Tuesday, March 21, 2017

The Feast of St. Joseph

"He (St. Joseph) was willing to cooperate with the divine plan, though he in no way knew its contours or deepest purposes. Like Mary at the annunciation, he trusted and let himself be led."~ Fr. Robert Barron, Lenten Gospel Reflections

The Solemnity of St. Joseph is one of my favorite celebrations in honor of the saints.

I think about him often and give thanks to God for selecting such a wonderful foster father for Jesus. St. Joseph's care of the Holy Family is truly to be admired and emulated. 

There are some who think St. Joseph was filled with grace from his mother's womb, and that he was a young man when he wed Mary and therefore a virgin himself.

Others subscribe to the theory that he was older and a widower at the time of his marriage to Mary.

I tend to think of him as younger. It just makes more sense to me. 

There are also those who posit that he was taken body and soul into heaven after Jesus was crucified, citing the Gospel reading where the temple curtain is torn in two and souls of the dead are released from Gehenna, appearing to many in Jerusalem. Could Joseph have been one of these? Would he have appeared to Mary? What a fun thing to contemplate.

Those who argue thusly do so, because similar to the physical remains of Mary...there are no relics of St. Joseph and no one claims St. Joseph's tomb.

To Jesus, the commandment to "honor your father and mother" must surely mean something special for the man who taught Jesus to be a man. 

It does give one pause for thought, however, because St. Joseph died in Old Testament times and therefore must have been waiting for Jesus to "descend into hell," to receive the souls of the righteous, before ascending with them into heaven.

Because we don't know how long St. Joseph was dead before Jesus death and resurrection, we don't know if his body was preserved from decay or even if he was taken body and soul into heaven. 

Some heavy pondering and study is warranted, I think.

Thank you, my Lord and God, for the gift of St. Joseph. Amen


Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

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