Reset Password
Reset Link Sent
| Blogs > lemonrock > peace be with u |
|
THE SEVEN SUNDAYS OF SAINT JOSEPH (THE THIRD SUNDAY) THE THIRD SUNDAY JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF MARY I.The married life of Mary and Joseph, Joseph the guardian of her virginity. In is customary for the saints to be outstanding and become well-known for some particular virtue or aspect of their struggle which makes them conspicuous exemplars for the faithful. For example, Saint Francis Assisi is revered for his heroic life of poverty. The Holy Cure of Ars is a model of extraordinary priestly service to souls. Saint Thomas More is remembered for his devotion to both God and country, but God first, even at the price of martyrdom. In the case of Saint Joseph, we have only to dwell upon the words of Saint Matthew: Joseph, the husband of Mary. Here we have to summary of Joseph’s vocation and the setting for his sanctity. With the exemption of Jesus, no one ever cared for Our Lady more than Saint Joseph did. No one protected her with more vigilance. No one has given his life to the Lord with such total generosity as the Holy Patriarch did. theGod’s loving providence ordained that Jesus would be born into human family. Joseph was not only the guardian of Mary; he was also her husband. According to Jewish custom of the time, matrimony involved two distinct ceremonies separated by a period of time: betrothal and the formal wedding. In the ceremony of betrothal, the spouses made a firm promise as regards their future wedding and matrimonial union. The bridegroom would place the rings in the hands of the future bride and both would receive a blessing. From the moment on, the woman would be known as the wife of… The normal interval between betrothal and wedding ceremony was about the space of a year. It was within this period that the Virgin received the news of her vocation from the Angel Gabriel, and that the Incarnation took place. At the same time Saint Joseph learned about God’s plans through a dream. ‘So Joseph, arising from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took unto him his wife’ (Matthew 1:24). He took Mary as his wife in humble acceptance of the mystery of her maternity. He accepted her along with her who would come to the world by action of the Holy Spirit. Saint Joseph can therefore be compared to Our Lady in his great docility to the will of God as revealed to him by an angel. The weeding ceremony was the fulfillment of the marital contract entered into at the betrothal. It was customary for the bride to be brought to the home of the bridegroom amid great rejoicing. In this manner the union was validated before the entire community and therefore, her offspring would be recognized as legitimate. It is of the essence of the marital union that the spouses give their bodies to one another. Because the marriage of Mary and Joseph was an authentic marriage, these reciprocal rights existed in their union. Because of what they had learned from God, by mutual agreement Mary and Joseph had renounced the exercise of those rights. The denial of them would have been cause for annulment. In the case of Joseph and Mary, however, we have something different because here we have a case of mutual voluntary renunciation. This understanding was the fruit of a most refined, prayerful environment. We can get some understanding of this union if we look upon it and try to comprehend it with a clean heart. Joseph became a virgin for the sake of the Virgin. He protected her with great delicacy and affection. Saint Thomas gives various reasons for the appropriateness of the Virgin’s being united to Joseph in true matrimony. It was appropriate and necessary so that Mary’s pregnancy would not be a cause of scandal among relatives and neighbors. It was useful that Jesus would be born into a human family as an apparently legitimate , since no one would thus know of mystery of his supernatural conception. It was helpful that Jesus and Mary would find support for mother and in their life with Saint Joseph. In this way the arrival of the Messiah would also be hidden from the Devil. With this union Mary gives due honour both to the state of matrimony and virginity. Our Lady loved Joseph with a deep and pure love. She knew and understood him well, and she wants us to go to him for assistance. Joseph and Mary are the model husband and wife. They are the perfect image of the total self-giving to God, indiviso conde, in either apostolic celibacy or virginity lived in the middle of the world. Virginity or celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of God not only does not contradict the dignity of marriage, but presupposes it and confirms it .Marriage and virginity or celibacy are two ways of expressing and living the one mystery of the covenant of God with his people. in Conversation with God Daily Meditations Volume VI Special Feast January ‒ June 
|
×
×