Saint Joseph, text of the conference proposed by Life Ascending England

This article was intended to be a talk I was to give on 18/3/20. The meeting was cancelled due to the pandemic, so I had hoped to give it - slightly amended - a year later. This also failed to be, and we now get to 1/5/21 The feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, so I now include: 'Saint Joseph worked faithfully as a carpenter; he shines as an example to all workmen, alleluia.' and 'Christ the Lord allowed himself to be considered the son of a carpenter alleluia’. These 2 quotations are the antiphons for the Benedict us & Magnificat from the Devine Office on May 1

This picture is of Saint Joseph's Retreat Church in Highgate and is relevant to the article

Every liturgical year has a dedication and in 2020-2021 it is Saint Joseph. Each month is also dedicated and March is Saint Joseph as well. His feast is on the 19th. My confirmation name is Joseph, as the ceremony took place at Saint Joseph Retreat in Highgate where I was at school near-by. I have, therefore, a great interest in the man who was essential to the Holy Family.

The importance of Saint Joseph should never be underestimated. When he discovered that Mary, to whom he was betrothed but not yet married, was 'with child', he 'being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace planned to dismiss her quietly.' The law of Moses would render a woman found with child and without a man to be stoned to death, killing both the mother and the child. But just as he was resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit."' This was the first of three such visitations. Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.

After the birth of Jesus and the visit of the wise men, a second visitation took place. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said: "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him."' Joseph again did as commanded, thus saving his life for a second time. Had Joseph not have acted as he did Jesus would have been killed in the 'massacre of the Innocents'.

The third visitation was 'When Herod died: an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said: "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel." But having been warned in another dream that Herod's son Archelaus was ruling Judea he went to Nazareth in Galilee, saving Jesus for a third time. Never under rate the importance of Joseph for no Joseph implies no Christ Jesus and thence no Christianity.

In first century Jewish law if a man accepts the child of his wife he becomes the legal father of that child. So, Matthew is correct in showing the ancestry of Jesus as being through Joseph.  Jesus inherited Joseph's genealogy and Joseph became the legal father of Jesus. The next important event was the presentation in the Temple. There is no doubt that Joseph was present as the Holy Family observed the Jewish law. When Passover came and Jesus was about twelve years old all the family went to Jerusalem, but when Joseph and Mary came together on the return, they realised Jesus was not with them. On return they found him in the Temple debating with all the Elders. Mary said to him: 'Why have you done this to us? Do you realise that your father and I have been searching for you for three days?' The reply was: 'did you not know that I had to be in my Father's house?' Clearly Mary meant Joseph as 'Father', but Jesus referred to God with the same word Father.

We hear nothing further about Joseph, but more of that later. There are many stories concerning St. Joseph some of which can be traced to the apocryphal gospels. The one I choose to quote here goes:

After Joachim and Anna, Mary's parents, presented Mary in the Temple when she was 3 years of age, they allowed her to remain there as a temple virgin dedicated to God's service. When Mary was on the verge of womanhood, the high priest announced that it was time for all the temple virgins of that age to return home so that marriage could be arranged for them. Mary, however, said that she had made a vow of virginity to God. A man had to be found who would take Mary as his spouse while allowing her to maintain her virginity

It is unlikely that a young bachelor would do so.  A number of widowers were approached and asked to bring sticks or staffs to the altar and leave them there overnight. The following morning the staff of Joseph bloomed and white flowers, probably lilies, appeared. This was seen as a sign that God had chosen Joseph. It is believed that he had been married twice and both wives had died. He is likely to have been much older than Mary. There many paintings and statues of St. Joseph bearing a flowering stick. This shows how widely this story is believed

This also explains why we hear nothing of St. Joseph after the finding in the temple. It also answers questions about the 'brothers and sisters' of Jesus. They could have been children of St. Joseph or cousins. The first century definition of family relations is rather loose. If any of them were from St. Joseph they would not have any parents in common with Jesus

I now wait for the nineteenth of March to celebrate St. Joseph's day, month and year

Mike Palowkar, 1/5/21

Life Ascending England