Page 100 - Reflections on St. Joseph

before men, to be the “son of the carpenter” (Mt. 13:55). In this way, “In St. Joseph the Heavenly
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Father expressed on earth all of the spiritual dignity of fatherhood” . St. Bernardin of Siena affirms
in speaking of St. Joseph that when God chose a person for a specific mission, he gives him all the
necessary graces to fulfil it. “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
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heart can know” . God found on earth two perfect collaborators in his masterpiece. Like Mary,
Joseph also forms an integral part of the mystery of salvation. We can use an expression which the
Father of the Church St. Irenaeus used in speaking of the Trinity: “Just as in heaven God acts with
two hand which are the Son and the Holy Spirit, so also on earth he acts with two hands which are
Mary and Joseph.” “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.” . So, Joseph of Nazareth is a particular revelation of the dignity
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of human fatherhood. In the brilliant figure of St. Joseph, we are able to see shine the profound
relationship which exists between Divine fatherhood and human fatherhood.

THE SERVICE OF TEACHING OF ST. JOSEPH’S FATHERHOOD

The reason for this human needs is seen in human nature, which not only provides the being of the
offspring but also the perfection of that being. For St. Thomas it is clear that “It is evident that the
upbringing of a human child requires not only the mother's care for his nourishment, but much
more the care of his father as guide and guardian, and under whom he progresses in goods both
internal and external” . In the Gospels, the paternal role of Joseph in respect to Jesus is clearly
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shown. In fact, salvation, which come through Jesus’ humanity, is realized in gestures which form
part of daily family life, in respect to that condescension inherent to the economy of the
incarnation. Joseph is the one whom God chose to be the “overseer of the Lord's birth," , the one
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who has the duty to provide for the ordered insertion of the Son of God into the world, respect the
divine dispositions and the human laws. All of the life, both “private” and “hidden” of Jesus was
entrusted to his care. One of the most sacred duties of father is was to instruct his son in religion.
Chapter 30 of Ecclesiasticus, 1-13, speaks of the education which a father must give to his son “that
he may be his joy when he grows up”.

“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, because he fed him whom the faithful must eat as the bread of
eternal life.’

76 Reflections on st. joseph