REDEMPTORIS CUSTOS
(Guardian Of The Redeemer)
Pope John Paul II
Apostolic
Exhortation of the Supreme Pontiff On
15 August 1989. To Bishops, To Priests
and Deacons, To Men and Women Religious,
and to all the Lay Faithful
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1. "Joseph did as the angel
of the Lord commanded him and took his
wife" (cf. Mt 1:24).
Inspired by the Gospel, the Fathers
of the Church from the earliest centuries
stressed that just as St. Joseph took
loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated
himself to Jesus Christ's upbringing,[1]
he likewise watches over and protects
Christ's Mystical Body, that is, the
Church, of which the Virgin Mary is
the exemplar and model.
On the occasion of the centenary of
Pope Leo XIII's Encyclical Epistle Quamquam
Pluries,[2] and in line with the veneration
given to St. Joseph over the centuries,
I wish to offer for your consideration,
dear brothers and sisters, some reflections
concerning him "into whose custody
God entrusted his most precious treasures."[3]
I gladly fulfill this pastoral duty
so that all may grow in devotion to
the Patron of the Universal Church and
in love for the Savior whom he served
in such an exemplary manner.
In this way the whole Christian people
not only will turn to St. Joseph with
greater fervor and invoke his patronage
with trust, but also will always keep
before their eyes his humble, mature
way of serving and of "taking part"
in the plan of salvation.[4]
I am convinced that by reflection upon
the way that Mary's spouse shared in
the divine mystery, the Church—on
the road towards the future with all
of humanity—will be enabled to
discover ever anew her own identity
within this redemptive plan, which is
founded on the mystery of the Incarnation.
This is precisely the mystery in which
Joseph of Nazareth "shared"
like no other human being except Mary,
the Mother of the Incarnate Word. He
shared in it with her; he was involved
in the same salvific event; he was the
guardian of the same love, through the
power of which the eternal Father "destined
us to be his sons through Jesus Christ"
(Eph 1:5).
2. "Joseph, Son of David,
do not fear to take Mary your wife,
for that which is conceived in her is
of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a
son, and you shall call his name Jesus,
for he will save his people from their
sins" (Mt 1:20-21).
In these words we find the core of
biblical truth about St. Joseph; they
refer to that moment in his life to
which the Fathers of the Church make
special reference.
The Evangelist Matthew explains the
significance of this moment while also
describing how Joseph lived it. However,
in order to understand fully both its
content and context, it is important
to keep in mind the parallel passage
in the Gospel of Luke. In Matthew we
read: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ
took place in this way. When his mother
Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before
they came together she was found to
be with child of the Holy Spirit"
(Mt 1:18). However, the origin of Mary's
pregnancy "of the Holy Spirit"
is described more fully and explicitly
in what Luke tells us about the annunciation
of Jesus' birth: "The angel Gabriel
was sent from God to a city of Galilee
named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed
to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
house of David; and the virgin's name
was Mary" (Lk 1:26-27). The angel's
greeting: "Hail, full of grace,
the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)
created an inner turmoil in Mary and
also moved her to reflect. Then the
messenger reassured the Virgin and at
the same time revealed God's special
plan for her: "Do not be afraid,
Mary, for you have found favor with
God. And behold, you will conceive in
your womb and bear a son, and you shall
call his name Jesus. He will be great,
and will be called the Son of the Most
High; and the Lord God will give to
him the throne of his father David"
(Lk 1:30-32).
A little earlier the Gospel writer
had stated that at the moment of the
Annunciation, Mary was "betrothed
to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
house of David." The nature of
this "marriage" is explained
indirectly when Mary, after hearing
what the messenger says about the birth
of the child, asks, "How can this
be, since I do not know man ? "
(Lk 1:34) The angel responds: "The
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
the power of the Most High will overshadow
you; therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God"
(Lk 1:35). Although Mary is already
"wedded" to Joseph, she will
remain a virgin, because the child conceived
in her at the Annunciation was conceived
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
At this point Luke's text coincides
with Matthew 1:18 and serves to explain
what we read there. If, after her marriage
to Joseph, Mary "is found to be
with child of the Holy Spirit,"
this fact corresponds to all that the
Annunciation means, in particular to
Mary's final words: "Let it be
to me according to your word" (Lk
1:38). In response to what is clearly
the plan of God, with the passing of
days and weeks Mary's "pregnancy"
is visible to the people and to Joseph;
she appears before them as one who must
give birth and carry within herself
the mystery of motherhood.
3. In these circumstances, "her
husband Joseph, being a just man and
unwilling to put her to shame, resolved
to send her away quietly" (Mt 1:19).
He did not know how to deal with Mary's
"astonishing" motherhood.
He certainly sought an answer to this
unsettling question, but above all he
sought a way out of what was for him
a difficult situation. "But as
he considered this, behold, an angel
of the Lord appeared to him in a dream,
saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not
fear to take Mary your wife, for that
which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and
you shall call his name Jesus, for he
will save his people from their sins'
" (Mt 1:20-21).
There is a strict parallel between
the "annunciation" in Matthew's
text and the one in Luke. The divine
messenger introduces Joseph to the mystery
of Mary's motherhood. While remaining
a virgin, she who by law is his "spouse"
has become a mother through the power
of the Holy Spirit. And when the Son
in Mary's womb comes into the world,
he must receive the name Jesus. This
was a name known among the Israelites
and sometimes given to their sons. In
this case, however, it is the Son who,
in accordance with the divine promise,
will bring to perfect fulfillment the
meaning of the name Jesus—Yehosua—which
means "God saves."
Joseph is visited by the messenger
as "Mary's spouse," as the
one who in due time must give this name
to the Son to be born of the Virgin
of Nazareth who is married to him. It
is to Joseph, then, that the messenger
turns, entrusting to him the responsibilities
of an earthly father with regard to
Mary's Son.
"When Joseph woke from sleep,
he did as the angel of the Lord commanded
him and took Mary as his wife"
(cf. Mt 1:24). He took her in all the
mystery of her motherhood. He took her
together with the Son who had come into
the world by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In this way he showed a readiness of
will like Mary's with regard to what
God asked of him through the angel.
4. When, soon after the Annunciation,
Mary went to the house of Zechariah
to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth, even
as she offered her greeting she heard
the words of Elizabeth, who was "filled
with the Holy Spirit" (Lk 1:41).
Besides offering a salutation which
recalled that of the angel at the Annunciation,
Elizabeth also said: "and blessed
is she who believed that there would
be a fulfillment of what was spoken
to her from the Lord" (Lk 1:45).
These words were the guiding thought
of the Encyclical Redemptoris Mater,
in which I sought to deepen the teaching
of the Second Vatican Council, which
stated: "The Blessed Virgin advanced
in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully
preserved her union with her Son even
to the cross,"[5] "preceding"[6]
all those who follow Christ by faith.
Now at the beginning of this pilgrimage,
the faith of Mary meets the faith of
Joseph. If Elizabeth said of the Redeemer's
Mother, "blessed is she who believed,"
in a certain sense this blessedness
can be referred to Joseph as well, since
he responded positively to the word
of God when it was communicated to him
at the decisive moment. While it is
true that Joseph did not respond to
the angel's "announcement"
in the same way as Mary, he "did
as the angel of the Lord commanded him
and took his wife." What he did
is the clearest "obedience of faith"
(cf. Rom 1:5; 16:26; 2 Cor 10:5-6).
One can say that what Joseph did united
him in an altogether special way to
the faith of Mary. He accepted as truth
coming from God the very thing that
she had already accepted at the Annunciation.
The Council teaches: " "The
obedience of faith" must be given
to God as he reveals himself. By this
obedience of faith man freely commits
himself entirely to God, making 'the
full submission of his intellect and
will to God who reveals,' and willingly
assenting to the revelation given by
him."[7] This statement, which
touches the very essence of faith, is
perfectly applicable to Joseph of Nazareth.
5. Therefore he became a unique
guardian of the mystery "hidden
for ages in God" (Eph 3:9), as
did Mary, in that decisive moment which
St. Paul calls "the fullness of
time," when "God sent forth
his Son, born of woman...to redeem those
who were under the law, so that we might
receive adoption as sons" (Gal
4:4-5). In the words of the Council:
"It pleased God, in his goodness
and wisdom, to reveal himself and to
make known the mystery of his will (cf.
Eph 1:9). His will was that men should
have access to the Father, through Christ,
the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit,
and become sharers in the divine nature
(cf. Eph 2:18; 2 Pt 1 4)"[8]
Together with Mary, Joseph is the first
guardian of this divine mystery. Together
with Mary, and in relation to Mary,
he shares in this final phase of God
's self-revelation in Christ, and he
does so from the very beginning. Looking
at the gospel texts of both Matthew
and Luke, one can also say that Joseph
is the first to share in the faith of
the Mother of God, and that in doing
so he supports his spouse in the faith
of the divine annunciation. He is also
the first to be placed by God on the
path of Mary's "pilgrimage of faith."
It is a path along which—especially
at the time of Calvary and Pentecost—Mary
will precede in a perfect way.[9]
6. The path that was Joseph's—his
pilgrimage of faith—ended first,
that is to say, before Mary stood at
the foot of the cross on Golgotha, and
before the time after Christ returned
to the Father, when she was present
in the upper room on Pentecost, the
day the Church was manifested to the
world, having been born in the power
of the Spirit of truth. Nevertheless,
Joseph's way of faith moved in the same
direction: it was totally determined
by the same mystery, of which he, together
with Mary, had been the first guardian.
The Incarnation and Redemption constitute
an organic and indissoluble unity, in
which "the plan of revelation is
realized by words and deeds which are
intrinsically bound up with each other."[10]
Precisely because of this unity, Pope
John XXIII, who had a great devotion
to St. Joseph, directed that Joseph's
name be inserted in the Roman Canon
of the Mass—which is the perpetual
memorial of redemption—after the
name of Mary and before the apostles,
popes and martyrs.[11]
7. As can be deduced from the
gospel texts, Joseph's marriage to Mary
is the juridical basis of his fatherhood.
It was to assure fatherly protection
for Jesus that God chose Joseph to be
Mary's spouse. It follows that Joseph's
fatherhood—a relationship that
places him as close as possible to Christ,
to whom every election and predestination
is ordered (cf. Rom 8:28-29)—comes
to pass through marriage to Mary, that
is, through the family.
While clearly affirming that Jesus
was conceived by the power of the Holy
Spirit, and that virginity remained
intact in the marriage (cf. Mt 1:18-25;
Lk 1:26-38), the evangelists refer to
Joseph as Mary's husband and to Mary
as his wife (cf. Mt 1:16, 18-20, 24;
Lk 1:27; 2:5).
And while it is important for the Church
to profess the virginal conception of
Jesus, it is no less important to uphold
Mary's marriage to Joseph, because juridically
Joseph's fatherhood depends on it. Thus
one understands why the generations
are listed according to the genealogy
of Joseph: "Why," St. Augustine
asks, "should they not be according
to Joseph? Was he not Mary's husband?...
Scripture states, through the authority
of an angel, that he was her husband.
Do not fear, says the angel, to take
Mary your wife, for that which is conceived
in her is of the Holy Spirit. Joseph
was told to name the child, although
not born from his seed. She will bear
a son, the angel says, and you will
call him Jesus. Scripture recognizes
that Jesus is not born of Joseph's seed,
since in his concern about the origin
of Mary's pregnancy, Joseph is told
that it is of the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless,
he is not deprived of his fatherly authority
from the moment that he is told to name
the child. Finally, even the Virgin
Mary, well aware that she has not conceived
Christ as a result of conjugal relations
with Joseph, still calls him Christ's
father."[12]
The Son of Mary is also Joseph's Son
by virtue of the marriage bond that
unites them: "By reason of their
faithful marriage both of them deserve
to be called Christ's parents, not only
his mother, but also his father, who
was a parent in the same way that he
was the mother's spouse: in mind, not
in the flesh."[13] In this marriage
none of the requisites of marriage were
lacking: "In Christ's parents all
the goods of marriage were realized—offspring,
fidelity, the sacrament: the offspring
being the Lord Jesus himself; fidelity,
since there was no adultery: the sacrament,
since there was no divorce."[14]
Analyzing the nature of marriage, both
St. Augustine and St. Thomas always
identify it with an "indivisible
union of souls," a "union
of hearts," with "consent."[15]
These elements are found in an exemplary
manner in the marriage of Mary and Joseph.
At the culmination of the history of
salvation, when God reveals his love
for humanity through the gift of the
Word, it is precisely the marriage of
Mary and Joseph that brings to realization
in full "freedom" the "spousal
gift of self" in receiving and
expressing such a love.[16] "In
this great undertaking which is the
renewal of all things in Christ, marriage—it
too purified and renewed—becomes
a new reality, a sacrament of the New
Covenant. We see that at the beginning
of the New Testament, as at the beginning
of the Old, there is a married couple.
But whereas Adam and Eve were the source
of evil which was unleashed on the world,
Joseph and Mary are the summit from
which holiness spreads all over the
earth. The Savior began the work of
salvation by this virginal and holy
union, wherein is manifested his all-powerful
will to purify and sanctify the family—that
sanctuary of love and cradle of life."[17]
How much the family of today can learn
from this! "The essence and role
of the family are in the final analysis
specified by love. Hence the family
has the mission to guard, reveal and
communicate love, and this is a living
reflection of and a real sharing in
God's love for humanity and the love
of Christ the Lord for the Church his
bride."[18] This being the case,
it is in the Holy Family, the original
"Church in miniature (Ecclesia
domestica),"[19] that every Christian
family must be reflected. "Through
God's mysterious design, it was in that
family that the Son of God spent long
years of a hidden life. It is therefore
the prototype and example for all Christian
families."[20]
8. St. Joseph was called by
God to serve the person and mission
of Jesus directly through the exercise
of his fatherhood. It is precisely in
this way that, as the Church's Liturgy
teaches, he "cooperated in the
fullness of time in the great mystery
of salvation" and is truly a "minister
of salvation."[21] His fatherhood
is expressed concretely "in his
having made his life a service, a sacrifice
to the mystery of the Incarnation and
to the redemptive mission connected
with it; in having used the legal authority
which was his over the Holy Family in
order to make a total gift of self,
of his life and work; in having turned
his human vocation to domestic love
into a superhuman oblation of self,
an oblation of his heart and all his
abilities into love placed at the service
of the Messiah growing up in his house."[22]
In recalling that "the beginnings
of our redemption" were entrusted
"to the faithful care of Joseph,"[23]
the Liturgy specifies that "God
placed him at the head of his family,
as a faithful and prudent servant, so
that with fatherly care he might watch
over his only begotten Son."[24]
Leo XIII emphasized the sublime nature
of this mission: "He among all
stands out in his august dignity, since
by divine disposition he was guardian,
and according to human opinion, father
of God's Son. Whence it followed that
the Word of God was subjected to Joseph,
he obeyed him and rendered to him that
honor and reverence that children owe
to their father."[25]
Since it is inconceivable that such
a sublime task would not be matched
by the necessary qualities to adequately
fulfill it, we must recognize that Joseph
showed Jesus "by a special gift
from heaven, all the natural love, all
the affectionate solicitude that a father's
heart can know."[26]
Besides fatherly authority over Jesus,
God also gave Joseph a share in the
corresponding love, the love that has
its origin in the Father "from
whom every family in heaven and on earth
is named" (Eph 3:15).
The Gospels clearly describe the fatherly
responsibility of Joseph toward Jesus.
For salvation—which comes through
the humanity of Jesus—is realized
in actions which are an everyday part
of family life, in keeping with that
"condescension" which is inherent
in the economy of the Incarnation. The
gospel writers carefully show how in
the life of Jesus nothing was left to
chance, but how everything took place
according to God's predetermined plan.
The oft-repeated formula, "This
happened, so that there might be fulfilled...,"
in reference to a particular event in
the Old Testament, serves to emphasize
the unity and continuity of the plan
which is fulfilled in Christ.
With the Incarnation, the "promises"
and "figures" of the Old Testament
become "reality": places,
persons, events and rites interrelate
according to precise divine commands
communicated by angels and received
by creatures who are particularly sensitive
to the voice of God. Mary is the Lord's
humble servant, prepared from eternity
for the task of being the Mother of
God. Joseph is the one whom God chose
to be the "overseer of the Lord's
birth,"[27] the one who has the
responsibility to look after the Son
of God's "ordained" entry
into the world, in accordance with divine
dispositions and human laws. All of
the so-called "private" or
"hidden" life of Jesus is
entrusted to Joseph's guardianship.
9. Journeying to Bethlehem for
the census in obedience to the orders
of legitimate authority, Joseph fulfilled
for the child the significant task of
officially inserting the name "Jesus,
son of Joseph of Nazareth" (cf.
Jn 1:45) in the registry of the Roman
Empire. This registration clearly shows
that Jesus belongs to the human race
as a man among men, a citizen of this
world, subject to laws and civil institutions,
but also "savior of the world."
Origen gives a good description of the
theological significance, by no means
marginal, of this historical fact: —"Since
the first census of the whole world
took place under Caesar Augustus, and
among all the others Joseph too went
to register together with Mary his wife,
who was with child, and since Jesus
was born before the census was completed:
to the person who makes a careful examination
it will appear that a kind of mystery
is expressed in the fact that at the
time when all people in the world presented
themselves to be counted, Christ too
should be counted. By being registered
with everyone, he could sanctify everyone;
inscribed with the whole world in the
census, he offered to the world communion
with himself, and after presenting himself
he wrote all the people of the world
in the book of the living, so that as
many as believed in him could then be
written in heaven with the saints of
God, to whom be glory and power for
ever and ever. Amen."[28]
10. As guardian of the mystery
"hidden for ages in the mind of
God," which begins to unfold before
his eyes "in the fullness of time,"
Joseph, together with Mary, is a privileged
witness to the birth of the Son of God
into the world on Christmas night in
Bethlehem. Luke writes: "And while
they were there, the time came for her
to be delivered. And she gave birth
to her first-born son and wrapped him
in swaddling cloths, and laid him in
a manger, because there was no place
for them in the inn" (Lk 2:6-7).
Joseph was an eyewitness to this birth,
which took place in conditions that,
humanly speaking, were embarrassing—a
first announcement of that "self-emptying"
(cf. Phil 2:5-8) which Christ freely
accepted for the forgiveness of sins.
Joseph also witnessed the adoration
of the shepherds who arrived at Jesus'
birthplace after the angel had brought
them the great and happy news (cf. Lk
2:15-16). Later he also witnessed the
homage of the magi who came from the
East (cf. Mt 2:11).
11. A son's circumcision was
the first religious obligation of a
father, and with this ceremony (cf.
Lk 2:21) Joseph exercised his right
and duty with regard to Jesus.
The principle which holds that all
the rites of the Old Testament are a
shadow of the reality (cf. Heb 9:9f;
10:1) serves to explain why Jesus would
accept them. As with all the other rites,
circumcision too is "fulfilled"
in Jesus. God's covenant with Abraham,
of which circumcision was the sign (cf.
Gn 17:13), reaches its full effect and
perfect realization in Jesus, who is
the "yes" of all the ancient
promises (cf. 2 Cor 1:20).
12. At the circumcision Joseph
names the child "Jesus." This
is the only name in which there is salvation
(cf. Acts 4:12). Its significance had
been revealed to Joseph at the moment
of his "annunciation": "You
shall call the child Jesus, for he will
save his people from their sins"
(cf. Mt 1:21). In conferring the name,
Joseph declares his own legal fatherhood
over Jesus, and in speaking the name
he proclaims the child's mission as
Savior.
13. This rite, to which Luke
refers (2:22ff.), includes the ransom
of the first-born and sheds light on
the subsequent stay of Jesus in the
Temple at the age of twelve.
The ransoming of the first-born is
another obligation of the father, and
it is fulfilled by Joseph. Represented
in the first-born is the people of the
covenant, ransomed from slavery in order
to belong to God. Here too, Jesus—who
is the true "price" of ransom
(cf. 1 Cor 6:20; 7:23; 1 Pt 1:19)—
not only "fulfills" the Old
Testament rite, but at the same time
transcends it, since he is not a subject
to be redeemed, but the very author
of redemption.
The gospel writer notes that "his
father and his mother marveled at what
was said about him" (Lk 2:23),
in particular at what Simeon said in
his canticle to God, when he referred
to Jesus as the "salvation which
you have prepared in the presence of
all peoples, a light for revelation
to the Gentiles, and for glory to your
people Israel" and as a "sign
that is spoken against" (cf. Lk
2:30-34).
14. After the presentation in
the Temple the Evangelist Luke notes:
"And when they had performed everything
according to the law of the Lord, they
returned into Galilee, to their own
city, Nazareth. And the child grew and
became strong, filled with wisdom; and
the favor of God was upon him"
(Lk 2:39-40).
But according to Matthew's text, a
very important event took place before
the return to Galilee, an event in which
divine providence once again had recourse
to Joseph. We read: "Now when [the
magi] had departed, behold, an angel
of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a
dream and said, 'Rise, take the child
and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and
remain there till I tell you; for Herod
is about to search for the child, to
destroy him'" (Mt 2:13). Herod
learned from the magi who came from
the East about the birth of the "king
of the Jews" (Mt 2:2). And when
the magi departed, he "sent and
killed all the male children in Bethlehem
and in all that region who were two
years old or under" (Mt 2:16).
By killing them all, he wished to kill
the new-born "king of the Jews"
whom he had heard about. And so, Joseph,
having been warned in a dream, "took
the child and his mother by night, and
departed to Egypt, and remained there
until the death of Herod. This was to
fulfill what the Lord had spoken by
the prophet, 'Out of Egypt have I called
my son'" (Mt 2:14-15; cf. Hos 11:1).
And so Jesus' way back to Nazareth
from Bethlehem passed through Egypt.
Just as Israel had followed the path
of the exodus "from the condition
of slavery" in order to begin the
Old Covenant, so Joseph, guardian and
cooperator in the providential mystery
of God, even in exile watched over the
one who brings about the New Covenant.
15. From the time of the Annunciation,
both Joseph and Mary found themselves,
in a certain sense, at the heart of
the mystery hidden for ages in the mind
of God, a mystery which had taken on
flesh: "The Word became flesh and
dwelt among us" (Jn 1:14). He dwelt
among men, within the surroundings of
the Holy Family of Nazareth—one
of many families in this small town
in Galilee, one of the many families
of the land of Israel. There Jesus "grew
and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him"
(Lk 2:40). The Gospels summarize in
a few words the long period of the "hidden"
life, during which Jesus prepared himself
for his messianic mission. Only one
episode from this "hidden time"
is described in the Gospel of Luke:
the Passover in Jerusalem when Jesus
was twelve years old. Together with
Mary and Joseph, Jesus took part in
the feast as a young pilgrim. "And
when the feast was ended, as they were
returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind
in Jerusalem. His parents did not know
it" (Lk 2:43). After a day's journey,
they noticed his absence and began to
search "among their kinsfolk and
acquaintances." "After three
days they found him in the temple, sitting
among the teachers, listening to them
and asking them questions; and all who
heard him were amazed at his understanding
and his answers" (Lk 2:47). Mary
asked: "Son, why have you treated
us so? Behold, your father and I have
been looking for you anxiously"
(Lk 2:48). The answer Jesus gave was
such that "they did not understand
the saying which he spoke to them."
He had said, "How is it that you
sought me? Did you not know that I must
be in my Father's house?" (Lk 2:49-50)
Joseph, of whom Mary had just used
the words "your father," heard
this answer. That, after all, is what
all the people said and thought: Jesus
was "the son (as was supposed)
of Joseph" (Lk 3:23). Nonetheless,
the reply of Jesus in the Temple brought
once again to the mind of his "presumed
father" what he had heard on that
night twelve years earlier: "Joseph...do
not fear to take Mary your wife, for
that which is conceived in her is of
the Holy Spirit." From that time
onwards he knew that he was a guardian
of the mystery of God, and it was precisely
this mystery that the twelve-year-old
Jesus brought to mind: "I must
be in my Father's house."
16. The growth of Jesus "in
wisdom and in stature, and in favor
with God and man" (Lk 2:52) took
place within the Holy Family under the
eyes of Joseph, who had the important
task of "raising" Jesus, that
is, feeding, clothing and educating
him in the Law and in a trade, in keeping
with the duties of a father.
In the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the Church
venerates the memory of Mary the ever
Virgin Mother of God and the memory
of St. Joseph,[29] because "he
fed him whom the faithful must eat as
the bread of eternal life."[30]
For his part, Jesus "was obedient
to them" (Lk 2:51), respectfully
returning the affection of his "parents."
In this way he wished to sanctify the
obligations of the family and of work,
which he performed at the side of Joseph.
17. In the course of that pilgrimage
of faith which was his life, Joseph,
like Mary, remained faithful to God's
call until the end. While Mary's life
was the bringing to fullness of that
fiat first spoken at the Annunciation,
at the moment of Joseph's own "annunciation"
he said nothing; instead he simply "did
as the angel of the Lord commanded him"
(Mt 1:24). And this first "doing
" became the beginning of "Joseph's
way." The Gospels do not record
any word ever spoken by Joseph along
that way. But the silence of Joseph
has its own special eloquence, for thanks
to that silence we can understand the
truth of the Gospel's judgment that
he was "a just man" (Mt 1:19).
One must come to understand this truth,
for it contains one of the most important
testimonies concerning man and his vocation.
Through many generations the Church
has read this testimony with ever greater
attention and with deeper understanding,
drawing, as it were, "what is new
and what is old" (Mt 13:52) from
the storehouse of the noble figure of
Joseph.
18. Above all, the "just"
man of Nazareth possesses the clear
characteristics of a husband. Luke refers
to Mary as "a virgin betrothed
to a man whose name was Joseph"
(Lk 1:27). Even before the "mystery
hidden for ages" (Eph 3:9) began
to be fulfilled, the Gospels set before
us the image of husband and wife. According
to Jewish custom, marriage took place
in two stages: first, the legal, or
true marriage was celebrated, and then,
only after a certain period of time,
the husband brought the wife into his
own house. Thus, before he lived with
Mary, Joseph was already her "husband."
Mary, however, preserved her deep desire
to give herself exclusively to God.
One may well ask how this desire of
Mary's could be reconciled with a "wedding."
The answer can only come from the saving
events as they unfold, from the special
action of God himself. From the moment
of the Annunciation, Mary knew that
she was to fulfill her virginal desire
to give herself exclusively and fully
to God precisely by becoming the Mother
of God's Son. Becoming a Mother by the
power of the Holy Spirit was the form
taken by her gift of self: a form which
God himself expected of the Virgin Mary,
who was "betrothed" to Joseph.
Mary uttered her fiat. The fact that
Mary was "betrothed" to Joseph
was part of the very plan of God. This
is pointed out by Luke and especially
by Matthew. The words spoken to Joseph
are very significant: "Do not fear
to take Mary your wife, for that which
has been conceived in her is of the
Holy Spirit" (Mt 1:20). These words
explain the mystery of Joseph's wife:
In her motherhood Mary is a virgin.
In her, "the Son of the Most High"
assumed a human body and became "the
Son of Man."
Addressing Joseph through the words
of the angel, God speaks to him as the
husband of the Virgin of Nazareth. What
took place in her through the power
of the Holy Spirit also confirmed in
a special way the marriage bond which
already existed between Joseph and Mary.
God's messenger was clear in what he
said to Joseph: "Do not fear to
take Mary your wife into your home."
Hence, what had taken place earlier,
namely, Joseph's marriage to Mary, happened
in accord with God's will and was meant
to endure. In her divine motherhood
Mary had to continue to live as "a
virgin, the wife of her husband"
(cf. Lk 1:27).
19. In the words of the "annunciation"
by night, Joseph not only heard the
divine truth concerning his wife's indescribable
vocation; he also heard once again the
truth about his own vocation. This "just"
man, who, in the spirit of the noblest
traditions of the Chosen People, loved
the Virgin of Nazareth and was bound
to her by a husband's love, was once
again called by God to this love.
"Joseph did as the angel of the
Lord commanded him; he took his wife"
into his home (Mt 1:24); what was conceived
in Mary was "of the Holy Spirit."
From expressions such as these are we
not to suppose that his love as a man
was also given new birth by the Holy
Spirit? Are we not to think that the
love of God which has been poured forth
into the human heart through the Holy
Spirit (cf. Rm. 5:5) molds every human
love to perfection? This love of God
also molds—in a completely unique
way—the love of husband and wife,
deepening within it everything of human
worth and beauty, everything that bespeaks
an exclusive gift of self, a covenant
between persons, and an authentic communion
according to the model of the Blessed
Trinity.
"Joseph. . .took his wife; but
he knew her not, until she had borne
a son" (Mt 1:24-25). These words
indicate another kind of closeness in
marriage. The deep spiritual closeness
arising from marital union and the interpersonal
contact between man and woman have their
definitive origin in the Spirit, the
Giver of Life (cf. Jn 6:63). Joseph,
in obedience to the Spirit, found in
the Spirit the source of love, the conjugal
love which he experienced as a man.
And this love proved to be greater than
this "just man" could ever
have expected within the limits of his
human heart.
20. In the Liturgy, Mary is
celebrated as "united to Joseph,
the just man, by a bond of marital and
virginal love."[31] There are really
two kinds of love here, both of which
together represent the mystery of the
Church—virgin and spouse—as
symbolized in the marriage of Mary and
Joseph. "Virginity or celibacy
for the sake of the Kingdom of God not
only does not contradict the dignity
of marriage but presupposes and confirms
it. Marriage and virginity are two ways
of expressing and living the one mystery
of the Covenant of God with his people,"[32]
the Covenant which is a communion of
love between God and human beings.
Through his complete self-sacrifice,
Joseph expressed his generous love for
the Mother of God, and gave her a husband's
"gift of self." Even though
he decided to draw back so as not to
interfere in the plan of God which was
coming to pass in Mary, Joseph obeyed
the explicit command of the angel and
took Mary into his home, while respecting
the fact that she belonged exclusively
to God.
On the other hand, it was from his
marriage to Mary that Joseph derived
his singular dignity and his rights
in regard to Jesus. "It is certain
that the dignity of the Mother of God
is so exalted that nothing could be
more sublime; yet because Mary was united
to Joseph by the bond of marriage, there
can be no doubt but that Joseph approached
as no other person ever could that eminent
dignity whereby the Mother of God towers
above all creatures. Since marriage
is the highest degree of association
and friendship, involving by its very
nature a communion of goods, it follows
that God, by giving Joseph to the Virgin,
did not give him to her only as a companion
for life, a witness of her virginity
and protector of her honor: he also
gave Joseph to Mary in order that he
might share, through the marriage pact,
in her own sublime greatness."[33]
21. This bond of charity was
the core of the Holy Family's life,
first in the poverty of Bethlehem, then
in their exile in Egypt, and later in
the house of Nazareth. The Church deeply
venerates this Family, and proposes
it as the model of all families. Inserted
directly in the mystery of the Incarnation,
the Family of Nazareth has its own special
mystery. And in this mystery, as in
the Incarnation, one finds a true fatherhood:
the human form of the family of the
Son of God, a true human family, formed
by the divine mystery. In this family,
Joseph is the father: his fatherhood
is not one that derives from begetting
offspring; but neither is it an "apparent"
or merely "substitute" fatherhood.
Rather, it is one that fully shares
in authentic human fatherhood and the
mission of a father in the family. This
is a consequence of the hypostatic union:
humanity taken up into the unity of
the Divine Person of the Word—Son,
Jesus Christ. Together with human nature,
all that is human, and especially the
family—as the first dimension of
man's existence in the world—is
also taken up in Christ. Within this
context, Joseph's human fatherhood was
also "taken up" in the mystery
of Christ's Incarnation.
On the basis of this principle, the
words which Mary spoke to the twelve-year-old
Jesus in the Temple take on their full
significance: "Your father and
l.. .have been looking for you."
This is no conventional phrase: Mary's
words to Jesus show the complete reality
of the Incarnation present in the mystery
of the Family of Nazareth. From the
beginning, Joseph accepted with the
"obedience of faith" his human
fatherhood over Jesus. And thus, following
the light of the Holy Spirit who gives
himself to human beings through faith,
he certainly came to discover ever more
fully the indescribable gift that was
his human fatherhood.
22. Work was the daily expression
of love in the life of the Family of
Nazareth. The Gospel specifies the kind
of work Joseph did in order to support
his family: he was a carpenter. This
simple word sums up Joseph's entire
life. For Jesus, these were hidden years,
the years to which Luke refers after
recounting the episode that occurred
in the Temple: "And he went down
with them and came to Nazareth, and
was obedient to them" (Lk 2:51).
This "submission" or obedience
of Jesus in the house of Nazareth should
be understood as a sharing in the work
of Joseph. Having learned the work of
his presumed father, he was known as
"the carpenter's son." If
the Family of Nazareth is an example
and model for human families, in the
order of salvation and holiness, so
too, by analogy, is Jesus' work at the
side of Joseph the carpenter. In our
own day, the Church has emphasized this
by instituting the liturgical memorial
of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1. Human
work, and especially manual labor, receive
special prominence in the Gospel. Along
with the humanity of the Son of God,
work too has been taken up in the mystery
of the Incarnation, and has also been
redeemed in a special way. At the workbench
where he plied his trade together with
Jesus, Joseph brought human work closer
to the mystery of the Redemption.
23. In the human growth of Jesus
"in wisdom, age and grace,"
the virtue of industriousness played
a notable role, since "work is
a human good" which "transforms
nature" and makes man "in
a sense, more human."[34]
The importance of work in human life
demands that its meaning be known and
assimilated in order to "help all
people to come closer to God, the Creator
and Redeemer, to participate in his
salvific plan for man and the world,
and to deepen...friendship with Christ
in their lives, by accepting, through
faith, a living participation in his
threefold mission as Priest, Prophet
and King."[35]
24. What is crucially important
here is the sanctification of daily
life, a sanctification which each person
must acquire according to his or her
own state, and one which can be promoted
according to a model accessible to all
people: "St. Joseph is the model
of those humble ones that Christianity
raises up to great destinies;...he is
the proof that in order to be a good
and genuine follower of Christ, there
is no need of great things—it is
enough to have the common, simple and
human virtues, but they need to be true
and authentic."[36]
25. The same aura of silence
that envelops everything else about
Joseph also shrouds his work as a carpenter
in the house of Nazareth. It is, however,
a silence that reveals in a special
way the inner portrait of the man. The
Gospels speak exclusively of what Joseph
"did." Still, they allow us
to discover in his "actions"—shrouded
in silence as they are—an aura
of deep contemplation. This explains,
for example, why St. Teresa of Jesus,
the great reformer of the Carmelites,
promoted the renewal of veneration to
St. Joseph in Western Christianity.
26. The total sacrifice, whereby
Joseph surrendered his whole existence
to the demands of the Messiah's coming
into his home, becomes understandable
only in the light of his profound interior
life. It was from this interior life
that "very singular commands and
consolations came, bringing him also
the logic and strength that belong to
simple and clear souls, and giving him
the power of making great decisions—such
as the decision to put his liberty immediately
at the disposition of the divine designs,
to make over to them also his legitimate
human calling, his conjugal happiness,
to accept the conditions, the responsibility
and the burden of a family, but, through
an incomparable virginal love, to renounce
that natural conjugal love that is the
foundation and[37] nourishment of the
family.
This submission to God, this readiness
of will to dedicate oneself to all that
serves him, is really nothing less than
that exercise of devotion which constitutes
one expression of the virtue of religion.[38]
27. The communion of life between
Joseph and Jesus leads us to consider
once again the mystery of the Incarnation,
precisely in reference to the humanity
of Jesus as the efficacious instrument
of his divinity for the purpose of sanctifying
man: "By virtue of his divinity,
Christ's human actions were salvific
for us, causing grace within us, either
by merit or by a certain efficacy."[39]
Among those actions, the gospel writers
highlight those which have to do with
the Paschal Mystery, but they also underscore
the importance of physical contact with
Jesus for healing (cf. for example,
Mk 1:41), and the influence Jesus exercised
upon John the Baptist when they were
both in their mothers' wombs (cf. Lk
1:41-44).
As we have seen, the apostolic witness
did not neglect the story of Jesus'
birth, his circumcision, his presentation
in the Temple, his flight into Egypt
and his hidden life in Nazareth. It
recognized the "mystery" of
grace present in each of these saving
"acts," inasmuch as they all
share the same source of love: the divinity
of Christ. If through Christ's humanity
this love shone on all mankind, the
first beneficiaries were undoubtedly
those whom the divine will had most
intimately associated with itself: Mary,
the Mother of Jesus, and Joseph, his
presumed father.[40]
Why should the "fatherly"
love of Joseph not have had an influence
upon the "filial" love of
Jesus? And vice versa, why should the
"filial" love of Jesus not
have had an influence upon the "fatherly"
love of Joseph, thus leading to a further
deepening of their unique relationship?
Those souls most sensitive to the impulses
of divine love have rightly seen in
Joseph a brilliant example of the interior
life.
Furthermore, in Joseph, the apparent
tension between the active and the contemplative
life finds an ideal harmony that is
only possible for those who possess
the perfection of charity. Following
St. Augustine's well-known distinction
between the love of the truth (caritas
veritatis) and the practical demands
of love (necessitas caritatis),[41]
we can say that Joseph experienced both
love of the truth—that pure contemplative
love of the divine Truth which radiated
from the humanity of Christ—and
the demands of love—that equally
pure and selfless love required for
his vocation to safeguard and develop
the humanity of Jesus, which was inseparably
linked to his divinity.
28. At a difficult time in the
Church's history, Pope Pius IX, wishing
to place her under the powerful patronage
of the holy patriarch Joseph, declared
him "Patron of the Catholic Church."[42]
For Pius IX this was no idle gesture,
since by virtue of the sublime dignity
which God has granted to his most faithful
servant Joseph, "the Church, after
the Blessed Virgin, his spouse, has
always held him in great honor and showered
him with praise, having recourse to
him amid tribulations."[43]
What are the reasons for such great
confidence? Leo XIII explained it in
this way: "The reasons why St.
Joseph must be considered the special
patron of the Church, and the Church
in turn draws exceeding hope from his
care and patronage, chiefly arise from
his having been the husband of Mary
and the presumed father of Jesus...,
Joseph was in his day the lawful and
natural guardian, head and defender
of the Holy Family.... It is thus fitting
and most worthy of Joseph's dignity
that, in the same way that he once kept
unceasing holy watch over the family
of Nazareth, so now does he protect
and defend with his heavenly patronage
the Church of Christ."[44]
29. This patronage must be invoked
as ever necessary for the Church, not
only as a defense against all dangers,
but also, and indeed primarily, as an
impetus for her renewed commitment to
evangelization in the world and to re-evangelization
in those lands and nations where—as
I wrote in the Apostolic Exhortation
Christifideles Laici—"religion
and the Christian life were formerly
flourishing and...are now put to a hard
test."[45] In order to bring the
first proclamation of Christ, or to
bring it anew wherever it has been neglected
or forgotten, the Church has need of
special "power from on high"
(cf. Lk 24:49; Acts 1:8): a gift of
the Spirit of the Lord, a gift which
is not unrelated to the intercession
and example of his saints.
30. Besides trusting in Joseph's
sure protection, the Church also trusts
in his noble example, which transcends
all individual states of life and serves
as a model for the entire Christian
community, whatever the condition and
duties of each of its members may be.
As the Constitution on Divine Revelation
of the Second Vatican Council has said,
the basic attitude of the entire Church
must be that of "hearing the word
of God with reverence,"[46] an
absolute readiness to serve faithfully
God's salvific will revealed in Jesus.
Already at the beginning of human redemption,
after Mary, we find the model of obedience
made incarnate in St. Joseph, the man
known for having faithfully carried
out God's commands.
Pope Paul VI invited us to invoke Joseph's
patronage "as the Church has been
wont to do in these recent times, for
herself in the first place, with a spontaneous
theological reflection on the marriage
of divine and human action in the great
economy of the Redemption, in which
economy the first—the divine one—is
wholly sufficient unto itself, while
the second—the human action which
is ours—though capable of nothing
(cf. Jn 15:5), is never dispensed from
a humble but conditional and ennobling
collaboration. The Church also calls
upon Joseph as her protector because
of a profound and ever present desire
to reinvigorate her ancient life with
true evangelical virtues, such as shine
forth in St. Joseph."[47]
31. The Church transforms these
needs into prayer. Recalling that God
wished to entrust the beginnings of
our redemption to the faithful care
of St. Joseph, she asks God to grant
that she may faithfully cooperate in
the work of salvation; that she may
receive the same faithfulness and purity
of heart that inspired Joseph in serving
the Incarnate Word; and that she may
walk before God in the ways of holiness
and justice, following Joseph's example
and through his intercession.[48]
One hundred years ago, Pope Leo XIII
had already exhorted the Catholic world
to pray for the protection of St. Joseph,
Patron of the whole Church. The Encyclical
Epistle Quamquam Pluries appealed to
Joseph's "fatherly love...for the
child Jesus" and commended to him,
as "the provident guardian of the
divine Family," "the beloved
inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased
by his blood." Since that time—as
I recalled at the beginning of this
Exhortation—the Church has implored
the protection of St. Joseph on the
basis of "that sacred bond of charity
which united him to the Immaculate Virgin
Mother of God," and the Church
has commended to Joseph all of her cares,
including those dangers which threaten
the human family.
Even today we have many reasons to
pray in a similar way: "Most beloved
father, dispel the evil of falsehood
and sin...graciously assist us from
heaven in our struggle with the powers
of darkness...and just as once you saved
the Child Jesus from mortal danger,
so now defend God's holy Church from
the snares of her enemies and from all
adversity."[49] Today we still
have good reason to commend everyone
to St. Joseph.
32. It is my heartfelt wish
that these reflections on the person
of St. Joseph will renew in us the prayerful
devotion which my Predecessor called
for a century ago. Our prayers and the
very person of Joseph have renewed significance
for the Church in our day in light of
the Third Christian Millennium.
The Second Vatican Council mad
