THE VIRGINITY OF SAINT JOSEPH IN THE LATIN FATHERS AND MEDIEVAL ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS by Fr. Florent Raymond Bilodeau

CHAPTER I

 THE VIRGINITY OF SAINT JOSEPH:

A.     SCRIPTURAL “BASIS”

                                Sacred Scripture has no direct reference to the question of Saint Joseph’s virginity. It does, however, bring out the fact that Joseph, while being the true father of the Son of God and the husband of Mary, is certainly not the natural father of Jesus. Indirectly it shows that the union between Mary and Joseph, while a true marriage, was primarily virginal.        

              As a preliminary to this question, it may be wise to say that the scriptural source of direct information concerning Saint Joseph is limited to the gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John. The last one has only two references to the saint.[7] So we have to look to the accounts of Matthew and Luke for our treatment of the question of Saint Joseph’s virginity.[8]

In fact, apart from a few comparisons taken from texts of the Old Testament, [9] and ideas drawn from the Apocrypha, the above two gospels will constitute, for the Latin Fathers and, later ecclesiastical writers, the main sources of information on Saint Joseph, at least on his virginity.      

As we have said before, the union between Mary and Joseph was a true marriage, but primarily virginal. Luke’s entire account is replete with the words “his parents” and. “they.”[10] Joseph is called the “husband of Mary,”[11] the father of Jesus and Jesus is the “Son of Joseph.”[12] Words such as these point to the fact that this union was a true marriage. In contrast to this, Scripture brings out the point that this marriage was free from all intercourse. It appears clearly that Joseph had no relations with Mary, at least up to and including the birth of Christ: “He did not know her till she brought forth her firstborn son.” [13] Mary’s virginity is indirectly affirmed in Matthew’s quotation of the prophecy of Isaias: “Behold the virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son; and they shall call his name Emmanuel.”[14] Mary is also “a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph of the house of David.”[15] It appears also from their accounts that Joseph is not the natural father of Jesus:

And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, and of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.[1][16]
Now the origin of Christ was in this wise.  When Mary his mother had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.[17]

These assertions are given strength when we see the Evangelist refer to Jesus as the “supposed son of Joseph”: “And they kept saying, ‘is this not Jesus the son of Joseph whose father and mother we know?  How then does he say, “I have come down from heaven”?’”[18]

The above texts and references are not adduced as clear indications of Joseph’s virginity.  As we have stated at the beginning of this chapter, their value consists mainly in bringing out the idea of a virginal marriage: a thought frequently in the minds of the Fathers when they speak of Joseph and Mary.

                                    

B. NOTICE AND USE OF THE TERM “VIRGINITY”

We have used many a time the word “virginity” in connection with Mary and Joseph.  What is meant precisely, when we predicate the term “virgin” of a person?  We shall attempt briefly to bring out the meaning of this term and to determine its precise use in this dissertation.

Perhaps this is the first idea that comes to mind when we see the term “virgin”: an unmarried woman or a person, man or woman, who has not had sexual intercourse.  The word “virgin,” as an adjective, may also mean something pure, fresh, unsullied, unadulterated, undefiled.  Virginity, the state of being a virgin, may be either internal or external.  These two elements are brought out in Saint Augustine’s definition of virginity: “Virginity is continence by which the integrity of the flesh is preserved, consecrated, and vowed to the very Creator of the body and the soul.”[19]

Here Augustine brings out the idea that virginity involves the preservation of the integrity of the flesh.  This external virginity is referred to by theologians as material virginity.  It is verified when one abstains from all venereal pleasure.  It consists in keeping “the natural condition of physiological integrity with which we are born into the world.” [20]  Material virginity is lost by sexual intercourse (even if it is licit), by the sin of pollution, or finally, in women, by a voluntary or accidental act which causes the breaking of the hymen.

Augustine’s definition brings out another idea.  In virginity, the integrity of the flesh is consecrated and vowed to God the Creator of the body and soul.  This idea of Augustine’s implies the general theological notion of formal virginity, and also two other ideas intimately bound up with the above notion: the virtue of virginity and the vow of virginity. Formal or internal virginity consists in the “firm determination of the will to perpetually abstain from all venereal pleasure, even from those acts which are licit in marriage.” [21] When this determination of the will is supernaturalized, we have the virtue of virginity. Saint Thomas brings this out clearly.[22] He also states that the virtue of virginity implies the vow of virginity.[23] The words “preserve, consecrate, and vow” of Augustine’s definition thus summarize the basic notions in the concept of virginity.

Augustine refers to virginity as continence.  Here he is using the latter term in a specific sense. Continence usually means the battle that the mind wages against all the sensible and inordinate impulses of the flesh.  It can, however, designate virginity, in so far as it is concerned with the repulsion of the more violent desires of the flesh.[24] Virginity also differs from chastity (even perfect chastity) in that “virginity must be preserved perpetually, while chastity, even perfect, can be observed by him who consented beforehand to carnal pleasure.” [25] It is important to remember that the word “virginity” of itself implies the notion of perpetuity; however, at times it may denote only a period of one’s life.

In this paper the term “virginity,” when predicated of Saint Joseph, will denote external or bodily virginity, at least in the statements of the Latin Fathers.  Here we mean: that natural condition of physiological integrity with which men are born into the world and which is lost by sexual intercourse either licit or illicit.  However, when certain Medieval and later ecclesiastical writers speak of Joseph’s vow of virginity or of his resolve to remain a virgin, then it is evident that the term refers to formal or internal virginity.[26]  With these basic notions in mind, we can now proceed to the core of our dissertation.

7] John 1:45; 6:42.

 [8] A list of the gospel references to Saint Joseph in Matthew and Luke will be helpful in localizing most of the information that is to be given on Joseph’s virginity:

a)      Joseph’s genealogy: Matt. 1:1-16; Luke 3:23-39.

b)      His betrothal to Mary and his justice: Matt. l:l8-19; Luke 1:27.

c)      The angel’s revelation to him of Mary’s miraculous conception: Matt. 1:20-23.

d)      The solemnization of his marriage to Our Lady: Matt. 1:24-25.

e)      The trip to Bethlehem: Luke 2:1-7.

f)      Joseph’s presence during the adoration of the shepherds: Luke 2:16.

g)      Joseph’s naming of the Child Jesus: Matt. 1:25; Luke 2:21.

h)      Joseph’s part in the presentation of Jesus: Luke 2:22-36.

i)       The flight into Egypt and the return: Matt. 2:13-23.

j)       Life at Nazareth: Matt. 2:13-23.

k)      The loss and finding of Jesus: Luke 2:41-50.

l)       Passing reference to the saint: Matt. 13:55; Luke 4:22; John 1:45; 6:42.   From: Francis J. Filas, S.J., Joseph and Jesus, A Theological Study of Their Relationship, p. 10.

 [9]  Ezechiel 40:2ff; Isaias 46:4; Cant. of Cant. 2:16; 4:4-5; 7:3-4.

 [10] Luke 2:27, 33, 39, 41-44, 48, 51.    

 [11] Matt. 13:55-56; Luke 2:48; 3:23; John 1:45; 6:42.

 [12] Matt. 1:16-25; Luke 2:4-7.

 [13] Matt. 1:25.

 [14] Matt. 1:23.

 [15] Luke 1:27.

 [16] Matt. 1:16.

 [17] Matt. 1:18.

 [18] John 6:42; 1:45; Matt. 13:55-56; Luke 3:23; 4:22.

 [19]  De sancta virginitate, Ch. 8; ML 40, 400: “Virginitas est continentia qua integritas carnis ispi Creatori animae et carnis vovetur, consecratur, servatur.”

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THE VIRGINITY OF SAINT JOSEPH IN THE LATIN FATHERS AND MEDIEVAL ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS by Fr. Florent Raymond Bilodeau

INTRODUCTION

Saint Joseph has often been called “the hidden saint.”  Indeed, we know very little about his life. The gospels, those of Matthew and Luke in particular, contain two short accounts concerning his mission. The Fathers present us with brief and scattered explanations of the gospel accounts. The early medieval ecclesiastical writers devote a little more space to him. However, it is only in the late Middle Ages that we find works which treat of Saint Joseph ex professo.       

Why then was scant attention given to this great saint for so long a period of time? Various reasons are adduced. It seems that this obscurity was required by the very nature of his mission. His vocation consisted mainly in protecting and supporting Mary and the Christ Child during the years which preceded the public life of Our Lord. God had willed that Saint Joseph’s mission take place during the period of Christ’s hidden life. When Jesus began His public ministry, Saint Joseph’s position as the supposed natural father of Jesus had served its purpose.  Also, the early Fathers speak of Joseph only occasionally and with restraint, because the special relationship existing between Joseph, Mary and Jesus could not be emphasized without endangering the dogmas of the faith. In fact, despite the comparatively infrequent assertions of the Fathers concerning Saint Joseph’s fatherhood, we find heretical groups such as the Ebionites, and men such as Cerinthius and Carpocrates stating that Joseph was the carnal father of Jesus. Still another reason is that the heresies in the early Church attacked the fundamental doctrines of Christianity: the divinity of Christ and the nature of the Trinity. It was necessary for the Fathers to concentrate on the essentials, that is, repel the attacks against the more important dogmas of faith. The truths which were not of immediate importance, such as those pertaining to Saint Joseph, were kept in the background.        

One striking fact, however, is that whenever the Fathers speak of Jesus and Mary and their relationship, they point out Joseph’s place as the husband of Mary and the father of Jesus. Now, from these two facts flows the theology of Saint Joseph: Joseph is authentically the father of the Son of God; Joseph is Mary’s husband, the guardian and the protector of the Holy Family, which is an image of the Church.1 Because of his Position as head of the Holy Family, theologians deduce his prerogatives: his holiness, his great dignity, his purity, etc. This is well expressed in Leo XIII’s encyclical on Saint Joseph, “Quamquam Pluries” (August 15, 1889), the largest papal document on this saint: “For he (Joseph) indeed, was the husband of Mary and the father, as was supposed, of Jesus Christ. From this arise all his dignity, grace, holiness, and. Glory.”2

 Saint Joseph’s role as the protector of the Holy Family was extended to the whole Church. On December 8, 1870, Pius IX declared Saint Joseph “Patron of the Universal Church.”3  His patronage thus extends to all persons and to every group or class of persons in the Church: husbands, fathers, the rich, the poor, and especially the workers. With regard to this last group, Benedict XV, on July 25, 1920, issued a special “Motu Proprio”pointing out Saint Joseph as the patron of workmen.4

One may ask what is the relation of Saint Joseph’s virginity, the subject of this paper, to the theology of Saint Joseph. Strange as it may seem, the question of Saint Joseph’s virginity is closely linked to his union with Mary. In fact a study of this marriage gives rise to two questions: the virginity of Mary and Joseph’s virginity. The former is not within the scope of this work. Suffice it to say that it is of faith that Mary was perpetually a virgin.5 The second question is the subject of this essay. Our aim is to show that there is a basis in the Latin Fathers and Medieval ecclesiastical writers for the almost universal belief among the faithful that Joseph was perpetually a virgin.        

Our work is limited to the writings of the Latin Fathers and to the more important Medieval ecclesiastical writers. Material from the Greek Fathers will be used at times as corroborative evidence. We will treat of the ecclesiastical writers up to Saint Thomas inclusively. One who is acquainted with the existing literature on Saint Joseph may be tempted to ask why this investigation should end at this point, when, in fact, it seems that it is precisely after Saint Thomas, in the late Middle Ages, that we find the greater part of the documents concerning this saint. Men such as Gerson, Bernardine of Siena, Isidore Isolani, and many others of this period wrote works which not only indirectly treated of Saint Joseph, but were primarily intended to spread devotion to this great saint. We may answer that, as far as our subject is concerned, Saint Thomas and his master, Saint Albert the Great, stand out in a unique way. The position of Saint Thomas especially may be described as one wherein the thought of his predecessors is crystallized and the consent of his successors prepared.6        

The question of Joseph’s virginity is diffuse. The Fathers and the ecclesiastical writers refer to it here and there in their commentaries on the first and second chapters of Matthew and Luke and in their explanations of the problem of the “brethren of the Lord.” As we have mentioned before, the Fathers were occupied with the refutation of errors which attacked the very roots of Christianity. Often the true state of their mind on the question of Joseph’s virginity is hard to determine. Many of their texts are not clear on the subject. At any rate, we can see from their writings that the idea of Joseph’s virginity was in the back of their minds: something perhaps that many took for granted or found unnecessary to speak about more explicitly.        

In this paper we shall first give the scriptural basis for Joseph’s virginity: the gospel texts related to this question, and the notion of virginity as applied to him. Secondly, we shall present the testimony of the Latin Fathers. Thirdly, we will give evidence from Medieval ecclesiastical writers. A synthesis of this question and a theological evaluation of it will conclude this work.

ENDNOTES:

1 Henri Rondet, Saint Joseph, p. 41

2 A.S.S., 22, 65 From the translation of Francis J. Filas, S.J., The Man Nearest to Christ, p. 171.

3 A.S.S., 2, 193

4 A.S.S., 12, 313

5 This truth is drawn from many pronouncements, in particular that of Pope Saint Martin I at the Lateran Council of 649: “Canon 5: If any one does not properly and truly confess, in accord with the holy Fathers, that the holy Mother of God and ever Virgin and immaculate Mary in the earliest of the ages conceived of the Holy Spirit without seed, namely, God the word Himself specifically and truly, who was born of God the Father before all ages, and that she incorruptibly bore (Him?), her virginity remaining indestructible even after His birth, let him be condemned.”

Henricus Denziger, Enchiridion Symbolorum, translated by Roy J. Deferrari, n. 256, p. 102.

6 U. Holzmeister, S.J., “Quaestiones Biblicae de S. Joseph,”

Verbum Domini, 24 (1944) p. 181: “S. Thomas omnium praecedentium sententiam resumit, futurumque theologorum consensum praeparat.” See also M.J. Lagrange, O.P., “Varia,” Revue biblique, 2 (1906) p. 506: “On peut dire, (au sujet de la virginité de saint Joseph), que nous en sommes toujours au point où étaient saint Jérôme et saint Thomas d’Aquin.”