Page 78 - Reflections on St. Joseph

SAINT

JOSEPH

as GUARDIAN

Fr. Aldrich Gamboa, OSJ

n the hymn Salve, Pater Salvatoris that could be found in the Gallican Breviary during the
reform of Pope Pius V (1569) and remained in use until the late 18th century, we can find
the title describing St. Joseph as “custos Redemptoris”:

Salve, pater Salvatoris,
Salve, custos Redemptoris,
Ioseph ter amabilis.
Salve, Sponse Matris Dei,
Salve, hospes Iesu mei,
Ioseph ter amabilis.

We can find the special role of St. Joseph
as “Guardian” and “Depositary” of the
mystery of God in the grander
perspective of the mystery of redemption
and the “missionary movements”. This
faith is explicitly expressed in the
ecclesiological and theological vision of
St. John Paul II: the encyclical
Redemptoris Custos together with the
other “Redemptoris” encyclicals form the
missionary movement of the Church and
the idea of the Church as communion
emanating from the Trinity. The vertical
movement from the Trinity is
represented by these encyclicals: Dives in
Misericordia (30 November 1980) re the
Father, Dominum et Vivificantem (18 May

54 Reflections on st. joseph