FEAST DAY: March 19
Saint Joseph—the earthly father of our Lord Jesus Christ—occupies a strange position in the litany of saints. There’s not a Christian anywhere in the world who does not know Saint Joseph, and it is generally agreed that he is one of the most important figures in Christianity. Yet there is precious little known about Joseph—his appearances in the Bible are both brief and often relegated to the background of the story of Jesus and Mary—but Saint Joseph did make immense contributions to the story of salvation.
It is known that Saint Joseph was a descendent of King David. We know that he was a carpenter and that he taught Jesus about his trade. It is also believed that he died sometime before the Crucifixion.
Yet even the marriage of Mary and Joseph is shrouded in mystery. It is believed that Mary was in her teens, with Joseph being older. It is unlikely that Mary and Joseph had a “romantic relationship” as we would think of one today—and, as we know, Mary’s virginity was perpetual.
One theory—which originates in the apocryphal (writings not accepted by the Church as Scriptural) Protoevangelium of James—posits that Mary was a temple virgin dedicated to God from an early age, and such virgins were married off once they reached maturity, yet it was expected that temple virgins would maintain their chastity for life. If that were the case, Saint Joseph would have been fully aware that his marriage to Mary was to be a chaste one. His role as a guardian and protector, then, would have been seen as a great honor, and it would explain the age gap between Joseph and Mary. Though the Protoevangelium of James is apocryphal, it has become an important source for Mariology in the Catholic tradition.
Another enigmatic element of the Nativity story is Joseph’s desire to divorce Mary when he learned that she was pregnant during their betrothal. Why, for example, did Joseph wish to “divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19)? It is easy to assume that he felt she’d been unfaithful, but, given the non-sexual nature of their relationship, there are two other schools of thought. The “perplexity theory,” supported by Saint Jerome, states that Saint Joseph believed Mary’s chastity and yet was unable to explain her pregnancy. The “reverence theory,” supported by Saint Thomas Aquinas, claims Saint Joseph understood that her pregnancy was the work of God and wished to separate himself from her out of a sense of unworthiness.
By accepting that Joseph and Mary had a chaste marriage due to reasons of social Jewish tradition, we can see that Saint Joseph accepted a great burden by remaining married to her, as he would have been viewed in a shameful light out of suspicion of violating her sacred chastity. This paints Saint Joseph as a much more deliberate participant in Salvation history. He was not just the person who happened to become the earthly father of Jesus—he was a virtuous, reverent and holy man throughout his life.
Saint Joseph’s chastity is noble—not only for his apparent discipline—but as an example of what chaste love truly means. As Pope Francis writes in his apostolic letter, Patris Corde:
“Joseph is traditionally called a ‘most chaste’ father. That title is not simply a sign of affection, but the summation of an attitude that is the opposite of possessiveness. Chastity is freedom from possessiveness in every sphere of one’s life. Only when love is chaste, is it truly love. A possessive love ultimately becomes dangerous: it imprisons, constricts and makes for misery. God himself loved humanity with a chaste love; he left us free even to go astray and set ourselves against him. The logic of love is always the logic of freedom, and Joseph knew how to love with extraordinary freedom. He never made himself the center of things.”
Chastity, therefore, refers to the nature of love. It serves as a call to love our children, our spouses and even ourselves—not as objects existing for the fulfillment of our own desires but as people created in the image of God. Saint Joseph did not agree to be the earthly father to Jesus to glorify himself—he did it because it was what his family needed. As Pope Francis said in Patris Corde: “Joseph found happiness not in mere self-sacrifice but in self-gift. In him, we never see frustration but only trust.”
Saint Joseph is the patron of the Universal Church, families, social justice, immigrants and workers. He is also the patron of several countries, including Mexico, Canada, Belgium and the New World. His feast day—March 19—was first celebrated in the 14th century by the Servite friars.
In the diocese of Youngstown, many Churches and parishes currently bear his patronage: St. Joseph Church in Ashtabula (part of Our Lady of Peace Parish), St. Joseph Parish in Austintown (now part of St. Blaise Parish), St. Joseph Parish in Mantua, St. Joseph Church in Mogadore (part of Saint John Neumann Parish), St. Joseph Church in Massillon (part of Divine Mercy Parish), St. Joseph Church in Canton (part of Guardian Angels Parish), St. Joseph Parish in Maximo, St. Joseph Parish in Alliance, St. Mary and St. Joseph Church in Warren (part of Saint Teresa of Calcutta Parish) and St. Mary and St. Joseph Parish in Newton Falls. Then—as Saint Joseph is part of the Holy Family—there is Holy Family Parish in Poland and Holy Family Parish in Brewster/Navarre.
This Saint of the Season was written by Collin Vogt, Catholic Echo staff writer, who became a father for the first time this fall. Congratulations to Collin, his wife, Larissa, and a hearty “Welcome!” to baby Evangeline.
