Page 171 - Reflections on St. Joseph

Rosary. It complements and extends this devotion in a way that includes Saint Joseph, Mary’s
husband and Jesus’ earthly (though not biological) father. It is prayed using the same beads, but
the “Hail Mary” is substituted by a prayer patterned after it in a way that includes Joseph and is
thus directed to the “Holy Spouses” together, rather than to Mary alone. While not a direct part
of the Luminous, Sorrowful, or Glorious mysteries, St. Joseph is an integral part of proper
reflection on the Joyful mysteries, which are here extended from five to ten in the Holy Spouses
Mysteries of the Incarnation and the Hidden Life.

The Holy Spouses Prayer

The Holy Spouses prayer, repeated ten times for each mystery, is patterned after the “Hail,
Mary.” It opens with the two titles with which the angel addresses Mary and Joseph at their
respective annunciations: “Mary, full of grace, and Joseph, son of David” (Lk 1:28, Mt 1:20).
Next, the Church’s time-honored title for Mary, “Mother of God,” is complemented by the
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Church’s more recent choice of title for Joseph, “guardian of the Redeemer.” While Mary and
Joseph are honored, the child Jesus is eternally praised: he is the center of their family, and his
name remains at the very center of this prayer, as it should for every prayer. Mary and Joseph
are invoked together as “Holy Spouses” and their prayers are sought not simply for ourselves as
individuals, but also for our families and communities. The prayer is:

Mary, full of grace, and Joseph, son of David; honor to you, Mother of God, and to you,
guardian of the Redeemer. Eternal praise to the child with whom you formed a family, Jesus.

Holy Spouses, pray for us sinners, our families and communities, now and at the hour of our
death. Amen.

Bringing together the two annunciations to Mary and Joseph and their common role of
parenting and raising Jesus, the words of this prayer provide a background for the events of the
coming of the Messiah into the world and for his years of hidden preparation for his public ministry.
Jesus is clearly the object of these annunciations and of this attentive upbringing. The prayer puts
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us into living communion with Jesus through the love of his mother and earthly father.

The Mysteries of the Incarnation and Hidden Life

Everything in Jesus’ life was a sign of the mystery of redemption. His humanity appeared as a
sacrament of his divinity and of the salvation he brings. God’s love is manifest in “Christ’s
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whole earthly life – his words and deeds, his silences and sufferings, indeed his manner of being
and speaking.” The mystery of redemption that culminates in the cross was prepared for in
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advance by God’s providence. It was at work in Jesus’ entire life, including the mysteries of his
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infancy and hidden life. The paschal mystery of his dying and rising was already present in
the sorrows and joys that he experienced in the presence of Mary and Joseph. More than anyone
else the Holy Spouses help us gaze upon the mysteries of the first 30 years of the life of the
Redeemer.

It is likely that Mary and Joseph alone shared the secret of the virginal conception of Jesus, a
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secret that is never mentioned throughout the public ministry. Even though Jesus clearly
proclaims himself the Son of God, nowhere is it recorded that he revealed the manner of his
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Reflections on st. joseph