Novena to St. Joseph - Sixth Day

Sixth Day
PATRON OF FAMILIES

Saint Joseph, I venerate you as the gentle head of the Holy Family. The Holy Family was the scene of your life's work in its origin, in its guidance, in its protection, in your labor for Jesus and Mary, and even in your death in their arms. You lived, moved, and acted in the loving company of Jesus and Mary. The inspired writer describes your life at Nazareth in only a few words: "And (Jesus) went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them" (Luke, 2:51). Yet these words tell of your high vocation here on earth, and the abundance of graces which filled your soul during those years spent in Nazareth.

Your family life at Nazareth was all radiant with the light of divine charity. There was an intimate union of heart and mind among the members of your Holy Family. There could not have been a closer bond than that uniting you to Jesus, your foster-Son and to Mary, your most loving wife. Jesus chose to fulfill toward you, His foster-father, all the duties of a faithful son, showing you every mark of honor and affection due to a parent. And Mary showed you all the signs of respect and love of a devoted wife. You responded to this love and veneration from Jesus and Mary  with feelings of deepest love and respect. You had for Jesus a true fatherly love, enkindled and kept aglow in your heart by the Holy Spirit. And you could not cease to admire the workings of grace in Mary's soul, and this admiration caused the holy love which you had consecrated to her on the day of your wedding grow stronger every day.

God has made you a heavenly patron of family life because you sanctified yourself as head of the Holy Family and thus by your beautiful example sanctified family life. How peacefully and happily the Holy Family rested under the care of your fatherly rule, even in the midst of trials. You were the protector, counselor, and consolation of the Holy Family in every need. And just as you were the model of piety, so you gave us by your zeal, your earnestness and devout trust in God's providence, and especially by your love, the example of labor according to the Will of God. You cherished all the experiences common to family life and the sacred memories of the life, sufferings, and joys in the company of Jesus and Mary. Therefore the family is dear to you as the work of God, and it is of the highest importance in your eyes to promote the honor of God and the well-being of man. In your loving fatherliness and unfailing intercession you are the patron and intercessor of families, and you deserve a place in every home.

Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of living in the Holy Family and being its head. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain God's blessing upon my own family. Make our home the kingdom of Jesus and Mary -- a kingdom of peace, of joy, and love.

I also pray for all Christian families. Your help is needed in our day when God's enemy has directed his attack against the family in order to desecrate and destroy it. In the face of these evils, as patron of families, be pleased to help; and as of old, you arose to save the Child and His Mother, so today arise to protect the sanctity of the home. Make our homes sanctuaries of prayer, of love, of patient sacrifice, and of work. May they be modeled after your own at Nazareth. Remain with us with Jesus and Mary, so that by your help we may obey the commandments of God and of the Church; receive the holy sacraments of God and of the Church; live a life of prayer; and foster religious instruction in our homes. Grant that we may be reunited in God's Kingdom and eternally live in the company of the Holy Family in heaven.

*NOVENA PRAYER
*(prayer to be said at the end of each day's devotion)

Saint Joseph, I, your unworthy child, greet you. You are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have special confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I place all my hope of salvation in you, for you are especially powerful with God and will never abandon your faithful servants. Therefore I humbly invoke you and commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.

Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for me a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may merit to die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:

(Mention your request).

Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers in my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.

MEMORARE
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.

Novena to St. Joseph - Day Five

Fifth Day
PATRON OF THE CHURCH

Saint Joseph, God has appointed you patron of the Catholic Church because you were the head of the Holy Family, the starting-point of the Church. You were the father, protector, guide and support of the Holy Family. For that reason you belong in a particular way to the Church, which was the purpose of the Holy Family's existence.

I believe that the Church is the family of God on earth. Its government is represented in priestly authority which consists above all in its power over the true Body of Christ, really present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, thus continuing Christ's life in the Church. From this power, too, comes authority over the Mystical Body of Christ, the members of the Church -- the power to teach and govern souls, to reconcile them with God, to bless them, and to pray for them.

You have a special relationship to the priesthood because you possessed a wonderful power over our Savior Himself. Your life and office were of a priestly function and are especially connected with the Blessed Sacrament. To some extent you were the means of bringing the Redeemer to us -- as it is the priest's function to bring Him to us in the Mass -- for you reared Jesus, supported, nourished, protected and sheltered Him. You were prefigured by the patriarch Joseph, who kept supplies of wheat for his people. But how much greater than he were you! Joseph of old gave the Egyptians mere bread for their bodies. You nourished, and with the most tender care, preserved for the Church Him who is the Bread of Heaven and who gives eternal life in Holy Communion.

God has appointed you patron of the Church because the glorious title of patriarch also falls by special right to you. The patriarchs were the heads of families of the Chosen People, and theirs was the honor to prepare for the Savior's incarnation. You belonged to this line of patriarchs, for you were one of the last descendants of the family of David and one of the nearest forebears of Christ according to the flesh. As husband of Mary, the Mother of God, and as the foster-father of the Savior, you were directly connected with Christ. Your vocation was especially concerned with the Person of Jesus; your entire activity centered about Him. You are, therefore, the closing of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New, which took its rise with the Holy Family of Nazareth. Because the New Testament surpasses the Old in every respect, you are the patriarch of patriarchs, the most venerable, exalted, and amiable of all the patriarchs.

Through Mary, the Church received Christ, and therefore the Church is indebted to her. But the Church owes her debt of gratitude and veneration to you also, for you were the chosen one who enabled Christ to enter into the world according to the laws of order and fitness. It was by you that the patriarchs and the prophets and the faithful reaped the fruit of God's promise. Alone among them all, you saw with your own eyes and possessed the Redeemer promised to the rest of men.

Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being the Patron of the Church. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to live always as a worthy member of this Church, so that through it I may save my soul. Bless the priests, the religious, and the laity of the Catholic Church, that they may ever grow in God's love and faithfulness in His service. Protect the Church from the evils of our day and from the persecution of her enemies. Through your powerful intercession may the church successfully accomplish its mission in this world -- the glory of God and the salvation of souls!

*NOVENA PRAYER
*(prayer to be said at the end of each day's devotion)
Saint Joseph, I, your unworthy child, greet you. You are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have special confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I place all my hope of salvation in you, for you are especially powerful with God and will never abandon your faithful servants. Therefore I humbly invoke you and commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.

Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for me a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may merit to die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:

(Mention your request).

Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers in my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.

MEMORARE
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.

Novena to St. Joseph - Days Three and Four

Third Day
MAN CHOSEN BY THE BLESSED TRINITY

Saint Joseph, you were the man chosen by God the Father. He selected you to be His representative on earth, hence He granted you all the graces and blessings you needed to be His worthy representative.

You were the man chosen by God the Son. Desirous of a worthy foster-father, He added His own riches and gifts, and above all, His love. The true measure of your sanctity is to be judged by your imitation of Jesus. You were entirely consecrated to Jesus, working always near Him, offering Him your virtues, your work, your sufferings, your very life. Jesus lived in you perfectly so that you were transformed into Him. In this lies your special glory, and the keynote of your sanctity. Hence, after Mary, you are the holiest of the saints.

You were chosen by the Holy Spirit. He is the mutual Love of the Father and the Son -- the heart of the Holy Trinity. In His wisdom He draws forth all creatures from nothing, guides them to their end in showing them their destiny and giving them the means to reach it. Every vocation and every fulfillment of a vocation proceeds from the Holy Spirit. As a foster-father of Jesus and head of the Holy Family, you had an exalted and most responsible vocation -- to open the way for the redemption of the world and to prepare for it by the education and guidance of the youth of the God-Man. In this work you cooperated as the instrument of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the guide; you obeyed and carried out the works. How perfectly you obeyed the guidance of the God of Love!

The words of the Old Testament which Pharaoh spoke concerning Joseph of Egypt can well be applied to you: "Can we find such another man, that is full of the spirit of God, or a wise man like to him?" (Gen. 41:38). No less is your share in the divine work of God than was that of Egypt. You now reign with your foster-Son and see reflected in the mirror of God's Wisdom the Divine Will and what is of benefit to our souls.

Saint Joseph, I thank God for having made you the man specially chosen by Him. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to imitate your virtues so that I too may be pleasing to the Heart of God. Help me to give myself entirely to His service and to the accomplishment of His Holy Will, that one day I may reach heaven and be eternally united to God as you are.

*NOVENA PRAYER
*(prayer to be said at the end of each day's devotion)
Saint Joseph, I, your unworthy child, greet you. You are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have special confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I place all my hope of salvation in you, for you are especially powerful with God and will never abandon your faithful servants. Therefore I humbly invoke you and commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.

Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for me a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may merit to die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:

(Mention your request).

Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers in my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.

MEMORARE
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.

Fourth Day
FAITHFUL SERVANT

Saint Joseph, you lived for one purpose -- to be the personal servant of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. Your noble birth and ancestry, the graces and gifts, so generously poured out on you by God -- all this was yours to serve our Lord better. Every thought, word, and action of yours was a homage to the love and glory of the Incarnate Word. You fulfilled most faithfully the role of a good and faithful servant who cared for the House of God.

How perfect was your obedience! Your position in the Holy Family obliged you to command, but besides being the foster-father of Jesus, you were also His disciple. For almost thirty years, you watched the God-Man display a simple and prompt obedience, and you grew to love and practice it very perfectly yourself. Without exception you submitted to God, to the civil rulers, and to the voice of your conscience.

When God sent an angel to tell you to care for Mary, you obeyed in spite of the mystery which surrounded her motherhood. When you were told to flee into Egypt under painful conditions, you obeyed without the slightest word of complaint. When God advised you in a dream to return to Nazareth, you obeyed. In every situation your obedience was as simple as your faith, as humble as your heart, as prompt as your love. It neglected nothing; it took in every command.

You had the virtue of perfect devotedness, which marks a good servant. Every moment of your life was consecrated to the service of our Lord: sleep, rest, work, pain. Faithful to your duties, you sacrificed everything unselfishly, even cheerfully. You would have sacrificed even the happiness of being with Mary. The rest and quiet of Nazareth was sacrificed at the call of duty. Your entire life was one generous giving, even to the point of being ready to die in proof of your love for Jesus and Mary. With true unselfish devotedness you worked without praise or reward.

But God wanted you to be in a certain sense a cooperator in the Redemption of the world. He confided to you the care of nourishing and defending the Divine Child. He wanted you to be poor and to suffer because He destined you to be the foster-father of His Son, who came into the world to save men by His sufferings and death, and you were to share in His suffering. In all of these important tasks, the Heavenly Father always found you a faithful servant!

Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being God's faithful servant. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to be a faithful servant of God as you were. Help me to share, as you did, the perfect obedience of Jesus, who came not to do His Will, but the Will of His Father; to trust in the Providence of God, knowing that if I do His Will, He will provide for all my needs of soul and body; to be calm in my trials and to leave it to our Lord to free me from them when it pleases Him to do so. And help me to imitate your generosity, for there can be no greater reward here on earth than the joy and honor of being a faithful servant of God.

*NOVENA PRAYER
*(prayer to be said at the end of each day's devotion)
Saint Joseph, I, your unworthy child, greet you. You are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have special confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I place all my hope of salvation in you, for you are especially powerful with God and will never abandon your faithful servants. Therefore I humbly invoke you and commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.

Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for me a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may merit to die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:

(Mention your request).

Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers in my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.

MEMORARE
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.

Novena to St. Joseph - Day Two

Second Day
VIRGINAL HUSBAND OF MARY

Saint Joseph, I honor you as the true husband of Mary. Scripture says: "Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, and of her was born Jesus who is called Christ" (Matt. 1:16). Your marriage to Mary was a sacred contract by which you and Mary gave yourselves to each other. Mary really belonged to you with all she was and had. You had a right to her love and obedience; and no other person so won her esteem, obedience, and love.

You were also the protector and witness of Mary's virginity. By your marriage you gave to each other your virginity, and also the mutual right over it -- a right to safeguard the other's virtue. This mutual virginity also belonged to the divine plan of the Incarnation, for God sent His angel to assure you that motherhood and virginity in Mary could be united.

This union of marriage not only brought you into daily familiar association with Mary, the loveliest of God's creatures, but also enabled you to share with her a mutual exchange of spiritual goods. And Mary found her edification in your calm, humble, and deep virtue, purity, and sanctity. What a great honor comes to you from this close union with her whom the Son of God calls Mother and whom He declared the Queen of heaven and earth! Whatever Mary had belonged by right to you also, and this included her Son, even though He had been given to her by God in a wonderful way. Jesus belonged to you as His legal father. Your marriage was the way which God chose to have Jesus introduced into the world, a great divine mystery from which all benefits have come to us.

God the Son confided the guardianship and the support of His Immaculate Mother to your care. Mary's life was that of the Mother of the Savior, who did not come upon earth to enjoy honors and pleasures, but to redeem the world by hard work, suffering, and the cross. You were the faithful companion, support, and comforter of the Mother of Sorrows. How loyal you were to her in poverty, journeying, work, and pain. Your love for Mary was based upon your esteem for her as Mother of God. After God and the Divine Child, you loved no one as much as her. Mary responded to this love. She submitted to your guidance with naturalness and easy grace and childlike confidence. The Holy Spirit Himself was the bond of the great love which united your hearts.

Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being the virginal husband of Mary. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to love Jesus with all my heart, as you did, and  love Mary with some of the tenderness and loyalty with which you loved her.

NOVENA PRAYER
*(prayer to be said at the end of each day's devotion)

Saint Joseph, I, your unworthy child, greet you. You are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have special confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I place all my hope of salvation in you, for you are especially powerful with God and will never abandon your faithful servants. Therefore I humbly invoke you and commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.

Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for me a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may merit to die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:

(Mention your request).

Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers in my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.

MEMORARE
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.

Novena to St. Joseph - Day One

Day One
FOSTER-FATHER OF JESUS

Saint Joseph, you were privileged to share in the mystery of the Incarnation as the foster-father of Jesus. Mary alone was directly connected with the fulfillment of the mystery, in that she gave her consent to Christ's conception and allowed the Holy Spirit to form the sacred humanity of Jesus from her blood. You had a part in this mystery in an indirect manner, by fulfilling the condition necessary for the Incarnation -- the protection of Mary's virginity before and during your married life with her. You made the virginal marriage possible, and this was a part of God's plan, foreseen, willed, and decreed from all eternity.

In a more direct manner you shared in the support, upbringing, and protection of the Divine Child as His foster-father. For this purpose the Heavenly Father gave you a genuine heart of a father -- a heart full of love and self-sacrifice. With the toil of your hands you were obliged to offer protection to the Divine Child, to procure for Him food, clothing, and a home. You were truly the saint of the holy childhood of Jesus -- the living created providence which watched over the Christ-Child.

When Herod sought the Child to put Him to death, the Heavenly Father sent an angel but only as a messenger, giving orders for the flight; the rest He left entirely in your hands. It was that fatherly love which was the only refuge that received and protected the Divine Child. Your fatherly love carried Him through the desert into Egypt until all enemies were removed. Then on your arms the Child returned to Nazareth to be nourished and provided for during many years by the labor of your hands. Whatever a human son owes to a human father for all the benefits of his up-bringing and support, Jesus owed to you, because you were to Him a foster-father, teacher, and protector.

You served the Divine Child with a singular love. God gave you a heart filled with heavenly, supernatural love -- a love far deeper and more powerful than any natural father's love could be.

You served the Divine Child with great unselfishness, without any regard to self-interest, but not without sacrifices. You did not toil for yourself, but you seemed to be an instrument intended for the benefit of others, to be put aside as soon as it had done its word, for you disappeared from the scene once the childhood of Jesus had passed.

You were the shadow of the Heavenly Father not only as the earthly representative of the authority of the Father, but also by means of your fatherhood -- which only appeared to be natural -- you were to hide for a while the divinity of Jesus. What a wonderfully sublime and divine vocation was yours -- the loving Child which you carried in your arms, and loved and served so faithfully, had God in Heaven as Father and was Himself God!

Yours is a very special rank among the saints of the Kingdom of God, because you were so much a part of the very life of the Word of God made Man. In your house at Nazareth and under your care the redemption of mankind was prepared. What you accomplished, you did for us. You are not only a powerful and great saint in the Kingdom of God, but a benefactor of the whole of Christendom and mankind. Your rank in the Kingdom of God, surpassing far in dignity and honor of all the angels, deserves our very special veneration, love, and gratitude.

Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of having been chosen by God to be the foster-father of His Divine Son. As a token of your own gratitude to God for this your greatest privilege, obtain for me the grace of a very devoted love for Jesus Christ, my God and my Savior. Help me to serve Him with some of the self-sacrificing love and devotion which you had while on this earth with Him. Grant that through your intercession with Jesus, your foster-Son, I may reach the degree of holiness God has destined for me, and save my soul.

*NOVENA PRAYER
*(prayer to be said at the end of each day's devotion)
Saint Joseph, I, your unworthy child, greet you. You are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have special confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I place all my hope of salvation in you, for you are especially powerful with God and will never abandon your faithful servants. Therefore I humbly invoke you and commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.

Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for me a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may merit to die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:

(Mention your request).

Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers in my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.

MEMORARE
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.

Prayer to St. Joseph for a Happy Death

O Glorious St. Joseph, I choose you today for my special patron in life and at the hour of my death. Preserve and increase in me the spirit of prayer and fervor in the service of God. Remove far from me every kind of sin; obtain for me that my death may not come upon me unawares, but that I may have time to confess my sins sacramentally and to bewail them with a most perfect understanding and a most sincere and perfect contrition, in order that I may breathe forth my soul into the hands of Jesus and Mary. Amen.

Meditation for Holy Week: The Seven Sorrows and Joys of St. Joseph

And Jesus Himself, when he began His work, was about thirty years old being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph.

Pray for us, holy Joseph.

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

O blessed St. Joseph, tender-hearted father, faithful guardian of Jesus, chaste spouse of the Mother of God, I pray and beseech you to offer to God the Father my praise to Him through his divine Son, who died on the cross and rose again to give us sinners new life. Through the holy name of Jesus, pray with us that we may obtain from the eternal Father, the graces we need. We have been unfaithful to the unfailing love of God the Father; beg of Jesus mercy for us. Amid the splendors of God’s loving presence, do not forget the sorrows of those who suffer, those who pray, those who weep. By your prayers and those of your most holy spouse, our Blessed Lady, may the love of Jesus answer our call of confident hope. Amen.

Meditation for Holy Week: The Seven Sorrows and Joys of St. Joseph

Ever-obedient Joseph, you trustingly returned to Nazareth at God’s command, in spite of your fear that King Herod’s son might still be a threat to Jesus’ life. Then what fatherly pride you had in seeing Jesus grow in wisdom and grace before God and men under your care.

Show us St. Joseph, how to be free from all useless fear and worry, so we may enjoy the peace of a tranquil conscience, living safely with Jesus and Mary in our hearts.

Dependable father and husband, how frantic you and Mary were when, through no fault of yours, you searched for three days to find Jesus. What incredible relief was yours when you found Him safe in the Temple of God.

Help us St. Joseph, never to lose Jesus through the fault of our own sins. But if we should lose Him, lead us back with unwearied sorrow, until we find Him again; so that we, like you, may finally pass from this life, dying safely in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Meditation for Holy Week: The Seven Sorrows and Joys of St. Joseph

Joseph, loving husband, how bewildered you were when Simeon spoke the words of warning that the hearts of Jesus and Mary would be pierced with sorrows. Yet his prediction that this would lead to the salvation of innumerable souls filled you with consolation.

Help us, St. Joseph, to see with eyes of faith that even the sorrows and pains of those we deeply love can become the pathway to salvation and eternal life.

Courageous protector of the Holy Family, how terrified you were when you had to make the sudden flight with Jesus and Mary to escape the treachery of King Herod and the cruelty of his soldiers. But when you reached Egypt, what satisfaction you had to know that the Savior of the world had come to replace the pagan idols.

Teach us by your example, St. Joseph, to keep far from the false idols of earthly attractions, so that like you, we may be entirely devoted to the service of Jesus and Mary.

Meditation for Holy Week: The Seven Sorrows and Joys of St. Joseph

Faithful guardian of Jesus, what a failure you thought you were when you could only provide a stable for the birth of the Holy Child. And then what a wonder it was when shepherds came to tell of angel choirs, and wise men came to adore the King of Kings.

Through your example and prayers, help us St. Joseph and all we love to become like sinless mangers where the Savior of the world may be received with absolute love and respect.

Tender-hearted Joseph, you too felt pain when the blood of Jesus was first shed at His circumcision. Yet how proud you were to be the one privileged to give the name Jesus, Savior, to the very Son of God.

Pray for us St. Joseph, that the sacred blood of Christ, poured out for our salvation, may guard our families, so the Divine Name of Jesus may be written in our hearts forever.

Meditation for Holy Week: The Seven Sorrows and Joys of St. Joseph

St. John Chrysostom (?407) described the life of St. Joseph in terms of the "sorrows and joys" that characterized his earthly existence.

In 1536 John da Fano, an Italian Capuchin, published a devotion called "the seven Our Fathers of Saint Joseph," in an appendix to a spiritual work of his. Da Fano presented Saint Joseph himself speaking to two ship-wrecked monks he had saved off the coast of Flanders, advising them to recite daily seven Our Fathers and Hail Marys in honor of his sorrows. The devotion seems to be modeled after the corresponding devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows that was enjoying much popularity at the time. Before long the seven joys were added to the seven sorrows.

The "Seven Sorrows and Joys of Saint Joseph" is a widespread devotion, whose original formula is attributed to Venerable Gennaro Sarnelli (?1744). On December 9, 1819 the devotion was indulgenced by Pius VII. On January 22, 1836 Gregory XVI granted further indulgences to the "Seven Sundays in Honor of the Seven Sorrows and Joys of Saint Joseph." Under Pius IX in 1846 these indulgences were granted also to a shorter version for the sick, and in 1847 were extended for the Seven Sundays. Under Pius XI, indulgences for the Seven Sorrows were granted again in 1932 and for the Seven Sundays in 1936.

Chaste Lover of Mary, how overwhelmed you were when you thought that you would have to end your betrothal to her. But when the angel of God came to you in a dream, you were filled with awe to realize that Mary would be your wife, and you would be the guardian of the Messiah.

Help us St. Joseph, help our families and all our loved ones to overcome all sadness of heart and develop an absolute trust in God’s goodness.

St. Joseph in the Gospel of St. Luke

Luke presents Joseph somewhat in the background of his narrative, which is developed from the perspective of Mary. Nevertheless, this Gospel provides a rather definite portrayal of him and of the roles he fulfills.
Joseph is Mary's betrothed, but has no sexual relations with her and is not involved in the conception, which is wholly God's work in her. Being of the house and lineage of David, he is Jesus' legal, genealogical father. It is through him that the Son of God has a genealogy in the human race springing from Adam, inherits Davidic descent, comes to be born in the city of David, and can be called the Davidic Messiah.

Joseph and Mary are never called "husband" and "wife," but are seen as such to form a family together with Jesus. They are called "parents" together, and Joseph is called "father" and referred to as such by Mary. Together they see to the circumcision and naming of the child, obediently fulfill all the prescriptions of the law and temple worship, and are blessed by Simeon. Together they are subject to parental worry and incomprehension while raising Jesus. Together they are obeyed by him. Besides providing for the child, Joseph presumably also instructs him in the law. He is known to all Nazareth as Jesus' father, in a manner that appears totally ordinary.

What is most characteristic of Joseph in Luke's Gospel is his total obedience to God, both in fulfillment of the angel's instructions to Mary and especially in compliance with the law of the Lord. Luke portrays the model of a faithfully observant father who fulfills all the natural and religious obligations of a human parent for the Son of God. He is the obedient man whom Jesus obeys. He lives out this role in the background, a part of Jesus' "hidden life." In faith and in respect for the mystery, Joseph never competes or interferes with the Fatherhood of God. As the time comes for Jesus to begin his mission and publicly proclaim God as his Father, the human father of his childhood quietly fades from the scene.

Taken from http://www.osjoseph.org/stjoseph/scripture/part2sec5.php

Joseph in the Gospel of St. Matthew

From the Gospel of Matthew, one learns that Joseph is a just and obedient man, the husband of Mary who has no relations with her when she conceives, the matrimonial father of Jesus, who names him and gives him a place in the line of David, who guards and defends him under God's guidance, and who raises him as a carpenter at Nazareth. He receives his vocation in dreams, and is the final link in the line of the Old Testament patriarchs who await the fulfillment of the promise.

What most stands out in Matthew's manner of presenting all of this is Joseph's tremendous faith. The commonly held suspicion interpretation of Matthew 1:18-21 is due in part perhaps to a failure to perceive the depths of the faith which Matthew attributes to Joseph. The first example of this faith is not Joseph's response to the first message of the angel in Matthew 1:24. It is presumed in Matthew 1:18, when Joseph is named as Mary's betrothed in the sentence saying that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Before the angel's appearance, Joseph is the first one, together with Mary, to believe in the virginal conception of the promised Messiah. This faith is why he is called "a just man" from the start, and why he decides to separate from Mary out of reverent awe for the mystery. This faith makes him open to receive divine communications and recognize their authenticity. Joseph is a model of faith in always complying exactly and without hesitation to whatever God indicates to him. His faith is totally oriented to collaborating with the divine designs for the Savior conceived in Mary's womb and raised as their child.

In this faith Joseph is a type of first Christian, a model of faith-filled cooperation for all who follow and also call the name "Jesus," Savior. Joseph plays a most key role in the mystery of the Incarnation and is a model of righteousness for the Church.

Taken from http://www.osjoseph.org/stjoseph/scripture/part1sec7.php

Joseph the Laborer in the Gospel of St. Matthew

Having explained Jesus' origins in the infancy narrative, the Gospel of Matthew next jumps immediately to Jesus' baptism by John and the beginning of his ministry as an adult. The reader is told nothing about his childhood or his life at Nazareth, and consequently nothing about Joseph, who simply vanishes from the scene never to be mentioned again, except for one brief reference: "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son?" (Mt 13:54-55). The question asked has a type of parallel in each of the other Gospels (Mk 6:3; Lk 4:22; Jn 6:42), but none says "carpenter's son." Only Mark 6:3 uses the word "carpenter," but applied to Jesus, without mention of Joseph. It was the natural responsibility of a father to teach his trade to the son he was raising. Besides the title "Son of David," Jesus also receives from Joseph the title "son of the carpenter," adding a concrete human dimension that is part of the mystery of the Incarnation. The son of the carpenter who grew up working at his father's side would necessarily also be known to the people of his hometown as "the carpenter."

The actual Greek word used for Joseph's profession occurs nowhere else in the New Testament apart from these two cases of Matthew and Mark. The word is broader than simply "carpenter," and may be applied to a builder or a worker of any hard material such as stone or metal, thus opening a wide range of possibilities for the type of work that Joseph did.

The passage containing this reference (Mt 13:53-58) indirectly may shed some light on Joseph's disappearance from the scene. It is the only time that this Gospel actually names Jesus as Joseph's "son," and it is the people of Nazareth, "his own country," who refer to him in this way. They are the first to take offense at his teaching, because they are all too aware of his ordinary human upbringing. This would furnish one explanation for Joseph's absence in Jesus' ministry, which begins immediately with a voice from Heaven declaring "This is my beloved Son" (Mt 3:17). It could only cause confusion in people's minds to have Jesus' human father present while he was being revealed as the unique Son of God.

The presence of a human father was necessary for Davidic descent, for protection, affection, and instruction. The years of Jesus' life with Joseph and Mary at Nazareth are not recorded in history. It is reasonable to conclude that, in his human nature, Jesus learned from his parents, as every child must, and that what he learned was evidenced in the human manner in which he expressed his teaching and in the concrete images he used in the parables. Perhaps the very ordinariness of these years, in which nothing special stands out to record, is part of the principal information one needs to know about Jesus' human origins: he became like every other human being. Once Jesus' identity has been firmly established, one is prepared to receive the divine Good News he brings. From the absence of Joseph even when Mary is mentioned in the rest of Gospel, it may be concluded that he had died by the time of the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. No further data is available. The carpenter of Nazareth faithfully and unquestioningly fulfills all that God asks of him, and then just as quietly disappears.

Taken from http://www.osjoseph.org/stjoseph/scripture/part1sec6.php

Joseph the Dreamer in the Gospel of St. Matthew

In the New Testament, only the Gospel of Matthew explicitly presents dreams as a means of revelation. Matthew relates six instances of divine communications in dreams, five of which are in the infancy narrative, one to the magi and the other four to Joseph. Of these five revelations, two are reported in the same abbreviated form "being warned in a dream" (Mt 2:12,22), while the other three (Mt 1:20-25; 2:13-14,19-21) are described according to an artificial pattern with the following elements:

1) an introductory description of the situation;

2) with very minor variations, the phrase "Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying;"

3) the message of the angel, containing a command with a form of the same Greek verb for "take," and a reason for the command;

4) faith response of obedient execution of the command;

5) a Scripture citation containing a form of the same Greek verb for "call" and a title of Jesus.

These three stereotyped formulas and one of the abbreviated forms all center around Joseph and regard, respectively: 1) taking Mary as wife and naming the child "Jesus;" 2) fleeing to Egypt to rescue the child and his mother; 3) returning from Egypt to Israel with the child and his mother; 4) withdrawing to Galilee and establishing residence in Nazareth. Joseph's cooperation with these divine revelations is in accord with the cited fulfillment of prophecies (the last two dreams being two stages of a single fulfillment) involving the child's titles of "Jesus" (Mt 1:25), "Son [of God]" (Mt 2:15), and "Nazarene" (Mt 2:23). The geographical movement from Bethlehem to Egypt to Nazareth of Galilee is also accomplished in response to dreams (Mt 2:13,20,22) and shown to fulfill prophecies (Mt 2:6,15,23).

 

Background on Dreams and Angel Appearances

While rare in the New Testament, dreams are rather common in the Old Testament, and a variety of significances accompany them. When foreigners such as Pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar dream, a Hebrew man of God, such as Joseph or Daniel, is needed to interpret for them (Gen 40:5--41:36; Dan 2:1-49; 4:1-25). Israel, however, needs no help in interpreting dreams, which are often means of divine communication. Yahweh, whom no one can see and still live (Ex 33:20), commonly reveals in dreams and night visions his plans for his people and the role they are to play in those designs, as seen in the examples of Abraham (Gen 15:12-13), Abimelech (Gen 20:3,6), Laban (Gen 31:24), Jacob-Israel (Gen 28:12-13; 46:2-4), Joseph (Gen 37:5-11), Samuel (1 Sam 3:1-14), Nathan (2 Sam 7:4-17), Solomon (1 Kgs 3:5), and Daniel (Dan 2:18-23).

In righteous Joseph's dreams (and not in that of the magi), it is the "angel of the Lord," who appears to him. This exact phrase is found repeatedly and consistently in the Septuagint as a translation for "the angel of Yahweh," who is sent with most important messages to Hagar (Gen 16:7-12), Abraham (Gen 22:11,15), Moses (Ex 3:2), the people of Israel (Jgs 2:1-4), the barren wife of Manoah (Jgs 13:3-5), Elijah (1 Kgs 19:7; 2 Kgs 1:15), and Joshua the high priest (Zec 3:1-10). The types of communications in the dreams cited above and those through the angel of the Lord are most similar, and it is not so surprising that for Joseph these two forms are combined, so that he invariably awakes with total faith and no doubt whatsoever about their interpretation. Gideon has both the appearance of the angel of the Lord addressing him with the title "man of valor," and God speaking to him at night with instructions as to what he is to do (Jgs 6:11-12,25). Balaam has the Lord come to him at night, and the angel of the Lord standing before him in the day (Num 22:20,31-32). The angel of God comes to Jacob in a dream (Gen 31:10-11), and Zechariah speaks with an angel in the night (Zec 1:7-9).

Matthew has shown how Joseph received the vocation to be a key personage in Jesus' infancy, and how that role can only be fulfilled by a special charism, a charism which was communicated to him by an angel of the Lord in dreams, in the way that God communicated to his patriarchs and prophets in the Old Testament. Joseph receives an initial revelation about the identity of the child Jesus, conceived of the Holy Spirit to save his people from their sins. He then receives subsequent messages about how he is to cooperate in that work of salvation by guarding and protecting the child and his mother. In the New Testament, this role and this manner of divine communication are unique to Joseph, so that he alone can be called a "man of dreams," a title previously given to his namesake, the patriarch Joseph (Gen 37:19).

Parallels with the Patriarch Joseph

Of all the Old Testament recipients of dreams mentioned here, probably none is more important than the patriarch Joseph. He not only interprets the dreams of Pharaoh and his court, but first of all is himself the recipient of divine communications in dreams, regarding his role in the history of the chosen people (Gen 37-50). Though Matthew's infancy narrative also contains other resonances and is by no means a systematic allusion to Genesis, there are many significant parallels between the two Josephs, which it will be well to catalog and examine:

1) Name. The name of New Testament Joseph could not help but recall that of Old Testament Joseph, so often repeated in the history of salvation, occurring almost 200 times in the Old Testament and at least eight times in the New. The name is built on the name of God, and means "Yahweh increases" or "Yahweh adds." It is given by Rachel at Joseph's birth in grateful appreciation that the Lord had "opened her womb," with the explanation that it means that God has added another son (Gen 30:22-24). Applied to New Testament Joseph then, it would mean: "God grants him descendence."

2) Name of Father. As already noted, Matthew differs from Luke by listing Joseph's father as "Jacob" (Mt 1:16), a name used for no one else in Scripture except the father of the patriarch Joseph.

3) Mention of name "Rachel." The name of the mother of New Testament Joseph is not given, but the citation in Matthew 2:18 mentions Rachel, the mother of the patriarch.

4) Dreams. In each Testament the respective Joseph is the person most known for dreams. The patriarch also has dreams revealing his future role (Gen 37:5-9 realized in Gen 42:6-9 when his brothers come to Egypt and bow before him). He becomes famous also for interpreting God's message in other people's dreams (Gen 41:12,16,25). Both Josephs are able to understand correctly God's communications in dreams.

5) Threats of Death. In Genesis Joseph's brothers want to kill him (Gen 37:18-20), while in Matthew Herod wants to kill the child entrusted to Joseph's care (Mt 2:13,16).

6) Egypt. The flight of New Testament Joseph into Egypt immediately recalls Old Testament Joseph's being saved from the pit and taken into Egypt where he lived long and prospered (Gen 37:28; 45:9; Acts 7:9), protected from the famine that would later afflict his homeland. In each Testament, a Joseph is the person most associated with Egypt.

7) Involvement with King. New Testament Joseph's stay in Egypt is determined by the hatred king Herod nourishes until his death. Old Testament Joseph's stay in Egypt becomes important because he wins the trust of the pharaoh who puts him in charge of his affairs (Gen 41:41). New Testament Joseph's return from Egypt is occasioned by the death of king Herod (Mt 2:19), while the great Exodus event in the time of Moses begins when there arises "a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph" (Ex 1:8; Acts 7:18). Joseph had predicted the exodus, and Moses carried his bones along with him (Gen 50:24-25; Ex 13:18-19; Heb 11:22). "Egypt was glad when they departed" (Ps 15:38).

8) Virtuous and Chaste. In Genesis Joseph resists repeated attempts of Potiphar's wife to seduce him and he suffers unjust imprisonment for it (Gen 39). In Matthew Joseph is a just or upright man and he has no carnal knowledge of Mary.

9) Given Responsibility. Old Testament Joseph becomes overseer of officer Potiphar's house in charge of all that he has (Gen 39:4), keeper of the prison with all the prisoners under his care (Gen 39:22), and finally lord of pharaoh's house and all the land of Egypt (Gen 41:41-45; Ps 105:21). New Testament Joseph is responsible for Jesus and Mary in Bethlehem, Egypt, and Nazareth.

10) Favored and Fruitful. God favors the patriarch Joseph and makes him prosper (Gen 39:3,21,23). He becomes a "fruitful bough," with "blessings of the breasts and womb," and is called a nazîr, one "set apart" or "consecrated" (Gen 49:22,25,26). The people multiply in the land of Egypt (Ps 105:23-24). Joseph, son of David, is favored with the fulfillment of the promised descendence in Jesus, whom he names as his son, and with the fruitful mother of the Savior for his wife. God's guidance protects him from Herod and Archelaus.

11) Patriarchal. Old Testament Joseph is listed with the greatest patriarchs in the history of Israel, as is summed up in Psalm 105 which names him among the elite group of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and Aaron; through them the promise first made to Abraham was fulfilled. New Testament Joseph is almost like another patriarch, the last in the chain, who receives in a dream the final assurance of a son and continued blessing.

Joseph's Patriarchal Role

Matthew has thus presented Joseph as the recipient of a combination of two means of divine communication common in the Old Testament: dreams and appearances of the angel of the Lord. The dreams and appearances are described as multiple, and are related according to a stereotyped pattern repeating the same expressions. Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled by Joseph's obedient cooperation with the messages. The prophecies are related to Jesus' titles, and to his geographical movement during the first years of his life. Matthew's Joseph is presented in a way that parallels his namesake, the patriarch Joseph, especially in his association with dreams and Egypt, but also in escaping threats of death, and in being protected and blessed for his faithful exercise of the responsibility entrusted to him.

Matthew's portrayal thus communicates the multi-leveled truth that Joseph has a patriarchal role to play in connection with the prophetic mission of Christ. As a privileged recipient of multiple, combined forms of divine communications, and as a perfectly obedient man of faith who collaborates with all that is commanded him, he recapitulates the history of salvation of Israel, which has reached its definitive culmination in the child he names, protects and raises. The man of dreams who took the child and his mother to Egypt and back is the last of the patriarchs, who receives revelations about the promised descendence in the style of the Old Testament shared by no one else in the New Testament or thereafter.

Taken from http://www.osjoseph.org/stjoseph/scripture/part1sec5.php

Obedient Father and Jesus' Protector in the Gospel of St. Luke

Whereas Luke omits use of the words "husband" and "wife," he does liberally apply to Joseph the terms "father" and "parent," which Matthew implies but never directly employs. And if Luke 3:23 adds "as was supposed" to refer to public lack of awareness of the virginal conception and divine Fatherhood, in Luke 2 it is not the unknowing, but the evangelist himself who uses the titles in an unqualified sense, even reporting Mary as explicitly saying to Jesus "your father and I" (Lk 2:48).

Luke sees no reason to "baptize" or qualify the terms. Besides providing Davidic descent for Jesus, Joseph is betrothed to Mary so as to be Jesus' parent with her. Neither the parenthood nor the virginity are compromised or minimized. In Luke, Joseph is portrayed as true father to Jesus and functions as such in every way, though this fatherhood is virginal or non-biological, and though human fatherhood will have to be understood in subordination to divine Fatherhood.

Among the roles Joseph is seen to fulfill as father of Jesus are Davidic genealogical fatherhood, and reputed fatherhood in the eyes of the public. Joseph functions as father during the journey to Bethlehem, the birth of the child in the manger ("while they were there ... no place for them," Lk 2:6-7), and the adoration of the shepherds (Lk 2:16). He undergoes the hardships of being subject to a census by a foreign ruler, having to travel with his pregnant wife and having to find a place for her to deliver. He cares for Mary and Jesus during the pregnancy and time of birth in Bethlehem. He is thereafter the one who, together with Mary, is responsible for the child being "brought up" (Lk 4:16) at Nazareth, so much so that when Jesus speaks in the synagogue there, the people are surprised, for they have known him always simply as "Joseph's son" (Lk 4:22). It is also Joseph and Mary who see to the fulfillment of all the temple rites for Jesus. Luke presents the circumcision and naming, the purification and presentation, and the episode when Jesus is twelve. In these three passages, he emphatically shows Joseph and Mary to be models of obedience to the angel and the law of the Lord, thus also fulfilling the parental role of being faithful examples for the child.

 

The Circumcision and Naming of Jesus

The circumcision and naming of Jesus are dealt with in one verse (Lk 2:21), paralleling a much longer section for the circumcision and naming of John the Baptist (Lk 1:59-66). Both passages are introduced with a time marker indicating the eighth day as prescribed for the sign of the covenant made with Abraham (cf. Gen 17:12ff; Lev 12:3; Phil 3:5). That Mary and Joseph would have Jesus circumcised appears quite likely according to the customs of the faithful of their time. Though a detail such as who did the actual circumcision cannot be determined, there should be noted at least the possibility that it was Joseph. The father was probably the usual one to perform the operation, as in the case of Abraham (Gen 21:4); although occasionally the mother could do it, as did Zipporah (Ex 4:25); and in later times recourse could be made to a third party, probably a medic (1 Mac 1:61). No references are found for priests performing circumcision, and Jesus' circumcision is related before any mention of being taken to the temple.

The verse does not mention Mary or Joseph, but is phrased in the impersonal. Their role in the circumcision and naming seems to be taken for granted, however, both in parallel to Zechariah and Elizabeth, and in light of the fact that this passage serves as a transitional introduction to the following episode wherein they are the grammatical subjects seeing to the fulfillment of the prescriptions of the law. It appears curious that Luke does not say that Mary named the child. Mention of her fulfillment of the angel's mandate to do so (Lk 1:31) would be expected, just as Luke has noted that Zechariah fulfilled the angel's command to him to name his son John (Lk 1:13,63). Whereas Matthew clearly states that Joseph named Jesus as commanded by the angel (Mt 1:21,25), Luke says simply "he was called." In the case of John the Baptist, it is the father's will which prevails as the final word when the choice of the mother is questioned (Lk 1:59-63), though it must be noted also that it was the father who was commanded by the angel. In the case of Jesus, the context only leaves the impression that Mary and Joseph are cooperating so that the child be called "Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb" (Lk 1:21). The main emphasis is that Jesus' parents are obedient to God's word as communicated by the angel, just as in the following passage they will be obedient to God's law.

The Purification and Presentation

The next verse begins with another temporal marker, "And when the time came," that introduces the passage of the presentation and purification (Lk 2:22-40), which concludes with the first statement of the child's growth and the favor of God. The geography moves from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, and finally to Nazareth. The grammar moves from the impersonal to a personal but unspecified "they" as subject (Lk 2:22), which a few verses later is seen to refer to Jesus' "parents" (Lk 2:27). The referent of "their purification" has been questioned, but grammatically it can only be the subject of the sentence, Mary and Joseph, even though no law exists for the purification of the father.

One thinks first of the purification of the mother on the fortieth day after giving birth (Lev 12:1ff), but the Greek term used is much broader than the precise term for "purification" used in the Greek Old Testament. This broader meaning can be seen in the manner Luke's same term is used in other parts of the New Testament (Mk 1:44; Lk 5:14; Jn 2:6; 3:25; Heb 1:3; 2 Pt 1:9). It does not necessarily refer to ritual impurity of the woman, but can refer generally to whatever rites need to be performed, including that of the redemption of the firstborn. Luke, in fact, freely combines these two different customs: the purification of the mother on the fortieth day after giving birth (Lev 12:1ff), and the presentation or consecration of the firstborn male (Lk 2:22-23; Ex 13:1,11ff), which could also be bought back (Ex 13:15; Num 18:15-16). "Their purification" thus simply indicates the participation of both Joseph and Mary in the fulfillment of the prescriptions of the law.

Citation of the law for presenting "every male that opens the womb" (Lk 2:23) evidences the reason for having noted at Jesus' birth that he was Mary's "firstborn son" (Lk 2:7). The sacrifice which Luke reports that Mary and Joseph offer, however, is not that for redeeming the child, but two doves or pigeons, the poorer of the two options prescribed for the purification of the mother (Lev 12:6). A concern of Luke's which far outweighs the details of the customs involved, is to relate that Jesus' parents complied with the law of the Lord in his regard. Luke emphasizes this by his customary method of repeating important words: "according to the law of Moses" (Lk 2:22), "as it is written in the law of the Lord" (Lk 2:23), "according to what is said in the law of the Lord" (Lk 2:24), "according to the custom of the law" (Lk 2:27). If four references to the law in six verses are not enough, this scene on the purification and presentation concludes with the abundantly clear message of the passage: "And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, ..." (Lk 2:39). Joseph and Mary are faithfully observant Jews.

Though The Protoevangelium of James and subsequent apocrypha have influenced art to show Simeon as an old high priest with a flowing beard who offers the child up to God, from Luke it appears more likely that Mary and Joseph did the presenting: "when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him ..." (Lk 2:27). Simeon, who is never said to be a Levitical priest, comes into the temple and praises God, whereupon Joseph, who is called "father" for the first time and is named before the mother, marvels together with Mary and receives his blessing (Lk 2:33). Simeon, moved by the "Holy Spirit" (Lk 2:25,26,27), and the "prophetess Anna" (Lk 2:36) fulfill the role of prophecy, while Jesus' parents are the executors of the rites fulfilling the law.

Joseph's role as father is important here. Together with Mary he brought Jesus to the temple. He would be economically responsible for providing the offering. He and Mary present the child, marvel at the prophecy, and receive Simeon's blessing as Jesus' "father and mother." Having fulfilled all the rites at the temple, he would presumably fulfill the usual fatherly role of teaching the Torah to Jesus at their home in Nazareth. This would seem to be implied in the summary verse: "And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him" (Lk 2:40). Jesus' parents raise him in the law which he will fulfill (Lk 24:44).

Though Joseph's role as human father is clearly asserted and exercised, it is also just as clearly shown to be in tension with and in subordination to God's divine Fatherhood. Luke is careful to show the primacy of God over human parenthood, a point developed in a final episode in Luke 2, which occurs when Jesus is twelve.

The Adolescent Jesus in the Temple and at Nazareth

Mary and Joseph continue fulfilling their parental obligations to the temple by an annual Passover trip to Jerusalem (Lk 2:41). During Jesus' adolescence a type of challenge arises, signifying a new phase of transition between his childhood, during which he is dependent on his parents, and his future ministry in which he will proclaim his total independence from them in favor of his unique relationship with his heavenly Father: "... no one knows who the Son is except the Father ..." (Lk 10:22). In this scene Jesus' parents are unaware that he has stayed behind at the temple (Lk 2:43-44). They find him three days later more interested in conversing with the teachers there, than in returning with them. The bystanders are "amazed at his understanding," and Joseph and Mary are "astonished" (Lk 2:46-48), probably at the joy of finding him there, mingled with the even greater surprise that he would be so unconcerned about their feelings. Mary's words explain their worry by recalling the parental relationship between "son" and "your father and I," mentioning Joseph first in recognition of his headship over the household. Jesus' reply emphasizes the tension of the different perspectives (Lk 2:49). He is as surprised as they at the apparently opposing views, and the fact that they seem unaware of his duty to a higher authority, his "Father" (Lk 2:49).

The two occurrences of "you" in Jesus' reply are both in the plural, indicating that he is addressing both Mary and Joseph, in reply to Mary who speaks also on behalf of Joseph. In the phrase "in my Father's house," "house" may mean either "household" or "temple." Jesus' answer implies that his parents should have known where to find him, and that God is his Father. The first words of Jesus reported by Luke communicate the all important message that Jesus is God's Son in a way that transcends not only his being raised as son of Joseph, but even his conception in the womb of Mary. Mary and Joseph "did not understand" these words (Lk 2:50): their understanding of their present role as parents of the youth could not fathom the meaning of the transcendent mystery which he would be called to proclaim. They nevertheless accept his response unquestioningly, just as he patiently returns with them to Nazareth and is "obedient to them" (Lk 2:51). Here Luke presents a dramatic message: even with the awareness of being God's Son, Jesus remains subject to his human parents, postponing proclamation of his divine mission until the appointed time of his baptism.
These years in Nazareth have been called Jesus' "hidden life." No historical detail is preserved for us. He lives his simple role as child in a family, so as to be known by the people of his town as nothing more than "Joseph's son" (Lk 4:22). Joseph is the father who helps him increase "in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man" (Lk 2:52). When the Son of Man is ready to begin his proclamation that "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me" (Lk 4:18), Joseph's role is completed, and he is no longer mentioned in the Gospel. From good Joseph's faithful care, the child Jesus learns by human experience that no earthly father would give his son a serpent instead of a fish, nor a scorpion instead of an egg. His revelation to us, though, is how much more the heavenly Father in his infinite goodness will give us the Holy Spirit (Lk 11:11-13). The Son of God obeys obedient Joseph as earthly father in preparation for faithful obedience to the mission entrusted to him by his heavenly Father.