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St.
Joseph, Foster Father of Jesus & The Heavenly Propery Seller |
It is one thing
to know of a person and another to know the person. Many know of St. Joseph, but
few know him. It is hoped that this short account of St. Joseph’s life and
virtues will bring you the reader closer to knowing him thus giving you a more
intimate spiritual friendship with him and more confidence in his intercessory
powers as The Heavenly Property Seller.
Many confuse St. Joseph with the ancient patriarch Joseph, son of Jacob, of the Old
Testament. There is a reason for this confusion. Joseph of the Old Testament
foreshadowed in many aspects our St. Joseph.
Being prefigured in the Holy Scriptures is not only a
signal glory; it is also a manifest sign of the great love and special regard
which God the Father had for our St. Joseph from all eternity. To understand our
St. Joseph more fully, it is important that we begin this short biography by
reviewing the life of the first Joseph.
The first
Joseph, the favored son of Jacob’s twelve sons, was sold by his brothers and
forced to Egypt and put in prison. While in prison he was able to interpret
heavenly dreams. One day, the Pharaoh called for Joseph and asked him to
interpret a mysterious dream of his.
Joseph correctly interpreted this puzzling
dream to mean seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Joseph
was then commissioned by the Pharaoh to be in charge of the granary. He made him
“Grand Vizier”, second only to himself in all of Egypt. “He made him lord of his
house and ruler of all his possessions.” During the seven years of plenty Joseph
conscientiously and diligently oversaw the stockpiling and guarding of grains.
During the famine years, he prudently oversaw the distribution of the grains.
The hungry were sent to Joseph with the words, “Go to Joseph and do what he says
to you.”
Joseph of Egypt as a type of Joseph of Nazareth is more fully developed
in a document titled Quemadmodum:
As almighty God appointed
Joseph, son of the patriarch Jacob, over all the land of Egypt to save grain for
the people, so when the fullness of time was come and He was about to send to
earth His only-begotten Son, the Savior of the world, He chose another Joseph,
of whom the first had been a type, and He made him the lord and chief of His
household and possessions, the guardian of His choicest treasures…Him whom
countless kings and prophets had desired to see, Joseph not only saw but
conversed with, and embraced in paternal affection, and kissed. He most
diligently reared Him whom the faithful were to receive as the Bread that came
down from heaven whereby they might obtain eternal life.
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By birth, our St. Joseph was
of royal blood. He descended from the royal house of David. His ancestors are
the patriarchs, the kings of Juda, the great leaders of the people of God. Yet,
this man of royal blood lived a poor and humble life and made a modest living as
a carpenter.
He was the virginal husband of Mary, and the foster father of Jesus. Joseph first made a
home for Mary in Nazareth. While Mary was pregnant with Jesus they traveled to
Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. Joseph was warned by an angel in a dream to
take Jesus and Mary to Egypt to escape the anger of King Herod, who wanted to
kill the Baby. After Herod died, Joseph was told again in a dream to return to
Nazareth.
If one judges the greatness of a person by the importance of the charges
entrusted to them, then our St. Joseph must be gloriously great. He is called by
many as the “Guardian of the Child Jesus. St. Joseph was the Child Jesus’
protector, defender, and support. Our St. Joseph was called father by Him Whose
Father was in heaven.
As Our Lord is called Savior of Man because He preserves man from eternal death,
one can say that St. Joseph of Nazareth was the Savior of The Savior, because he
preserved the Divine Child from temporal death at the hands of Herod.
While very little of our St. Joseph is said of him in Holy Scriptures, there is
sufficient mention of him in the Holy Gospels to make us appreciate his exalted
dignity. The Holy Gospels call St. Joseph 'just'. St. Jerome says “St. Joseph is
called just on account of having possessed all virtues in a perfect degree”. He
rendered to each his due: To God, to his neighbors, and to himself.
Joseph rendered to God His due by the constant exercise of the three theological
virtues, walking ever with the liveliest faith in the presence of God, with firm
and stable hope expecting the near advent of the Messiah, and with ardent
charity loving without measure the sovereign goodness of God, and striving to
the utmost of his power to make Him loved by others.
To men he rendered their due by respecting them in their property, their honor,
their life, and their soul. He loved them tenderly, was solicitous to assist
them, and zealously edified them by his example. Compassion for the suffering
was a gift, specially infused into his soul by God.
Finally, Joseph rendered to himself what was his due. He respected his soul,
treasuring up in it all the virtues, all the merits, all the sound doctrine, and
all the holy operations necessary to salvation. He respected his body, procuring
for it the fitting means for leading an honorable life. He practiced a trade to
avoid idleness and keep him holily employed and minister to his temporal needs.
St. Joseph who is just by grace precedes Him who is just by nature. Jesus who is
the Sun of Justice, sends before Him this star of justice, St. Joseph, who may
thus be styled and is in fact, after Mary, the first just one of the New Law.
Many saints assert that St. Joseph has a very high place in heaven and that he
will be called upon by men in the last days of the world and give signs of his
great power. St. Joseph is the patron of the Church, his prayers for the Church
have great efficacy at the throne of God. He is also the patron of a happy
death, dying as he did himself in the arms of Jesus and Mary. He is also invoked
for temporal wants, since his care on this earth was the support of the Holy
Family. St. Thomas Aquinas says that St. Joseph received power from God to help
in all necessities; and St. Teresa of Avila declared no prayer of hers to St.
Joseph in temporal or spiritual need was ever left unanswered.
The devotion to Saint Joseph has spread throughout the world. Saint Joseph is
honored as the Patron of a Happy Home, Safeguard of Families, and Protector of
Children.
The tradition of buying a statue of Saint Joseph finds its roots in the ancient
custom of burying blessed medals in the ground, then asking God’s blessing on
the area. The nun’s of 18th Century Europe would ask the help of Saint Joseph to
find land for their convents. They would bury a medal of Saint Joseph and ask
for his blessing.
As the testimonies of God’s favors through St. Joseph spread, the custom changed
from burying medals to burying statues. Today, homeowners of all denominations
ask for Saint Joseph’s help in selling and buying their homes. There are many
documented cases of his powerful intercession.
Just as Jesus and Mary looked to Joseph for provision, strength, and guidance in
his role as husband and father, so we encourage you to look to Saint Joseph for
help in the sale of your property and home. Let him be your Heavenly Property
Seller.
For the above article on St. Joseph, we have taken material most
liberally from the following sources:
The Life and Glories of Saint Joseph by Edward Healy Thompson, M.A., originally published in
1888 by Burns and Oates, Limited, London, and M.H. Gill & Sons, Dublin.
Republished by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., Rockford, Il 61105 by arrangement
with Burns & Oates, Ltd.
The Divine Favors Granted to St. Joseph by Pere
Binet, Copyright 1983, by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc, Rockford Il 61105.
Go To Joseph by
Fr. Richard W. Gilsdorf, Copyright 2009, Published by Star of the Bay Press,
Green Bay, Wi 54302
The Catechism Explained by
Rev. Francis Spirago, Copyright 1921 by Benziger Brothers, NY, Published by TAN
Books and Publishers, Inc, Rockford, Il 61105
We highly recommend the above books for a more in depth study on the life and
virtues of St. Joseph. |