St. Joseph's Spirit of Silence

The Glories of St. Joseph - published by Traditions Monastiques, 1998 | unknown | Dom Bernard Marechaux

[Pyro7480]

St. Joseph's Spirit of Silence

The prudence of St. Joseph had soared to the highest point possible, to the extent of seeing nothing but divine things, sola divina intueatur. It towered over the fleeting course of transitory thigns. We see him as a contemplative absorbed in God, as the man of silence and mystery who is on the earth without being of the earth and from whom nothing may, even for a moment, take away the thought of eternity.

Let us also admire him as a man of silence; to know how to refrain from speaking is an outstanding part of the virtue of prudence. Of a great talker Scrpiture says: As a city that lieth open and is not compassed with walls, so is a man that cannot refrain his own spirit in speaking (Proverbs 25: 28).... Joseph remains silent: he is a fortress preserving its hidden treasure behind inpenetrable walls.

Because the spirit of his silence was religious and prayerful, it became natural to him. The Gospel does not mention a single word spoken by him. It only tells us that he gave the Infant God the name of Jesus.... He said "Jesus," and no more. But in saying "Jesus," he said all - he said the word that enlightens all mysteries, the word on which humanity lives and shall live until the end of time. After him, let us all say again: "Jesus."

Not only did Joseph keep quiet, but nothing in his attitude revealed the secret of the Divinity of Jesus. His conduct made everyone believe he was the father of the adolescent growing up under his eyes. He acted this way without effort or restraint, through a high, instinctive-like prudence which guided all of his gestures with an overall sense of fidelity to the mission given him from Heaven.

Let us get to the bottom of this attitude of St. Joseph towards the Incarnate Word, and we shall then discover marvelous teachings. It is because of great virtue that faith and adoration grow with the familiarity of divine things. Too often, however, daily contact with things decreases respect. Joseph's familiarity in living with Jesus in no way diminished his adoration of the Son of God; on the contrary, it penetrated him even more keenly and led him to a complete and profound self-abasement. At the sight of humiliations encountered by the Divine Word, the humility of Joseph took on immeasurable proportions. Mankind has yet to know a greater and more humble worshipper of the Divine Majesty hidden under the veil of flesh than St. Joseph!

O, priests who consecrate the Eucharistic Body of Christ, O faithul who receive it, imitate the faith, respect, adoration and abundant love of this great saint in his dealings with the Word made flesh!

Let us all be inspired by his heavenly prudence so as to always act in conformity with the will of God. Let us obey the Holy Spirit, Sovereign Counselor of our soul, just as Joseph did. Let us conceal under a veil of silence the gifts received from Our Lord. Through the trials of this earthly life, let us fix our eyes on eternal goods, and let us try to aim all our efforts towards attaining them. This is the prudence of the saints. (Dom Bernard Marechaux)

[Pyro7480]

For the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 19 March 2005.

[Pyro7480]

Ping on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, 19 March 2005.

St. Joseph Addressing the Divine Child Jesus (St. Alphonsus de Liguori)

Since Thou the name of father hast bestowed
On me, my Jesus, let me call Thee Son.
My Son! I love - I love Thee; yes, my God!
Forever will I love Thee, dearest One!

Thou art my God! I humbly Thee adore;
But, as my Son, ah! bid me kiss Thy face,
And make my heart remain for evermore
Close bound with sweetest chains in Thy embrace!

Since Thou hast deigned to choose me here below
The nurse and guardian of Thy life to be,
My sweetest Love! my Good! ah! let me know
What willest Thou? - what does Thou ask of me?

All, all I am, to Thee I now resign;
My love I consecrate to Thee alone;
And know, my heart is mine no more - 'Tis Thine;
My very life I do not call my own.

Since Thou art pleased to share my humble home,
And be on earth companion of my love,
Well may I hope, dear Jesus, to become
Thy loved companion in Thy home above.

Joseph not only had the name of father of Jesus, but he also had the reality of it, as much as any man could." - St. John Damascene

[Pyro7480]

Ping

[Kolokotronis]

"Who hath given me the Son of the Most High to be a Son to me? I was jealous of Thy Mother, and I thought to put her away, and I knew not that in her womb was hidden a mighty treasure, that should suddenly enrich my poor estate. David the king sprang from my race, and wore the crown; and I have come to a very low estate, who instead of a king am a carpenter. Yet a crown hath come to me, for in my bosom is the Lord of crowns!"
St. Ephraim, Hymns on the Nativity, Hymn IV.

And St. Romanos the Melodist puts these words in the mouth of the Most Holy Theotokos when the Magi arrived:
"I shall remind you, O magi, for what reason I have Joseph in my dwelling. It is for the refutation of all who doubt. He himself will tell what he heard about my child. For in his sleep he saw a holy angel who told him whence I conceived (Mt. 1:20). A divine being, shining like fire, reassured him in the night and settled his thorny doubts. Therefore Joseph is with me to reveal that here is a young child, the pre-eternal God. Clearly he will report the things that he himself saw among the heavenly beings and mortals on earth--how the shepherds sang songs, and the shining ones sang with men of clay; how the star ran ahead of you to light your way and guide you." (On the Nativity (Mary and the Magi), strophes 11-12

[Pyro7480]

The Holy Spirit writes such beautiful things in the hearts of the saints! Thanks for posting the hymn by St. Ephraim. I like what I've read by him.

[AnAmericanMother]

The Cherry Tree Carol

When Joseph was an old man,
An old man was he,
He courted Virgin Mary
The Queen of Galilee,
He courted Virgin Mary
The Queen of Galilee.

Now Joseph and Mary
Were walking one day.
In a garden of cherries
They happened to stray.

Then up spake Virgin Mary
So meek and so mild,
"Joseph, gather me some cherries,
For I am with child."

Then Joseph flew in anger,
In anger cried he,
"Let the father of the baby
Gather cherries for thee!"

Then Jesus spoke a few words
From within his mother's womb,
"Let my mother gather cherries,
Oh, cherry tree, bow down."

The cherry tree bowed low down
Bowed low down to the ground,
And Mary gathered cherries
While Joseph stood around.

Then Joseph took Mary
All on his right knee.
"Lord, what have I done?
Have mercy on me!"

Then Joseph took Mary
All on his left knee.
"Come and tell me, little baby
When thy birthday shall be."

"On the Sixth Day of January
My birthday shall be,
When the stars and the elements
Shall tremble with glee."

[Kolokotronis]

St. Joseph the Betrothed

In the Orthodox Church, we commemorate the Repose of the Righteous Elder Joseph the Betrothed on the First Sunday after the Holy Nativity of the Lord.

[Siobhan]

Belated but grateful BUMP

Pray for TERRI!

St. Therese the Little Flower, pray for us.

[Convert from ECUSA]

Thanks for posting this! A year ago when I was preparing to be received into the Church, I chose two patron saints; one was Our Mother and the other was St. Joseph - the two greatest saints in the Kingdom!

[Pyro7480]

I thought of you when I posted this, because of what you said on the thread I started about the Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.

Post 11: Contemplation of the Holy Name of JESUS always leads me to my devotion to St. Joseph since God gave St. Joseph the awesome gift of naming God the Son according to the Law and St. Joseph was obedient to God in naming the Child JESUS as God had willed. So wonderful to contemplate.

From above: Because the spirit of his silence was religious and prayerful, it became natural to him. The Gospel does not mention a single word spoken by him. It only tells us that he gave the Infant God the name of Jesus.... He said "Jesus," and no more. But in saying "Jesus," he said all - he said the word that enlightens all mysteries, the word on which humanity lives and shall live until the end of time. After him, let us all say again: "Jesus."

[angcat]

St. Joseph's Sauce
INGREDIENTS (Serves about 4)
1/2 Pound fresh medium Filleted Sardines
5 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, sliced thin
6 Ounce Can Tomato Paste
1 Sprig Fresh Oregano
5 Fresh Basil Leaves
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
Sicilian Sea Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper to Taste
1 Pound of Pasta (Perciatelli or Pappardelle)

[Salvation]

BTTT on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, this year celebrated on 3-20-06!

[Salvation]

From the Office of Readings for today:

Reading	From a sermon by Saint Bernardine of Siena, priest
The faithful foster-father and guardian
There is a general rule concerning all special graces granted to any human being. Whenever the divine favour chooses someone to receive a special grace, or to accept a lofty vocation, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfil the task at hand. This general rule is especially verified in the case of Saint Joseph, the foster-father of our Lord and the husband of the Queen of our world, enthroned above the angels. He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Joseph’s wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying: “Good and faithful servant enter into the joy of your Lord”. What then is Joseph’s position in the whole Church of Christ? Is he not a man chosen and set apart? Through him and, yes, under him, Christ was fittingly and honourably introduced into the world. Holy Church in its entirety is indebted to the Virgin Mother because through her it was judged worthy to receive Christ. But after her we undoubtedly owe special gratitude and reverence to Saint Joseph. In him the Old Testament finds its fitting close. He brought the noble line of patriarchs and prophets to its promised fulfilment. What the divine goodness had offered as a promise to them, he held in his arms. Obviously, Christ does not now deny to Joseph that intimacy, reverence and very high honour which he gave him on earth, as a son to his father. Rather we must say that in heaven Christ completes and perfects all that he gave at Nazareth. Now we can see how the last summoning words of the Lord appropriately apply to Saint Joseph: “Enter into the joy of your Lord”. In fact, although the joy of eternal happiness enters into the soul of a man, the Lord preferred to say to Joseph: “Enter into joy”. His intention was that the words should have a hidden spiritual meaning for us. They convey not only that this holy man possesses an inward joy, but also that it surrounds him and engulfs him like an infinite abyss. Remember us, Saint Joseph, and plead for us to your foster-child. Ask your most holy bride, the Virgin Mary, to look kindly upon us, since she is the mother of him who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns eternally. Amen.

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