Saint Joseph, Husband of Mary

Saint Joseph statue at Saint Vincent de Paul church, Mount Vernon, Ohio

SAINT JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF MARY

Everything we know about the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture and that has seemed too little for those who made up legends about him.

We know he was a carpenter, a working man, for the skeptical Nazarenes ask about Jesus, “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” (Matthew 13:55). He wasn’t rich for when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised and Mary to be purified he offered the sacrifice of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb (Luke 2:24).

Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. Luke and Matthew disagree some about the details of Joseph’s genealogy but they both mark his descent from David, the greatest king of Israel (Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38). Indeed the angel who first tells Joseph about Jesus greets him as “son of David,” a royal title used also for Jesus.

We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary was pregnant after they had been betrothed, he knew the child was not his but was as yet unaware that she was carrying the Son of God. He planned to divorce Mary according to the law but he was concerned for her suffering and safety. He knew that women accused to adultery could be stoned to death, so he decided to divorce her quietly and not expose her to shame or cruelty (Matthew 1:19-25).

We know Joseph was man of faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him without knowing the outcome. When the angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him the truth about the child Mary was carrying, Joseph immediately and without question or concern for gossip, took Mary as his wife. When the angel came again to tell him that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything he owned, all his family and friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the baby. He waited in Egypt without question until the angel told him it was safe to go back (Matthew 2:13-23).

We know Joseph loved Jesus. His one concern was for the safety of this child entrusted to him. Not only did he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life. When Jesus stayed in the Temple we are told Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great anxiety for three days for him (Luke 2:48). We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son for over and over the people of Nazareth say of Jesus, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” (Luke 4:22)

We know Joseph respected God. He followed God’s commands in handling the situation with Mary and going to Jerusalem to have Jesus circumcised and Mary purified after Jesus’ birth. We are told that he took his family to Jerusalem every year for Passover, something that could not have been easy for a working man.

Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus’ public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry.

Joseph is the patron of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus’ public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.

Joseph is also patron of the universal Church, fathers, carpenters, and social justice.

We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker.

There is much we wish we could know about Joseph—where and when he was born, how he spent his days, when and how he died. But Scripture has left us with the most important knowledge: who he was—“a righteous man” (Matthew 1:18).

“Saint Joseph,” Catholic Online, accessed May 1, 2011:

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4

THE OBEDIENCE OF SAINT JOSEPH

Saint Joseph is often described as an example of obedience—which gives rise to the question, in what sense was Saint Joseph obedient to God?

Saint Joseph was obedient to the laws of God revealed through Moses and the prophets. We assert this claim because Scripture testifies that he was “a just man” (Matthew 1:19).

We also say he was obedient to God because he obeyed the counsels of the good spirit that he received through his dreams. We cite the four dreams described in the gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 1:20-21: Saint Joseph is told not be afraid to take Mary as his wife because she has conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 2:13: He is warned to leave Bethlehem and flee to Egypt.

Matthew 2:19-20: While in Egypt, he is told that it is safe to go back to Israel.

Matthew 2:22: Because he is warned in a dream, he departs for the region of Galilee instead of going to Judea.

Does the experience of Saint Joseph above cited teach us that we should obey our dreams?

We are told by Scripture to be careful about following dreams—whether ours or those of others. Deuteronomy 13:2-4, for example, relates:

If there arises in your midst a prophet or a dreamer who promises you a sign or wonder, saying, “Let us go after other gods,” whom you have not known, “and let us serve them,” and the sign or wonder foretold to you comes to pass, do not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer.

How do we know whether a particular dream is from a good spirit, an evil spirit, or, as science has informed us, an entirely natural and necessary mental activity, operating like some form of “house-cleaning”?

“Why Do We Dream?” medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph.D., Psy.D. in healthline.com, June 26, 2018 presents some scientific conjectures about the organic purpose of our dreams:

https://www.healthline.com/health/why-do-we-dream#the-role-of-dreams

If a dream originates from the spiritual world, we have to apply rules for the discernment of spirits in our interpretation of the dream.

Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)

Some interesting criteria for the discernment of dreams are provided at this link, “11 Ways to Know If a Dream Is from God,” October 19, 2015 by Marko Joensuu:

https://www.mentoringprophets.com/2015/10/how-do-you-know-dream-is-from-god.html 

 

—Marko Joensuu, “11 Ways to Know If a Dream Is from God,” Mentoring Prophets, October 19, 2015

They appear reasonable enough.

I would suggest three possible criteria for discerning whether a dream originates from the good spirit:

- Clarity and coherence

- Timely relevance

- Supernatural quality

Because dreams originating from a supernatural source are supposed to communicate a message of no small import to the dreamer, the dream, which is the vehicle for the message, should be understandable even if it is somewhat mysterious. In order for the message to be understandable, the dream should also be clear and coherent—the two attributes go together.

Because the message concerns something of moment in the life of the dreamer, the message should also be relevant and timely. “Relevant” means that it pertains to something important in the life of the dreamer, while “timely” means that it concerns something salient at the time of the dream.

“Supernatural quality” refers to attributes that the dreamer cannot readily ascribe to our usual, everyday experience. When Saint Teresa of Avila describes her visions of the person of Jesus or of the devil, for instance, her mystical experiences are evidently supernatural in character.

Dreams originating from the spirits, whether good or evil, demonstrate this supernatural (some would distinguish between “supernatural” and “preternatural”) character, which we would argue cannot be adequately described—it is, properly, ineffable. We suggest that those who have experienced this quality understand what we are referring to.

One spiritual writer has attested that dreamers recognize the dream is of supernatural origin because it is so out of the ordinary that it stands out in contrast to our usual, everyday dreams.

We propose that Saint Joseph sufficiently recognized this supernatural quality so that he could not but conclude that it was God who was speaking to him through his dreams.

I would opine that dreams from the good spirit are rare. Therefore, we should not expect them and even less should we desire them, according to the sound spiritual counsel admonishing against seeking the unusual, esoteric, or extraordinary in our spiritual life.

Finally, I would suggest that we should not belabor the interpretation of a supernatural dream, meaning that more often than not the basic meaning—not necessarily the entire import of the dream—should be immediately and intuitively apparent upon waking.

This heuristic would be consistent with the observation in the spiritual literature that with the passage of time the risk arises that a subject will embellish, distort, or misinterpret their supernatural experience. The first, instant interpretation is best.

PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH FOR A HAPPY DEATH

O holy Saint Joseph, who gave up your last breath in the arms of Jesus and Mary, obtain for me the grace of a happy death even though I am wholly undeserving. Defend me from all evil, especially in my final hour. Assist me by your presence, protect me by your power, and obtain this mercy from God for me that I may breathe forth my soul in praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, saying in spirit, if so I am unable to do so in words: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my life and my heart. Amen.

Adapted from “Prayer to Saint Joseph for a Happy Death,” August 24, 2010, Catholic Prayers, accessed April 16, 2011:

http://lordcalls.com/prayers-to-saints/prayer-to-st-joseph-for-a-happy-death