St. Joseph
4th Sunday of Advent
After the Blessed Mother and St. John the Baptist, the Church holds in highest veneration St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ. Almost everything we know about St. Joseph comes from a few verses in the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel. He was of the house of David, and he was a carpenter by trade. Mary was betrothed to him as her husband, but they had not yet married and were not yet living together when the Annunciation took place.
Mary had been born to elderly parents, Joachim and Anna, and consecrated herself to God from her early childhood. It was likely that her elderly parents chose St. Joseph for her in order to provide guardianship, and because he understood the special circumstances of her consecration.
Joseph was a holy and religious man who kept the law, who was faithful to his ancestral Jewish heritage, and like many of the Jews of the time, was looking eagerly for the coming of the Messiah.
This quality is noted in the Gospel: “Joseph was a righteous man” (Mt 1:19). He put God first. It was a quality Mary’s parents looked for when searching for her husband; it is also the reason God chose him for this role.
It must have been a tremendous shock to discover that Mary was suddenly with child. Without any other human explanation, it could only be concluded that God’s law had been violated. No matter what else he knew about Mary’s holiness, he could not marry her in these circumstances, because under the law she was an adulteress.
In this moment of difficultly we discover a second greatness of St. Joseph. Though righteous, he was not self-righteous. Though he kept the law faithfully, he was not a Pharisee. Though he could not marry Mary, neither would he turn against her. St. Matthew tells us, “Joseph, since he was a righteous man, decided to divorce her quietly, since he was unwilling to expose her to shame” (Mt 1:19).
Joseph immediately gives consideration for the best way to help Mary in her predicament, and uphold her honor. He has respect and mercy, he is kind. This is the second important quality that made him worthy to be a father to Jesus.
Never before and never since has “a virgin conceived and born a son” (Mt 1:23). God had to reveal this mystery. Thus the same angel who visited Mary at her Annunciation came to St. Joseph. There are two annunciations in the Gospel.[1]
Here we learn of a third great quality of St. Joseph. When the angel visited him, he responded immediately with obedience, and took Mary into his home as his wife (Mt 1:24). He will fully dedicate himself to the demands of this calling.
St. Joseph is a model for all Christian men, whether they are called to marriage or to the celibacy of the priesthood. They must be men of God, faithful to His law, ready to serve, and obedient to the demands and sacrifices of serving God. They must raise Christ in the world, who is born into each of their children through Baptism. They must guard and protect that life of grace.
As we prepare to celebrate Christmas this year, we look to Mary and Joseph who celebrated the original Christmas. And we especially look to the qualities which were so important in God’s choice of St. Joseph: holiness of life, compassion, and obedience.
[1] There are two annunciations for Jesus, there is another Annunciation for John the Baptist (Lk 1:5-20)