|
Dear Blessed Joseph,
What a wondrous gift you were (are) to Mary…
to Jesus…
to us!
God knew how much Mary and Jesus needed you …
Your love
Your protection
Your kindness, your faith, your strength and your courage.
How humble you are
How filled with love
How hidden and selfless was your role.
How much you must have loved Mary and how much Mary must
have loved and depended on you
have loved and depended on you
God knows what we need.
The Father couldn’t have asked Mary to carry the Messiah if you had not
been there.
You were Mary’s and the
Messiah’s protection, their guidance, their constant source of love.
been there.
You were Mary’s and the
Messiah’s protection, their guidance, their constant source of love.
Just as God had been preparing – making preparations for –Mary
from all eternity,
so God must have been preparing and making preparations for
you.
from all eternity,
so God must have been preparing and making preparations for
you.
Because God is beyond all space and time and knows all things…
He knew who you would be before you
came into being…
He knew who you would be before you
came into being…
So, He knew that you, alone, had a heart capable of truly loving
the Immaculate Conception and Jesus worthily
as Mary’s true spouse and Jesus’ true earthly father…
the Immaculate Conception and Jesus worthily
as Mary’s true spouse and Jesus’ true earthly father…
The Father knew you and created you to be one who could forsake his life,
in order to live a life that was no longer his own,
but one that was
lived only for the Child and His Mother.
in order to live a life that was no longer his own,
but one that was
lived only for the Child and His Mother.
The Father needed someone who would live only for his family.
Living only to serve, love, nurture and protect them…
Living only to serve, love, nurture and protect them…
To shield the glorious secret of the Virgin birth from the
world.
world.
What a blessing you must have been to Mary!
She, who held the Creator of all things in her womb,
whom the
angel revealed to her that her Child would be the Savior, the Son of the Most
High…
she was so alone on this earth.
She
needed a provider, a man who would love and understand her and her Child.
God tells us it is not good for us to be
alone, so in His providence,
He made the two of you for each other,
knowing the depth of your souls before they existed.
whom the
angel revealed to her that her Child would be the Savior, the Son of the Most
High…
she was so alone on this earth.
She
needed a provider, a man who would love and understand her and her Child.
God tells us it is not good for us to be
alone, so in His providence,
He made the two of you for each other,
knowing the depth of your souls before they existed.
How you must have loved each other in a most pure and perfect
way
way
–with both of your eyes and hearts fixed on the Father,
Who
is the source of all goodness and Who is LOVE Himself.
Who
is the source of all goodness and Who is LOVE Himself.
With both of your eyes and hearts fixed on the Son,
Whom
Mary carried and whom you provided for,
Who came to redeem us and set us free.
Whom
Mary carried and whom you provided for,
Who came to redeem us and set us free.
With both of your eyes, hearts and minds filled with the
Holy Spirit,
the Source of all Wisdom and Understanding, the Advocate,
Who
filled you both with unfathomable Strength and Courage.
Holy Spirit,
the Source of all Wisdom and Understanding, the Advocate,
Who
filled you both with unfathomable Strength and Courage.
Though filled with the Spirit,
you both had to walk in the
darkness …
you both had to walk in the
darkness …
not understanding all…
not fathoming God’s complete plan.
For God comes slowly and with infinite tenderness like the
dawn –
shining His light ever so slowly –
to the extent we can understand…
little by little guiding us in faith and trust.
dawn –
shining His light ever so slowly –
to the extent we can understand…
little by little guiding us in faith and trust.
What faith and trust you must have had
and how God must have
expanded your mind and heart to grow each moment of the days
spent both in blessed preparation for and
in communion with the Savior.
Your Savior and your Child.
and how God must have
expanded your mind and heart to grow each moment of the days
spent both in blessed preparation for and
in communion with the Savior.
Your Savior and your Child.
How God must have rejoiced in you and Mary,
and your mutual love
for one another…
and your mutual love
for one another…
How pleased He must have been that you sought her to be
your bride.
your bride.
So often in the past, people have assumed you must have been
an old man, a widower,
with other children…
to have been entrusted with this
beautiful virgin.
an old man, a widower,
with other children…
to have been entrusted with this
beautiful virgin.
Yet, I have always seen and recognized you as a young and
vibrant man –
Fully alive,
vibrant man –
Fully alive,
Strong and faithful….
Fully righteous and humble…
A man of faith, a man filled with God’s wisdom and His love…
For you must have loved God with all your being – to all
your capacity—which expanded increasingly through your life.
your capacity—which expanded increasingly through your life.
You must have loved Mary for who she was –
a woman
completely consumed with the love of her God.
a woman
completely consumed with the love of her God.
You must have shared that same all consuming, heart-enflamed
love of God and
thus, sought only His will for your life and your love together…
love of God and
thus, sought only His will for your life and your love together…
As you loved Mary for her beauty and wisdom and grace and
goodness…
so she must have loved you for these same virtues.
goodness…
so she must have loved you for these same virtues.
God had formed each of you to be perfectly matched…
As you both desired only to love your God
with all your heart, mind, power and strength.
with all your heart, mind, power and strength.
Both only seeking to fulfill God’s will for your lives
How so perfectly in tune with each other you must have been!
How you must have spoken with Mary of her call to perpetual
virginity and total consecration of herself with the Father before your
betrothal.
If you hadn’t have spoken and agreed and had been in one
heart and mind and soul regarding this… it wouldn’t have been a true
betrothal.
heart and mind and soul regarding this… it wouldn’t have been a true
betrothal.
It would have been untrue for Mary to not have shared her
call with you,
which we recognize in her question posed to the Angel Gabriel:
“How can this be as I know not man?”
She never considered this Child would be a
fruit of your marital union,
for you had both given of yourselves completely to
God –
offering up the sexual expression of marriage for a completely selfless
and all consuming love of your God that He had called both of you to embrace.
call with you,
which we recognize in her question posed to the Angel Gabriel:
“How can this be as I know not man?”
She never considered this Child would be a
fruit of your marital union,
for you had both given of yourselves completely to
God –
offering up the sexual expression of marriage for a completely selfless
and all consuming love of your God that He had called both of you to embrace.
How you must have readily agreed and embraced this call of God in Mary’s life and how it must have echoed a similar call of full consecration and complete gift of yourself to God in your own soul.
So how confused you must have been when you recognized Mary
was with Child.
I don’t accept that you
ever questioned Mary’s purity and faithfulness.
Instead, I’m sure that as a faithful Jew, you knew and held fast to the
prophecies of a virgin conceiving the Messiah…
was with Child.
I don’t accept that you
ever questioned Mary’s purity and faithfulness.
Instead, I’m sure that as a faithful Jew, you knew and held fast to the
prophecies of a virgin conceiving the Messiah…
… so you must have seen Mary’s pregnancy as a fulfillment of
this great promise.
But, you struggled because God had not
shared this plan with you…
this great promise.
But, you struggled because God had not
shared this plan with you…
Mary had not shared this understanding with you…
So, in your heart you must have reasoned that God must not have wanted you to be Mary’s husband, believing yourself to be unworthy of such an honor…
and supposing that God must have wanted Mary to be His Bride alone,
because all this had
taken place without your knowledge, without your consent.
and supposing that God must have wanted Mary to be His Bride alone,
because all this had
taken place without your knowledge, without your consent.
Mary’s conception of the Messiah must mean you were not to
be her husband.
be her husband.
And so, in infinite humility and grace, you decided to give
up your great love of Mary and bow out of the betrothal quietly, so God could
have his way.
up your great love of Mary and bow out of the betrothal quietly, so God could
have his way.
How selfless you are, dear St. Joseph!
God was testing your selflessness…
He was expanding your love, your mind, your will… just as He
was in Mary.
was in Mary.
You were both fully human.
Neither understanding the fullness of God’s plan.
You and Mary had to work out and discern God’s will each
moment of the day as we all do.
moment of the day as we all do.
God knew your capacity.
He knew your soul was filled so greatly with love,
because
your will was humble and so united with His own,
that it was empty enough to be
filled beyond our understanding.
because
your will was humble and so united with His own,
that it was empty enough to be
filled beyond our understanding.
It wasn’t filled with countless things that fill our minds:
like
ego, jealousy, your rights or a pursuit of worldly honors or possessions…
like
ego, jealousy, your rights or a pursuit of worldly honors or possessions…
Your soul was filled only with loving your Creator, your
God.
God.
So, as He does with all of us,
He must have led you one step at a time in loving darkness…
sometimes withholding His sensible presence and plan so you
could grow in virtue… so you could grow in faith…
could grow in virtue… so you could grow in faith…
so you could grow more and more in union with Him…
dependent upon Him,
trusting in Him regardless of your feelings and
circumstances.
circumstances.
How this circumstance must have tried your faith in your own
discernment of God’s will.
You must have
prayed and sought Him so diligently to understand and pursue Mary as your
bride…
discernment of God’s will.
You must have
prayed and sought Him so diligently to understand and pursue Mary as your
bride…
But, after learning of Mary’s virginal conception, you must
have reasoned your ways and your discernment must not be what God truly wanted…
have reasoned your ways and your discernment must not be what God truly wanted…
For He was keeping this from you.
In your love and humility, you gave your plans and your
betrothed back to God,
knowing He does all things well and wanting only His
will and not your own.
betrothed back to God,
knowing He does all things well and wanting only His
will and not your own.
So, how wondrously you must have felt, when the angel
appeared in a dream,
saying “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.”
appeared in a dream,
saying “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.”
How in awe and what holy fear you must have felt to realize
God had chosen you to be part of His
plan to save the world!
God had chosen you to be part of His
plan to save the world!
How incredible it was that God did entrust His beloved
daughter in your hands…
how He counted you worthy of raising and protecting His
Child!!!
daughter in your hands…
how He counted you worthy of raising and protecting His
Child!!!
How true was your discernment, your hope and dreams and all your
prayers were coming true!
All your
longing was being realized!!!
prayers were coming true!
All your
longing was being realized!!!
The long awaited Messiah whom you had prayed and longed for
all your life was on His way
all your life was on His way
and He wanted you to
be a father to HIM!!!!!
be a father to HIM!!!!!
It makes me weep just trying to fathom what this revelation
must have meant to you.
must have meant to you.
O dear St. Joseph, how good it is to ponder your place in
God’s plan…
God’s plan…
To ponder with what love you must have built a cradle for
your Child…
your Child…
And how you must have built a home to keep your family warm
and safe…
and safe…
And how you had to leave it all behind
For God’s ways are not our ways.
How hard was your way to Bethlehem, and how diligently and
selflessness you must have tried to care for Mary and your Child…
but so much
was beyond your control…
the rough travel, the cold, and the ultimate
deprivation of not even being able to secure a safe place in which the Savior
was to be born…
selflessness you must have tried to care for Mary and your Child…
but so much
was beyond your control…
the rough travel, the cold, and the ultimate
deprivation of not even being able to secure a safe place in which the Savior
was to be born…
How that must have hurt you…
How you must have wondered if you were enough…
How you all must have suffered in your journey to Egypt.
No matter your striving,
how much deprivation you must have experienced in your long journey through the desert and in a foreign land.
Ancient Egyptian histories speak of you and Mary and the infant Jesus wandering for four years,
during this exile …
never staying in any one place longer than six months at a time…
always needing to escape again from Herod or needing to avoid bandits
or searching for food or water or shelter …
How often the Father asked you to walk by faith into the darkness of His Will and His poverty.
No matter your striving,
how much deprivation you must have experienced in your long journey through the desert and in a foreign land.
Ancient Egyptian histories speak of you and Mary and the infant Jesus wandering for four years,
during this exile …
never staying in any one place longer than six months at a time…
always needing to escape again from Herod or needing to avoid bandits
or searching for food or water or shelter …
How often the Father asked you to walk by faith into the darkness of His Will and His poverty.
And yet, how immeasurably rich you were and are…
for you held the Lord of all your longing, and He looked to you as his earthly father…
and the chosen one, the greatest masterpiece of the human race was your beloved spouse and the Mother of God!
How misunderstood you have been for centuries…
how little known and thought of…
Yet, I suppose that it matters little how we see you…
you just want to be a humble servant in whatever capacity
God has in store for you..
God has in store for you..
Completely hidden and unknown is fine with you.
Human respect means nothing.
All your heart and soul and mind is set on serving God alone
how ever He calls you.
how ever He calls you.
In whatever capacity… it makes no difference, just as long
as you love
God the Father,
His Son, your
Child,
the Holy Spirit, the Espoused of your bride,
and the beautiful woman, Mary, whom He entrusted to your love, your care and
protection!
as you love
God the Father,
His Son, your
Child,
the Holy Spirit, the Espoused of your bride,
and the beautiful woman, Mary, whom He entrusted to your love, your care and
protection!
O dear St. Joseph, pray for us and for our families!
See here for more incredible insights about St. Joseph: 10 of the Most Beautiful and Profound Revelations Ever Given of St. Joseph – Our Lady of America Messages Part V
Janet Moore © 2015. Updated in 2019. All Rights Reserved.
Isadore of Isolanis, a pious Dominican of
the 16th century, prophesied:
the 16th century, prophesied:
“the sound of victory when the faithful recognize the sanctity of St.
Joseph…The Lord will let His light shine, He will lift
the veil, and great men will search out the interior gifts of God that
are hidden in St. Joseph; they will find in him a priceless treasure,
the like of which they had never found in other saints of the Old
Testament. We are inclined to believe that toward the end of time, God
will overwhelm St. Joseph with glorious honor. If in the past ages
during the storms of persecution, these honors could not be shown to St.
Joseph, we must conclude that they have been reserved for later times.
At some future time, the feast of St. Joseph will be celebrated as one
of the greatest feasts. The Vicar of Christ, inspired by the Holy
Spirit, will order this feast to be celebrated in the Universal Church.”