St. Joseph, The Human Face of Fatherhood

Saint Joseph, The Human Face of Fatherhood

by Colleen Rooney

Joseph was the man God the Father chose from all eternity to be the human face of fatherhood to His Eternally Begotten Son, the Incarnate Word, Jesus. Pope Francis has proclaimed this year--beginning on December 8, 2020 and concluding on December 8, 2021--as the Year of St. Joseph. It is the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph being named patron of the Universal Church by Blessed Pope Pius IX. As with any year of special designation in the Church, additional graces flow from honoring and participating in the prayers and religious events associated with the proclamation. Pope Francis has written an apostolic letter, Patris Corde, (“With a Father’s Heart”) to honor St. Joseph and describe his many virtues as he accepted God’s role for him as protector and supporter of Mary and Jesus. How does a man teach a boy how to be a father? By being a father to him. Joseph is referred to as Jesus’ father a few times in Scripture. St. Luke tells us of the presentation of the baby Jesus in the Temple. In his Gospel, Joseph is mentioned as the father of Jesus, not simply the husband of Mary. (Luke 2:33: “And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them….”) The virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, refers to Joseph as Jesus’ father (Luke 2:48: “Behold your father and I have been looking for you anxiously,” Mary said to Jesus upon finding the boy in the Temple with Joseph at her side.) The towns people in Nazareth who heard Jesus speaking in the synagogue referred to Joseph as the father of Jesus. (Luke 4:22: “And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?”) Clearly, Joseph is identified as the human foster father of Jesus by the Virgin Mary, those present at the Presentation in the Temple, and the townsfolk in Nazareth who had lived in the same community with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph for many years. Joseph was known as Jesus’ father. He was chosen by the heavenly Father to take Mary as his wife, to love and protect her and to be the human foster father to her Son. Joseph was the legal father of Jesus according to Jewish law, and he accepted his God-given calling to be the man who would show Jesus human fatherhood. From Joseph’s first appearance in the Gospel of Matthew, we see a picture of a quiet, thoughtful man. (Matt. 1:18 -24: “When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit, and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her

away quietly. 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…When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife…and he called his name Jesus.”) In this scene from Matthew, Joseph is first described as the husband of Mary. Then he is described as a just man. The Jewish betrothal ceremony was one where the couple were legally married, but there was a period before they lived under the same roof. This was the case with Joseph and Mary. Joseph was preparing a home to bring Mary where they would live their married life together. One can imagine the quiet observations of Joseph when he met the Virgin Mary for the first time and of his developing love for her as time passed. Federic Suarez, in Joseph of Nazareth, referring to Mary’s vow of virginity before she was betrothed to Joseph, and St. Thomas Aquinas’ commentary on it, says of Joseph, “And Joseph? Here is another sign of the astonishing caliber of this exceptional man. His affection for Mary must have been very great indeed. He must have loved her so much and with such generosity of heart, that, learning of her desire to preserve the consecration she had made to God, he agreed nevertheless to go ahead and pledge his troth, preferring to renounce having children rather than not to live with her.” St. Joseph had a deep love for Mary from the beginning. One of the greatest gifts a father can give to his son is a great love for his mother. Joseph gave this gift to Jesus. Our author in Joseph of Nazareth makes a convincing case of Joseph’s great, human sacrificial love for Mary. One which would be sorely tried between the time he observed Mary with child and the angel of the Lord’s revelation to him that the Child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Joseph was a just man. According to what he knew, he determined to divorce Mary quietly, so as not to put her to shame. He had made up his mind and will to do this. He was a kind man but a strong man. He was judging the situation with Mary according to his best insight. It was not until the angel interceded that the situation was made clear to him. With that knowledge, he did not hesitate but took Mary to the home he had prepared for them to live in. Joseph’s treatment of Mary prior to the angel’s visitation in the dream gives us a great window into the soul and virtues of this quiet, just man. This man whom Jesus would experience from infancy onward as the protector and beloved human spouse of his mother and the protector and human father to Him. Jesus would experience safety because Joseph would protect Mary and Jesus from Herod and later Archelaus. Jesus would experience the human love of a human father because Joseph would love Jesus. Jesus would experience training and education because Joseph would show him how to earn a living and fulfill his duties as a Jewish man. Jesus would experience human sacrificial love, self-denial, and magnanimity because Joseph practiced these virtues and others quietly and humbly. This year of St. Joseph is a time to pray to and read about this saintly man who above all men God created and called to be the chaste spouse of the virgin Mary and the foster father of Jesus, the incarnate Word of God. If God created and chose him to be the human father of Jesus, you know that he will be a rich source of guidance and inspiration for each of us. St. Joseph, Pray for us!