseph, Philippe de Champaigne, 1642-1643. |
Among the dreams that the Patriarch
Joseph had was the dream when he saw “the sun, the moon, and eleven stars” bowing
down to him (Gen 37:9). At the time Joseph’s brothers rebuked him, since his immediate
family were aware that the sun symbolised Jacob, the moon his mother Rachel,
and the stars his brothers. This dream was partly fulfilled when he was elevated
by Pharaoh as the Vice-Regent of Egypt for having successfully interpreted Pharaoh’s
dreams. Joseph says to Pharaoh that his dreams refer to seven years of
plenty, and seven years of famine, and that during these seven years of plenty,
grain should be stored in granaries in order to endure throughout the seven
years of famine. Eventually Joseph’s own family wind up in Egypt because they
are in need of grain, and in time Jacob and his eleven sons bow down before
Joseph who is the ruler of the land. Rachel however had already died, and thus
in an explicit manner the dream of Joseph was not completely fulfilled.
Yet this dream finds its ultimate fulfillment in St. Joseph – to whom “the sun, the moon, and eleven stars” bowed down. Since Jesus symbolised by the sun, bowed himself to Joseph’s paternal authority (Lk 2:51). Mary symbolised by the moon, subjected herself to the loving protection and headship of Joseph her husband (Eph 5:22). Whilst the eleven stars signify the eleven Apostles (excluding Judas) who in turn represent the Magisterium – the Bishops and the Pope. With these ‘eleven stars’- the whole Church and the Magisterium – bowing before Joseph as the Spiritual Father of the Church, the Prince of the Church and Patron of the Universal Church. Of course such ‘bowing’ is not a ‘bowing’ of worship, but of veneration and obedience, as St. Paul writes: “obey your earthly masters” (Eph 6:5), so even more so does this apply to obeying one’s spiritual masters.
Yet this dream finds its ultimate fulfillment in St. Joseph – to whom “the sun, the moon, and eleven stars” bowed down. Since Jesus symbolised by the sun, bowed himself to Joseph’s paternal authority (Lk 2:51). Mary symbolised by the moon, subjected herself to the loving protection and headship of Joseph her husband (Eph 5:22). Whilst the eleven stars signify the eleven Apostles (excluding Judas) who in turn represent the Magisterium – the Bishops and the Pope. With these ‘eleven stars’- the whole Church and the Magisterium – bowing before Joseph as the Spiritual Father of the Church, the Prince of the Church and Patron of the Universal Church. Of course such ‘bowing’ is not a ‘bowing’ of worship, but of veneration and obedience, as St. Paul writes: “obey your earthly masters” (Eph 6:5), so even more so does this apply to obeying one’s spiritual masters.
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| Overseer of the Pharoah’s Granaries, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1874. |
Furthermore, as Pharaoh placed
Joseph as the second in charge of Egypt so that no man could “lift up hand or
foot in all the land of Egypt” (Gen 41:44) without his consent; so too, Jesus,
the King of Kings, submitted himself to St. Joseph by placing him as the second
in charge of the Kingdom of God, as his human Father, and as the Vice-Regent
and Patron of the Universal Church. And earlier in Joseph’s narrative, Potiphar placed Joseph as the master and Lord
of his household, whence it is written: “So Joseph found favour in his sight and
attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of
all that he had” (Gen 39:4). This is an allegorical allusion to St. Joseph whom
Jesus as God placed as the Master of the House of Nazareth, as the Head of the
Holy Family, and as Master of the House of the Church by being her Patron;
along with placing “him in charge of all” graces which Jesus had deposited into
Mary the “full of grace” (Lk 1:28).
In the Old Testament Joseph narrative,
Egypt’s grain is stored in large granaries, whilst Joseph is the one to whom
the people must go in order to receive and buy this grain: “All the earth came
to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the
earth” (Gen 41:77a). Spiritually speaking, Jesus is the Wheat from Heaven (Ps
81:16) and Mary is the Granary in which this Wheat is stored – because being “full
of grace” She was full of God, and thus full of Jesus the Divine Wheat. St.
Joseph is thus the one to whom we must go if we really want to flourish and
thrive in the spiritual life. Since those who went to the Patriarch Joseph
escaped the malnourishment of the famine, whilst those who go to St. Joseph
- through true devotion to him - escape the famine of spiritual stagnation and a
hidden worldliness which often assails the Christian.
Joseph the Gatekeeper who Opens the Way to Divine Intimacy
The words of Fr. Doze are very
significant, and are in keeping with these various biblical imageries of St. Joseph
we have mentioned. He writes: “Only those admitted by Joseph will enter into
the intimacy of the Holy Family: shepherds, Magi, Simeon, Anna.”[7]
To enter into this intimacy of the Holy Family as a fourth member and sibling
of Christ Jesus, is to enter into the eternal Divine Intimacy of the Trinity, which is the circumincession – the mutual indwelling
and romantic exchange – between each of the Three Divine Persons who share the
One Divine Essence. So we see that Christ is the Narrow Way, Mary the Gate to
this way, and Joseph is the Gate Keeper. Hence we ascertain the meaning of the
words of Pharaoh, which can be understood as words spoken by Jesus to us in referral
to St. Joseph: “Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do” (Gen 41:55c).
Indeed all Christians who walk
along the Way who is Christ, do so by passing through Mary whether they
acknowledge this fact or not, and they can only do so because of the mediation
of Joseph who is the Patron and the Gate Keeper of the Universal Church. Yet
without explicit true devotion to Mary and Joseph one will not walk the narrow
path within the narrow path – a path that Mary and Joseph themselves walked;
and one will not be able to proceed too far or too hastily along this path,
because without devotion to the created parents of Jesus one will not be able
to live and enter into His House as His brother or sister – but at the most,
one will remain playing outside with Him as a next door neighbour.
Joseph’s Role in the Christmas Mystery: A Personal Account
Now we come to consider the
role of Joseph in the Christmas mystery, as the man behind the scenes. I would
like to personally share an account in which Joseph, in an ordinary yet special
way, opened the door to me to enter into the intimacy of His Family.
A couple of years ago I was
asked to play the role of Joseph in a silent play which was the accompaniment
to a professional choir which sung to the backing of a piano and various
stringed instruments. The young woman who played Mary, and myself, were
providentially chosen by God, yet we were both last minute selections. We were
not even on the bottom of the list of candidates - as we weren’t even on the list.
The play involved core
characters, well designed costumes, minimalistic stage props, and minimal yet
impressionable acting. The stable was at ‘stage left’ and was the focal point. The
event took place at night, with presumably a bright satellite above serving as
our Star of Bethlehem. The play commenced with Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem,
followed by being turned away at the inn doors, and the arrival at the only
available place: the stable. During the majority of the production Mary and
myself were sitting in the stable, with baby Jesus – a real
looking statue – placed in the manger. At various intervals the
shepherds came to visit – who were Swedish tourists who were working on the
apple cider orchard in which the event took place; followed by the three kings,
who were older chaps. Then at the half way point of the production - as we were told to do
according to the ethereal script - Mary and myself slowly went back stage leaving baby
Jesus as the planned focal point for meditation.
However after slipping back
stage for only a minute, the director approached us and said: “I wish you guys
never left, it was so perfect but now it’s missing something. I know I said to
leave, but if you guys can make your way back, and return there for the rest of
the production that would be perfect.” And so embarrassed a little (okay, I was, a lot), we slowly returned
to our positions – Mary seated on the bale of hay beside baby Jesus, whilst this time I
was seated halfway on the hay (I was standing before), slightly aback. According to the comments
afterwards it was a beautiful life-sized nativity which served as a realistic
icon for contemplation. People were so moved that even one middle aged man, who
supposedly was not religious, cried.
Yet in regards to my personal
experience of the occasion, in the role of Joseph, it was truly a privileged
and anointed experience. Throughout the week of being aware of playing this
role, I had prayed that it would truly be the Holy Family who would be acting
and making themselves present. I prayed that Mary would especially work through
the person God willed to play Mary; and that Joseph would allow me to catch a
glimpse into his person, and that I might enter into his role through the
experience. My prayers, in unison with others, were answered.
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| Nativity Painting At Shepherds Fields, Munir Alawi. |
During the play, especially
during the extended stable scene, where we’d occasionally smile at one another
and lovingly look and touch the statue of baby Jesus – I literally felt I was
in Joseph’s shoes. The funny thing was that although it would have seemed I was
one of the main characters, I had this profound sense that I was behind the scenes, and that Mary, and
most of all Jesus, were all that mattered. Hence my slight gestures, body
language, and mind set, were all directed towards Mary and Jesus, with the
intention of drawing the crowds focus upon both of them. I even felt a spiritual
spousal and paternal chaste love well up inside of me for Mary and Jesus, so
that I wasn’t even trying to act like Joseph, or to be or do what Joseph would
have done, I simply thought of “how can I draw attention to Mary and Jesus”. Which
is certainly the only thought that would have resonated in the mind of Joseph.
I also experienced a deep
admiration for Mary and Jesus during the role, and a quiet yet inexpressible
joy that manifested itself in a slight yet glowing smile which sustained itself
throughout. Upon reflection all of these things helped me to experientially
understand Joseph and the role of Joseph. I was in the limelight, and yet I
gladly felt myself to be the man behind
the scenes whose duty it was to redirect the spotlight on Mary and Jesus.
Likewise with St. Joseph: he was in the limelight of the Christmas event, and
yet he gladly felt himself to be the man behind the scenes whose duty it was to
redirect the spotlight on the real Mary and Jesus.
It is worth mentioning again
the fact that the director wanted us to return to the stage, because with the
baby Jesus there by himself the scene was lacking. It’s as if God had
orchestrated the play to happen exactly as it did, for does this not teach us a
sublime lesson? Since just as the nativity scene looks lonesome and as though
something is missing without Mary and Joseph; so too is the mystery of
Christmas not complete without the whole Holy Family – Jesus and Mary and Joseph.
Keeping the Holy Family Together
Although many Christians rally
against Marian devotion, never mind devotion to Joseph, by saying that such
devotions take away and subtract from Jesus, this play demonstrated the
complete opposite: that in fact Mary and Joseph were necessary in order to
highlight and emphasise the importance of Jesus. Indeed, as was demonstrated in
the play, by actually having Mary and Joseph out of the picture, the whole Christmas
mystery is left incomplete like an unfinished painting. To take Mary and Joseph
out of the mystery of Christmas is thus to despoil and take away from the baby
Jesus. It takes the Holy Infant away from the context of a family, away from a
human mother, and away from a human father. It fragments the Incarnation event,
the taking on of a human nature by God – because by doing so we strip away the
wholeness and beauty of the human context of the first chapters of Jesus’ life –
and therefore we take away from the whole story of Jesus’ life!
In fact what taking Mary and
Joseph away from not only the nativity scene does, but from one’s celebration
of Christmas altogether, and from one’s devotional life, is to reduce the
Infant God-Man to an abandoned orphan. What a lonely picture. And for the one
who does so in their spiritual life: what a lonely baby Jesus in their soul.
Conclusion
By appreciating and
understating Joseph and his role, especially in this mystery of Christmas, which
we do by practicing true devotion to him, we come to understand how to adore
Jesus, and how to shine the light perfectly on Him – and that is by honouring
Mary and by directing our attention to Mary as well as to Jesus. Not only this,
but through a true devotion to Joseph we slip into Joseph’s shoes, and thus
become so close to Jesus, because we become so close to Mary. In his shoes we
begin to see from his perspective, the perspective of a Virginal Husband who cherishes
and esteems his Wife, and the perspective of a Father who adores and worships
his Son. In Joseph’s shoes we are thus transported into the living room, the
stable, and the locus of the Incarnation, which is the intimacy and limelight of
the Holy Family. Here in this limelight beside and in Joseph, we learn how to
reside in the shadow of self-forgetfulness as a man behind the scenes – who gives
perfect honour to Mary, and perfect adoration to the Infant Jesus. As Banjo Patterson (1864 - 1941) writes in his poem 'Behind the Scenes':
You see it in another light
When once you've been behind the scenes.
Other Christmas Related Posts:
Eucharistic Christmas Preparation
Just Another Day
The Inn and the Stable
Bethlehem's Stable
Eucharistic Christmas Preparation
Just Another Day
The Inn and the Stable
Bethlehem's Stable
[1] St.
Augustine, De nuptiis et concupiscentia, I, 11, 12: PL 44, 421; cf. De consensu
evangelistarum, II, 1, 2: PL 34, 1071; Contra Faustum, III, 2: PL 42, 214.
[2] St.
Augustine, De nuptiis et concupiscentia, I, 11, 13: PL 44, 421; cf. Contra
Iulianum, V, 12, 46: PL 44, 810.
[3]
Some interpret the verse “He took his wife, but knew her not until he she had borne a son” (Mt 1:25) to mean that
Mary and Joseph had sexual relations after Jesus was born. This is a false
interpretation, as the Church teaches infallibly that Mary was a perpetual
virgin. Not only this, but tradition states that Mary and Joseph both had made
vows of virginity prior to marriage, and they sustained this vow throughout
their marriage. Furthermore, Joseph was betrothed to Mary – different to our
concept of engagement, since it’s more like phase one of actual marriage – and
so when it says “knew her not” it means they were only married after Jesus was
born, which was really phase two of their being married in the Jewish context.
[4] “In
heaven there are angelic hierarchies… on earth there is a hierarchy of grace,
and in that hierarchy are included various orders, or ministries, which,
according to the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas, excel each other in proportion to
their approximation to God. The highest of all these orders, whether angelic or
human, is the order of the Hypostatic Union”. What is meant by Hypostatic Union
is that indivisible union that unites the divine and human nature in the one
Divine Person of the Word, a union taking place at the instance of His
conception in Mary’s womb. The Order of the Hypostatic Union is that community
of persons who were necessary in the Incarnation event, that is in the
Hypostatic Union event. Thus “three only composed it – Jesus, Mary, Joseph.” Edward
Healy Thompson, The Life and Glories of
Saint Joseph, Burns and Oates, Limited: London, 1888, 5, 7.
[5]
Isidore Isolani, Somma dei doni di San Giuseppe, 1522.
[6]
Andrew Doze, Shadow of the Father,
St. Pauls: New York, 1992, 145.
[7]
Ibid.
