Joseph is not mentioned by Matthew in the epiphany narrative of the magi, but one can discern Joseph's presence symbolically in the Star of Bethlehem and in the gifts of the magi, given to Jesus, but entrusted to Joseph. What does this teach us about living a devotion to St. Joseph?
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| 19th-century, wood-cut. |
The three magi came a long way to adore the Infant
Messiah. Experts in astronomy and aware of a coming divine Saviour among the
Jews, they were guided by a star to Jerusalem. The Scripture only mentions “magi”
in the plural it does not say there were three. But the notion of three magi is
a long-held tradition largely inferred by the three gifts the magi gave. In the
West the magi are known as Casper, Melchior and Balthasar.
It is unclear whether the “star” (ἀστηρ) that led the magi was an entirely
natural phenomena, providentially arranged by God to announce Jesus’ birth, or
miraculous. I’ll leave that discussion to others. The Greek text of Matthew
does not directly say the star disappeared nor that it reappeared, which is the
opinion of some, Augustine among them, but it is not mentioned by many other
Fathers. Whether it disappeared or not, following the star, the magi ended up
in Jerusalem.
The wise-men’s uncertainty about the precise location of
the Messiah’s birth seems to suggest the star had led them either to Jerusalem itself,
or more likely—in accord with the lack of precision a star would generally
offer for navigation—to the land of Palestine or the general region of Judah.
Having been led by the star to Palestine or even Judah itself, in the context
of diplomacy, courtesy and their knowledge of prophecy, logic dictated they
should go to the capital of the land and the entire region—Jerusalem, in order to
make official inquiries about the newborn Messiah.
They arrived at King Herod’s palace and ask a simple and
direct question: “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have
seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.” (Mt 2:2). They expect
an answer, but Herod is baffled and terrified at this news. Herod was unaware
that the Jewish Messiah was immanent, never mind born! All Jerusalem seems
equally surprised to hear the news— “and all Jerusalem with him” (2:3).
The narrative is brief, and we do not know if Herod
pretended to keep face in the magi’s presence to avoid appearing ignorant. I
doubt Herod’s ignorance was undetectable, the universal shock brought about by
the magi’s indirect proclamation about the arrival of the Messiah shows that
the news was so ‘shocking’ that it would have been hard for a passionate and paranoid
man like Herod to keep his cool. The shock was palpable throughout the city.
For their part, the magi were surprised, even scandalised, that the King of
Judea and those about him seemed to be less aware of the Messiah’s birth than
they were, who were foreigners.
Herod dismisses the magi from court and speaks to “the
chief priests and scribes” (2:4) to find out where the Messiah will be born
according to the Scriptures. The chief priests and scribes cite the prophet
Micah (5:2) seemingly without hesitation. They were well aware where the
Jewish Messiah would be born but were clearly oblivious to the when,
indicated by their surprise in hearing the magi’s announcement. Symbolic of a
future interdependence between the Jewish and Gentile people in the Church, the
magi are armed with one piece of the puzzle, the knowledge of the when,
and the Jewish authorities with the where.
Having ascertained the where, Herod summons the
magi “secretly” and tells them to go to Bethlehem. He then probes them about when
exactly they had seen the star. In this way he finds out directly and/or by
means of his own calculation, or that of his officials, when the child was born.
Frightened for his throne Herod intends to murder the child from the beginning.
As told, the magi set out for Bethlehem, the star
presumably still shinning in the same location as before without immediately
betraying any more information. In the minds of the magi the star was probably
thought to have finished its part in the epiphany drama.
But Bethlehem was not the smallest town in the region and
depending on how one interprets the timing of their arrival, it was possibly
still swarming with people from the census or remnants thereof. Even if one opts
for a later arrival so that the census was well and truly finished, directions
to a town are not the same as directions to a house. If we ourselves needed
directions to a house we’d never been to and our GPS gave us the name of the
town alone, we’d hardly be able to find it! It is true, the magi could have
asked around for clues, and would have stumbled across the Baby Jesus without
much effort. Especially since we read in Luke that the shepherds somewhat locally
publicised their encounter with the Infant. But God had other plans. God wanted
to honour these men who had come so far to pay His Son homage. He also wanted
to manifest His Son’s glory to the Gentiles “living in darkness” by showing
them “a great light” (Is 9:2).
“And lo,” or “behold”—an interjection in this instance signifies
a sudden occurrence— “the star which they had seen in the East went before
them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was.” (Mt 2:9). Whatever
celestial body or supernatural radiance the “star” of Bethlehem was, it
suddenly moved while they were on their way from Jerusalem to Bethlehem—about a
two hour walk— and led them, however quickly or slowly, in a manner that made
it very clear where they should go. The star stops and hovers, as it were, over
the place “where the child was”.
Matthew takes care to describe the joy of the magi: “When
they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy [ἐχάρησαν χαρὰν μεγάλην
σφόδρα]” (2:10). As far as I can tell there is no other time in the New Testament
when such superlative terminology is used in the Greek to describe someone’s sense
of joy that outdoes the joy of the magi at beholding the star glowing and
leading them. It’s not as if the star itself is the cause of their joy, but the
fact that the star is leading and guiding them, in what seems more miraculous
than natural, is a wonderous sign of God’s presence. The magi are greatly
touched and thrilled by this sign. They thought the star had played its part in
leading them to the region of Judah, but the wonderful sign that they had been anticipating
for years and studying in the sky once again guides their way, but this time in
a peculiar manner not in keeping with the ordinary movements of the celestial
bodies they are used to studying.
The magi enter “the house” where the star is hovering
over, and there, in the words of Matthew, “they saw the child with Mary his
mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures,
they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (2:11).
‘Joseph… Where are
You?’
Notice how there is no mention of Joseph. This doesn’t mean
Joseph wasn’t there, the child was the star of the show and the all-consuming
focus of the magi’s pilgrimage. Perhaps Joseph was in the house or the same
very room, and Mary is mentioned only because Jesus was in Mary’s arms or by
her side just as the text suggests: “the child [was] with Mary his Mother”. Contrarily,
Joseph could have been in another room or outside when they walked in, or temporarily
running an errand. There is room for either opinion, Joseph’s absence or
presence, and both are attested to in the history of interpretation. Either way,
it’s highly unlikely the magi stayed for a mere few minutes, and given Joseph’s
role as a new husband and father with the greatest wife and child in the history
of the world, it’s inconceivable he would have been away for long. Joseph would
almost certainly have met the magi even if it was after their immediate arrival.
Rabanus (d. 856) writes that “Joseph was absent by Divine
command” when the magi arrived so “that no wrong suspicions might occur to the
Gentiles.” I assume Rabanus is referring to how if Joseph was present then the
Gentile magi might have wrongly suspected that Joseph was the biological father
and thus doubt could have clouded their encounter with the child. However, it’s
not as if Joseph was going to remain a secret to them. They would have
encountered him before they left or found out about him. The reasoning is not
without some merit, but Rabanus’ assertion is unconvincing.
A pretext for suspicion would have been presented to the
magi at some point and this thus undermines the supposed necessity or utility
of Joseph’s physical absence by “divine decree”—to allay a temporary suspicion
but not a later suspicion. Also, if their minds were liable to suspicion, they
could equally suspect Mary of conjugal relations outside of marriage—facilitated
by Joseph’s absence, just as they could suspect Her of relations with Joseph—facilitated
by Joseph’s presence. The magi were likely aware of the Isaian prophecy about a
“virgin” (7:14), and having travelled so far, exhibiting such faith and
knowledge about the Messiah, it is likely their minds were secure from such
suspicions or doubts—if any doubts remained the “star” would have dispelled
them. Their exceeding joy at seeing the star rest over where the Child resided is
testament to their personal faith that they had found the Messiah even before
they had entered the house and set their eyes upon Him. Seeing Joseph was not
going to dampen their conviction that the Child was the Messiah. Besides, St.
John Chrysostom, among others, is of the contrary view—Joseph was present when
the magi arrived.
I personally favour the view that Joseph was present for
one among several reasons: that it was deemed socially unbecoming in Jewish and
some other Ancient Near Eastern cultures for a married woman to be left alone
with men who were not of a fitting relation, particularly strangers. It seems improbable
that God would expose Mary to social critique, even if the chance was slim, and
unlikely the magi would discourteously barge in without the presence of her
husband. I think God would have providentially ensured Joseph was present when
the magi arrived. I imagine Joseph opening the door or gesturing the magi to
enter. In the glorious foci of the moment and culmination of their pilgrimage,
Joseph humbly disappears, and all attention is on the Christ Child perhaps
laying in His mother’s arms.
Nevertheless, our concern in this article is not the historical
fact of Joseph’s presence or absence, but to infer a spiritual allegory based
upon his absence in the text of Matthew. This meaning can be inferred whatever
stance one holds.
Meaning of the
Star
To say nothing about other possible extant prophecies circulating
among the Judeans and in the countries of the magi, the significance of the
star in its association with the promised Messiah harkens to the prophecy of
Balaam who lived in the time of Moses: “A star shall come from Jacob, and a sceptre
shall rise from Israel” (Num 24:17), with an attached promise that this “star”
and “sceptre” shall deliver Israel from its enemies. Even many Jews (e.g. among
the Dead Sea Scrolls) before and after the time of Christ saw the Messianic
connotations of this prophecy.
The Christian tradition has always seen the “star… from
Judah” (and “sceptre… from Israel”) as an image of Jesus. The star of Bethlehem
is explicitly tied to this prophecy of Balaam—it is a celestial manifestation
of its literal fulfillment in the Christ Child—the figurative “star” who will
rise from the House of Judah and illumine the world.
There are many layers to Scriptural meaning. The phrasing
of the prophecy particularly lends itself to multiple interpretations. Thus,
Bernard of Clairvaux, and others after him, have associated the “star… from
Judah” as Mary whom he hails under the title of Stella Maris, ‘Star of the Sea’.
“She is… that noble star rising from Jacob which casts light over the whole
world; whose splendour shines to the heavens and reaches down into the deep”.
Jesus of course always remains the “star… from Jacob” in a superior sense, but
Mary is also a star from the stock of Jacob, that points to Christ and leads to
Him. Hence the star of Bethlehem has been identified as a symbol of Mary
Herself—She who leads souls to Christ Her Son.
After the prime and secondary meaning of “the star” of
Bethlehem or Jacob—distinct on one level and synonymous on another—there is a
third and fourth signification. The third being the Josephite interpretation,
and the fourth, a general referent to all other members of the Church, we who
are called to be stars in the night of the world, letting our light shine before
men, leading souls to the Christ (Mt 5:16). Under this signification the star
of Bethlehem can serve specifically as a sign of the Papal office on one hand
or even of each individual member of the Church whatever station we may occupy.
However, our focus here is on the third layer of interpretation: Joseph.
Joseph—The Star from
out of Jacob
A Midrashic reading of the Hebrew creatively twists the
text to bring forth additional spiritual meanings without negating the truth of
its literal signification. Balaam’s prophecy can be read in such a way to accommodate
for the symbolism of Joseph as the promised star—after Jesus, and after Mary. “A
star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel”. Both the
“star” and the “sceptre” refer principally to Christ. But the text can be read on
another level, in such a way that the “star” and the “sceptre” are separate: “A
star shall come out of Jacob,” one referent, that is to Joseph,” and “a sceptre
shall rise out of Israel”—the Messiah.
In accord with the grammatical order of Balaam’s prophecy,
the “star” must precede the “sceptre,” and like in the narrative of Matthew, the
“star” must precede the Child: Joseph must come before Jesus—not as a necessity
of nature, since Jesus did not need to be “born of a woman” and could never be conceived
by a man, but according to the necessity of God’s own willed design in the Incarnation:
the Father’s Son was to have an earthly man for a (non-biological but true) father and this man was to be
Joseph.
Matthew writes that Joseph was the son of Jacob.
All
Jews were the sons of the Patriarch Jacob, but there is a double fulfillment of
“a star shall come out of Jacob” in the person of Joseph whose biological
father was also named Jacob. The “out of” language of Matthew correlates with Balaam’s
prophecy: “Then Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary,
out of whom
Jesus was born, the one called Christ” (1:16).
Tying the two texts together: Joseph, the “star from out
of” Jacob came before Jesus, “the sceptre from out of” Mary—the Sceptre which
Mary holds in Her arms. The magi saw Mary as a Queen bearing the Sceptre in the
form of a Mother holding Her Child. The literal star led the magi to this sight
at Bethlehem, but it was Joseph who led the Mother and the Child to Bethlehem
in taking the pregnant Mary from Nazareth to his ancestral town for the census.
A journey he had to make because he was the son of Jacob, son of David. Thus, it
was primarily Joseph (the substantial means) and not the literal star (the accidental
means) that led the magi to the Child and the Mother who wouldn’t be there if
it wasn’t for Joseph. The magi are able to encounter the Child and the Mother
because of Joseph who brought them to where the star directed them. The magi receive
Jesus and Mary ‘from out of’ Joseph— their loving custodial source, as Father
and Spouse. We too can encounter our Messiah and His Mother in the home of our
heart because Joseph has given them to us as a gift from the Father.
“A star shall come from out of Jacob”—the word translated
“come” (דָּרַךְ) in the Hebrew can
also mean “lead” or “march”. Thus it can be read, “a star shall lead…” or “a
star shall march”. Joseph is the true star that leads us to a deeper
relationship with Jesus and Mary. He marches on before us to make our way easier
in navigating this world plagued by temptations, devilish snares and
distractions that want to lead us away from He who should be the focus of our
pilgrimage: the Child and in turn the Mother who holds Him.
Joseph—The Star of
Bethlehem
We’ve already mentioned how Matthew’s account of the magi’s
arrival excludes any mention of Joseph. The magi follow the star and “going
into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother” (11:2). Forever
enshrined in writing is the inseparability of the Child and His Mother. The
magi wanted the Child and they found the Mother also. That is the deal: if one
wants to discover the Christ Child one will only ever find Him in Mary’s arms.
It is only a cause for pity when the Mother is airbrushed out of the picture of
a Christian’s spiritual life. This only does injustice to the full picture—“the
child with Mary his mother”—those of good will are led to by the star of Bethlehem
that still shines in our day.
There is no mention of Joseph in the entire section of this
epiphany narrative. Matthew mentions Joseph beforehand, prior the birth of
Jesus, and after, when the magi leave and the Holy Family flees to Egypt. We’ll
avoid speculating about Matthew’s authorial intention, but it is clear that the
ultimate author of the Sacred Writ, the Holy Spirit, forgoes an explicit mention
of Joseph, opting instead to implicitly reveal Joseph’s role in the star of
Bethlehem.
Like the star of Bethlehem Joseph is a silent guide and
witness to “the child” and “the mother”.
As
the celestial sign “went before” the magi, this true star of Bethlehem has gone
before us, both in time, in being the first to nurture a relationship with “the
child” and “the mother,” and in the order of grace—for none can outdo Joseph in
sanctity, a sanctity that derives from his proximity to Jesus, through Mary,
and a sanctity which renders him unparalleled in this same very proximity. Joseph’s
sanctity is only outshined by Jesus and Mary, and that is what we can take from
the spiritual projection of Joseph away from the literal narrative, that mentions
both Jesus and Mary, into the hidden symbolism of the star.
Other possibilities aside, and for the sake of argument,
if the star hadn’t led the magi to the exact house they would not have found “the
child and… his mother”. The guiding of the star was God’s chosen way of
directing the magi to Jesus and thus necessarily to Mary. God did not choose
another way of effecting the epiphany at Bethlehem. Joseph is God’s chosen way—the guiding star
He has anointed to lead souls to Jesus and Mary. No one comes to Jesus and Mary
unless Joseph leads them. Whether a Christian is aware of this or not, acknowledges
it or not, Joseph is the silent mediating guide of the Christian soul. The
chosen vessel of the Father. The universal spiritual director who directs each
Christian soul from the heavens, a role indicated by his title, proclaimed by Pope Pius IX—Patron of the
Universal Church. Beyond the visible bounds of Church membership, it is Joseph
who acts as a spiritual director to all souls—attempting to lead every soul
from every nation and creed into the maternal arms of Mary for the single purpose
of the worship of Jesus. How does Joseph do this? By leading souls into his
house—the House of the Holy Catholic Church where Jesus resides in His
fullness, both spiritually in the Body of His Church, and sacramentally, in the
Holy Eucharist.
In our personal lives
Joseph plays a quiet guiding role. It can be no other way because God the
Father has chosen Joseph to be the chief instrument of His loving Paternity:
first for Christ Jesus in the flesh, and secondly, and as a continuation of
this irrevocable office, for the Body of Christ Jesus—the Church. The Star of
Bethlehem is with us, secretly drawing us towards grace and a deeper union with
Jesus and Mary. But as the magi did their part—they did not remain in their
home countries in passive awe of the star, they went forward, took action, and
only by this cooperation of the magi was the star of Bethlehem able to become an effective presence in their lives.
So too we must take
action if we want to follow the way of the Star, the way of Joseph. Not an
activist type of action, but a dutiful action, contemplatively honed-in on the
Child and the Mother, by which we carry out our lives in accord with whatever
path the Lord has laid down for us—whether we’re magi or nurses, priests or nuns,
parents or single youth. There is one way to Bethlehem, the Way of
Joseph, the Child Jesus Himself. The life of Joseph shines as a witness,
mapping out this Way. But how this Way is traversed looks a little different for
each soul. Each of us has different callings, their own way to walk the Way to
Bethlehem, a symbol of beatitude perhaps, and also a symbol of key moments of
epiphany, of grace, marked out for us in our pilgrim way.
“The Star Stood
Over”
And lo, the star which they had seen in the East went
before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. (2:9)
Literally in the Greek
this translates to the following: the star “stood over [ἐστάθη ἐπάνω] where the
child was”. The Peshitta uses the same: “it stood over/upon [קם לעל] where
the child was.” This figuratively evokes the paternal and spousal role of Joseph
as joint custodian and protector of the Child and the Mother. Joseph stands
over the Child and the Mother as the Guarding Watchman, the Preeminent Pastor
of the Holy Family. He stands over Jesus and Mary, not as a dominative force, but
in selfless attentiveness to their needs. Joseph stands as an original adorer
of the Christ Child, and the original devotee of the Blessed Virgin.
He continues to stand
in heaven in loving awe of the Child and His Mother, and still today stands
over the presence of Christ within the hearts of those in the state of grace.
As an abiding star in the life of the faithful, Joseph, more than any other Saint
except Mary, by means of the Holy Spirit operative in him, radiates blessings from the Father upon the children of the Church—his
children and Mary’s children.
The magi were filled
with an “exceedingly great joy” at seeing the star show them where the Christ
Child lay. It is possible, even likely, that others also saw the phenomenon of
the star, but without a corresponding knowledge of what the star and its strange
movement signified, such onlookers would have only felt wonder and excitement,
not really joy, and especially not an “exceedingly great joy”. The magi alone,
among a few others who may have known about the star and its association with
the Messiah, experienced an unparalleled joy because they knew what it all meant—they
understood the divine message the star was meant to communicate.
So too, there is
reserved to those who come to know and learn about the true Star of Bethlehem an
“exceedingly great joy”. This kind of knowledge is borne through a true devotion
to St. Joseph by which one is led to discover the Christ Child and His Mother anew,
in unprecedented ways. Exercising the spiritual office of fatherhood, Joseph
generates—as the chosen instrument of the Father—an “exceedingly great joy” in
those who follow in his steps, unawares, yes, but especially, in those who do
so consciously. Not that true devotion to Joseph requires astute consciousness
per say, but a simple childlike recognition of Joseph and a willing disposition
to follow his lead, to reach out and take his hand as a spiritual father and guide,
trusting that the Father works in Joseph and through Joseph, and that Joseph
will bring one closer to the Child, and necessarily, closer to the Mother.
The “exceedingly great
joy” generated by Joseph in the hearts of those who live a devotion to him is
not a joy that comes from Joseph as its source. Yes, it does come from Joseph
as a means, but not as its only and final end. As great a man as Joseph is, he is
a mere creature. It is a joy of the Holy Spirit that comes from the Father
above, is made flesh in the Child, is nurtured by the Mother, and bestowed by
the appointed Father of God—St. Joseph.
Joseph is the Father
of Joy—entrusted by the Eternal Father with His very own Joy, the Holy Spirit,
Who is the Exceedingly Great Joy of the Father in the Son, and the Son in the
Father. In entrusting Mary, both Spouse and Icon of the Holy Spirit, and Her
Child to Joseph, Joseph sacramentally comes to share in the Father’s Holy-Spirit-Joy
in the Son. By the very nature of this office Joseph is thus ordained with the
mission of drawing souls into the very joy he had in Jesus and Mary. A joy
manifest in what is traditionally held as the second of Joseph’s seven major
joys: the joy of Joseph in beholding the magi recognise and worship the Child Jesus
as God and Messiah.
The Magi's Gifts in Joseph’s Charge
Going into the house they saw
the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then,
opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and
myrrh. (2:11)
The three gifts of the magi were offerings that signified
their faith in the Child Jesus and served as sacramentals of their worship. Yet
Jesus was only a child. In submitting and restraining Himself to this
vulnerable form, God the Son relinquished His immediate ownership of these gifts
and humbly submitted in turn to the Virginal Fatherhood of Joseph whom He
willed to be His Guardian. As Head of the Holy Family, a title of privileged authority,
yes, but of service not domination, the legal ownership of the magi’s gifts fell
to Joseph as the appointed Father of the Child. The gifts were given to Jesus,
but their charge fell to Joseph who would be responsible for their use.
This is an amazing thing to consider: that gifts given to
a God were owned by a man. That God chose and selected this man, Joseph, to be
the steward of His gifts. There is a tradition that Joseph used some of the gifts
to aid in their escape to Egypt, and an amount was also given to the needs of
the poor.
For our part it is worth contemplating on the
significance of Joseph as the Original Treasurer of God’s Kingdom. Even more
than this, the magi’s gifts were really given over to Joseph as his legal
property. We mustn’t think for one moment that Joseph reveled in this
ownership in a covetous or proud manner. He was aware that the gifts belonged
to His Child and to His God, the Creator of all things, and would have been
humbled at the responsibility of owning and discharging these gifts on behalf
of his God-Child.
If God entrusted Joseph with valuable gifts given by the
magi for the purpose of worship, and entrusted His own Son, and Mary, to Joseph,
how much more would God not want us to entrust our own selves to this Great
Saint. God entrusted Himself to Joseph in the form of a Child, how proud and resistant
can we be to deny to do the same?
The irony is that in giving ourselves to Jesus, whether as
God-Child or God-Man it’s the same, we necessarily submit ourselves to the design
of the Incarnation—and this necessitates, because Joseph has forever been made
an essential part of the Incarnation Mystery, our filial submission to Joseph.
The human parents of Christ are the parents of His Body the Church. How much
better and more perfect this filial submission to Joseph is as our spiritual
father, and as the Head of the Holy Family, when it is made with awareness and a
loving free will. It’s funny how scandalous this can sound to the ears of many
Christians when this loving submission (or to simply appease modern
sensibilities—when this entrustment) to Joseph is nothing other than what the
magi did, who knew the gifts they gave were going to be entrusted to Joseph,
and nothing other than what God Himself did in giving His Son and His Mother into
Joseph’s care.
Alas, we don’t have time to waste on apologetics here. We
can only get straight to the point.
As part of entrusting ourselves, consecrating ourselves
to Joseph, is the handing over of our temporal and spiritual goods. This
includes our home, work, vocation, faculties of intellect, memory and will, the
theological virtues of faith, hope and love, and our entire interior and exterior lives.
Everything we own in the natural and supernatural order
as gifts from God, already ‘belong’ to Joseph by default as the Custodian of Creation
and of God’s Grace. One cannot be made Custodian of the Child Jesus who is God,
without being made a custodian of all the graces and all creation that comes
from God.
Yet it is our own free will offering that allows Joseph
to actualise his spiritual office of fatherhood in our lives. Just as with any
child and their own father, it is only when the child asks their father for
help, and lets their father help, that the child can perfectly benefit from their
father’s help that was always there in potential—keen and waiting to be actualised.
Joseph is eager to help us as a Spiritual Father, just as he was to Jesus. To
make an act of consecration to Joseph is simply a way of saying: “Joseph, I
acknowledge that you were chosen by God the Father to be the appointed Father
to His Son. I too choose you to be a Spiritual Father to me, just as you were
to Jesus.”
Many Catholics already do this with regard to Mary, and
this is wonderful. But our entrustment and consecration to Mary is made complete
by our consecration to Joseph. It is the intrinsic complement to Marian
consecration and the third piece of the puzzle when it comes to living out our
primal and first consecration to God in the Person of Jesus—the source and
summit of our Marian and Josephite consecration which help build and perfect
the first.
However, a consecration does not subsist in a single act
of entrustment. A consecration subsists in a new life which is ratified or birthed
by means an act of consecration. By consecrating ourselves to Joseph then, we
set about on a new way of life that explicitly includes Joseph as a Spiritual
Father, Guide, Patron and Friend in our lives. We should not expect visions nor
a heightened consciousness of Joseph’s role in our lives—this is unsound spirituality
and would be indicative of an immature faith. What comes to us, comes to us,
what does not, does not. In either case the essence of a true devotion or lived
consecration to Joseph is beyond any specific perception or mystical gift. Like
the star, Joseph is an illuminating but quiet presence whose presence is felt by
the light he shines on the Child and the Mother. One will find their love for
Jesus and Mary growing, their awe over the Eternal Father expanding, as fruits
of their Josephite consecration; and it will not be because of the soul’s
increased holiness per say—that will be incidental and is relatively nothing.
It will be because the soul is being drawn deeper into communion with Joseph
and is coming to share in Joseph’s very own love for Jesus and Mary, and in his
awe over the Father who chose him.
Conclusion
The magi followed the star of Bethlehem and it led them to
the Child and His Mother. Once they entered the house the magi worshiped the
Child and gave Him three gifts. Joseph is the personal Star of Bethlehem who
was really responsible for bringing the Child and His Mother into Bethlehem, and
as Head of the Holy Family he served as the Custodian of the Magi’s Gifts.
Just like the magi, we too are called to follow the Star
of Bethlehem—Joseph who has been appointed by God to lead souls to the Child Jesus
and to Mary His Mother. In committing ourselves to the guidance of this Star we
will discover a Spiritual Director and Spiritual Father in our lives. One who
does not supplant the role of the Eternal Father to whom all-worship belongs,
but who magnifies the Unseeable Father by mirroring Him in his visible person—invisible
to us now, as we travail our way to the heavenly Bethlehem, but whose guidance
and patronage is made visible in the fruits of an increased knowledge and love
for the Child and the Mother.
If we consecrate ourselves to Joseph as the guiding
star of our lives, our three gifts given to Joseph for the worship of the
Child, will not be gold, frankincense and myrrh, but our faith, hope, and love;
our intellect, memory, and will; our past, present, and future—which no matter how flimsy and imperfect, Joseph
will make his own and will do with them something wonderful for the betterment
of our sanctity, the wellbeing of the Mystical Body of Christ his Son, and for
the glory of the Holy Family, His Spouse Mary, and ultimately for Jesus—the Son
for whom Joseph shines, and the Father in whom he stands.
In reference to Chrysostom speaking about the joys of Joseph in seeing the star
rest over the dwelling and the magi adore the Christ Child. Referenced without
citation in Edward Healy Thomason,
The Life and Glories of St. Joseph
(Burns and Oates: London, 1888),
Chp. 32.
Bernard of Clairvaux,
In Praise of the Virgin Mary, Homily II, 17: Ch.
390.
What about Luke’s genealogy that says Joseph was the son of Heli? Luke’s
genealogy is that of Mary, Matthew’s of Joseph. Heli, synonymous in Biblical
usage with Eliakim and Joachim, was Joseph’s father in-law or legal father, that
is, Mary’s biological father. This makes sense since Luke is detailing Mary’s
genealogy with reference to Joseph. This is an opinion mentioned by Augustine
and attributable to Jerome. See Ch VI
The Life and Glories of Saint Joseph.
In Greek, literally: “the child and the mother of him”.
