Salesian Literature

Conference 19  :  On the Virtues of St. Joseph

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The just shall flourish like the palm-tree.  Thus does Holy Church make us sing on every feast-day of her saintly Confessors; but as the palm-tree has a great variety of special properties beyond all other trees — of which, indeed, it is the prince and king, as much on account of its beauty as of the excellence of its fruit — so there are also many varieties of justice.  Although all the just may be just and equal in justice, nevertheless there is a great disproportion between the individual acts of their justice. This is figured by the robe of the Patriarch Joseph, which descended to his feet, and was embroidered with a rich variety of flowers [Gen. 37:3; 41:42].  Every just man has the robe of justice which descends to his feet [Is. 61:10; Bar. 5:2] that is to say, all the faculties and powers of his soul are covered with justice, and its interior and exterior represent justice itself, being just in all their impulses and in all their actions, internal as well as external. Yet, nevertheless, we must admit that each robe is embroidered with different beautiful varieties of flowers, the diversity[1] Sermon preached by our Blessed Father on the Feast of St. Joseph of which does not make them less pleasing or less worthy of admiration and commendation. The great St. Paul, the first hermit, was just with a most perfect justice, and yet it is undoubted that he never exercised so much charity towards the poor as St. John, who was called the Almoner on that account; nor had he ever any opportunities of practising hospitality, and therefore he did not possess that virtue in so high a degree as did many other saints. He had all the virtues, but not all of them in an equally high degree. Some of the saints excelled in one virtue, some in another, and although all have saved their souls, they have done so in very different ways, there being as many different kinds of sanctity as there are saints.

 

This being presupposed, I will introduce my subject by observing that the palm-tree, among a great number of peculiar properties, has three special ones, which also belong in a remarkable manner to the Saint whose Feast we are keeping; that Saint of whom Holy Church bids us say that he is like to the palm-tree. Oh, what a great saint is the glorious St. Joseph! He is not only a Patriarch, but the chief and leader of Patriarchs; he is not simply a Confessor, but more than a Confessor, for in him are enshrined the worth of Bishops, the generosity of Martyrs, and of all the other saints. It is, therefore, with reason that he is compared to the palm, which is the king of trees, and which has the properties of virginity, humility, courage and constancy, in all which virtues the glorious St. Joseph excelled so greatly. If we may venture to make comparisons, many would maintain that he surpasses all the other saints in these three virtues.

 

Among palms, there are male and female trees. The male palm-tree does not bear fruit, and yet it, is not unfruitful, for the female palm would bear no fruit without it, or without its aspect. So that if the female palm is not planted near the male palm-tree, and is not in sight of it, it remains unfruitful, and bears no dates, which are its fruit; but if, on the contrary, it is near the palm-tree and in sight, of it, it bears a quantity of fruit,[2] but quite purely and virginally. The palm-tree does not contribute any of its substance to this production; yet no one can say that it has not a great share in the fruit of the female palm, which without it would not bear any, but would remain barren and unfruitful.

 

God having destined[3] from all eternity, in His divine Providence, that a Virgin should conceive a Son [Is. 7:14], Who should be both God and man, willed nevertheless that this Virgin should be married. "But, O God!" exclaim the holy Doctors, "for what reason didst Thou ordain two things so different, to be virgin and bride at the same time?" Most of the Fathers say that this was in order to prevent Our Lady from being calumniated by the Jews. For they would assuredly not have exempted the Virgin Mother from opprobrium, and would have dared to constitute themselves judges of her purity. Therefore, in order to shield and protect this purity and virginity, it was necessary that divine Providence should commit her to the charge and guardianship of a man absolutely pure, and that this Virgin should conceive and bring forth this sweet fruit [Cant. 2:3] of life, Our Lord, under the shadow of holy marriage.  St. Joseph, then, was like a palm-tree which, though bearing no fruit, is yet not unfruitful, but has a great share in the fruit of the female palm.  Not that St. Joseph contributed anything towards that holy and glorious fruit, except indeed   the shadow of marriage, which prevented Our Lady and glorious Mistress from being exposed to those calumnies and censures which the signs of her approaching Motherhood would have brought upon her. And although he contributed nothing of his own, yet he had a great part in this most holy fruit of his sacred Spouse. She belonged to him, and was planted close to him, like a glorious palm by the side of its beloved palm-tree, and, according to the decree of divine Providence, could not produce fruit, and must not do so except under his shadow and in his sight; I mean, under the shadow of the holy marriage which they had contracted together, which was unlike the ordinary marriages of this world, whether in respect of the communication of outward goods, or the union and conjunction of inward goods.

 

Oh! divine union between Our Lady and the glorious St. Joseph! By means of this union, that Good of eternal goods, Our Lord Himself, belonged to St. Joseph as well as to Our Lady. This is not true as regards the nature which He took in the womb of our glorious Mistress, and which had been formed by the Holy Ghost of the most pure blood of Our Lady; but is so as regards grace, which made him participate in all the possessions of his beloved Spouse, and which increased so marvellously his growth in perfection; and this through his continual communication with Our Lady. For although it is true that she possessed every virtue in a higher degree than is attainable by any other pure creature, yet it is quite certain that the glorious St. Joseph was the being who approached most nearly to that perfection. And just as we see that a mirror placed opposite to the rays of the sun receives those rays perfectly, and another mirror placed opposite to the first, though it only takes or receives the sun’s rays by reflection, yet reflects them so absolutely that you can scarcely judge which receives them directly from the sun and which only by reflection, so it was in the case of Our Lady. She was like a most pure mirror, receiving on a spotless surface the rays of the Sun of Justice which poured into her soul all virtues in their perfection. All these virtues and perfections were then absolutely re­flected in St. Joseph, so that it almost seemed as if he were as perfect, and possessed all virtues in as high a degree, as the glorious Virgin our Mistress.

 

But, to continue our subject, in what degree, think you, did St. Joseph possess that virtue which makes us like to the Angels, the virtue of virginity? If the Blessed Virgin was not only a virgin all-pure and all-spotless, but even virginity itself (as Holy Church sings in the responses for the Lessons of Matins, "Holy and immaculate Virginity," &c.), how great and super-eminent in this virtue must not he have been who was appointed by the Eternal Father to be the guardian, or, to speak more truly, the companion of her virginity (for she needed no guard other than herself) —how great, I repeat, must not he have been in this respect? They had both vowed to keep their virginity all through their life, and this is why God willed them to be united by the bond of a holy marriage, not to make them gainsay or repent their vow, but to confirm them in it, and enable them to strengthen each other to persevere in their holy purpose. This is why they renewed their vow to live together in virginity all the rest of their life.

 

The Spouse, in the Canticle of Canticles [2:8-9], makes use of most admirable expressions to describe the modesty, chastity, and innocent candour of His divine love for His most dear Bride, He speaks thus: Our sister is little, and hath no breasts. What shall we do to our sister in the day when she is to be spoken to? If she "be a wall, let us build upon it bulwarks of silver: if she be a door, let us join it together with boards of cedar, or with some other incorruptible wood. So speaks the divine Bridegroom of the purity of the Blessed Virgin, of the Church, or of the devout soul, but these words are chiefly addressed to the Blessed Virgin, who was pre-eminently this divine Sulamite. Our sister is little and hath no breasts—that is to say, thinks not of marriage, is not grown up to that estate. What shall we do to her in the day when she is to be spoken to? What does that mean? In the day when she is to be spoken to? Does not the Heavenly Bridegroom speak to her whenever He pleases? Yes, but by this expression is meant when marriage is spoken of to a maiden, and words spoken on this subject are of great importance, since it is a question of the choice and adoption of a vocation and state of life which is for all time. If she be a wall, says the divine Spouse, let its build upon it bulwarks of silver; if she be a door, instead of wishing to break it open, we will line it, and strengthen it with boards of cedar, which is an incorruptible wood.

 

The most glorious Virgin was a tower [Cant. 4:4; 7:4] and a high-walled enclosure into which the enemy could never enter. Neither could any desires find a place save the desire of living in perfect purity and virginity. What shall we do to her? For she ought to be married, He Who gave her this purpose to live a virgin, having thus ordained.  If she be a tower or a wall, let us set upon it bulwarks of silver, which, instead of breaking down the tower, will strengthen it the more.  Well, what was the glorious St. Joseph but a strong bulwark built up upon Our Lady, since she, being his spouse, was subject to him and under his care?  And he, so far from making use of this supremacy over Our Lady to break her vow of virginity, carried out the divine purpose which made him a sharer in that vow, while, by means also of their holy union, and under the veil and shelter of holy marriage, the purity of Our Lady could persevere all the more admirably in its integrity. If the Blessed Virgin be a door, says the Eternal Father, we will not that that door should be opened, for it is the Eastern Door, through which none may enter nor go forth [Ez. 44:1-2]. This closed door must be lined and strengthened with incorruptible wood—that is to say, we must give her a companion in her purity, the great St. Joseph, who must on that account surpass all the saints, nay even the Angels and the Cherubim, in that most admirable virtue of virginity, a virtue which makes him resemble the palm-tree, as we have already said.

 

Let us pass on to the second peculiarity and virtue which I have observed in the palm-tree. There is, I consider, a most exact resemblance and conformity between St. Joseph and the palm in the great virtue of holy humility. For although the palm is the prince of trees, it is nevertheless the humblest, and the proof of this is that it hides its flowers in the springtime, when all other trees are displaying theirs, and does not put them forth till the summer heat is at its height. The palm keeps its blossoms shut up in little bags in the form of a sheath; and this very well represents the difference between souls aiming at perfection and others who are not — the difference between the just and those who live according to the ways of the world. For worldly and earthly-minded men, who are swayed by human laws, directly any good thought occurs to them, or any virtue stirs and animates them, become restlessly eager to display it and publish it abroad to all whom they may meet. In doing this they run the same risk as trees which in the springtime are hasty in putting forth their blossoms — such as the almond-tree — for if by chance a frost surprises them, the blossoms perish and bear no fruit.

 

Those worldly men who so lightly and hastily, and in a spirit of pride and ambition, put forth all their blossoms in the springtime of this mortal life, always run the risk of being struck by a frost which destroys the fruit of their actions. On the contrary, the just always keep their blossoms closely shut up in the sheath of holy humility, and do not let them burst forth, if they can help it, till the time of great, heat, when God, the divine Sun of Justice will come into their hearts with all His mighty vivifying power, so that they may bring forth the sweet fruits of happiness and immortality. The palm does not, show its blossoms until the burning heat of the sun has burst the sheaths in which they are enclosed, and almost immediately afterwards its fruit suddenly appears.  So is it with the souls of the just; for they keep their blossoms – that is, their virtues – hidden under the veil of humility until death, when Our Lord suffers them to burst forth and be seen by all, being speedily followed by their fruits.

 

Oh, how faithful in this was the great Saint of whom we are speaking! Words fail when we try to express the perfection of this fidelity; for consider in what poverty and abjection he lived throughout his whole life; and what great virtue and dignity he kept concealed beneath that same poverty and abjection! What a dignity to be the guardian of Our Lord, and not only that, but to be even His reputed father, to be the husband of His most holy Mother! Truly, I doubt not that the Angels, wondering and adoring, came thronging in countless multitudes to that poor workshop to admire the humility of him who guarded that dear and divine Child, and laboured at his carpenter's trade to support the Son and the Mother, who were committed to his care.

 

There is no doubt, my dear sisters, that St. Joseph was more valiant than David and wiser than Solomon; nevertheless, seeing him so humbly working in his carpenter's shop, who would have imagined (unless enlightened supernaturally) that he was endowed by God with such marvellous gifts, so closely and carefully did he keep them concealed! But what must not his wisdom have been, seeing that God committed to his charge His all-glorious Son and chose him to be his guardian! If earthly princes consider it a matter of so much importance to select carefully a tutor fit for their children, think you that the Eternal God would not, in His almighty power and wisdom, choose from out of the whole of His creation the most perfect man living to be the guardian of His divine and most glorious Son, the Prince of heaven and earth? There is, then, no doubt at all that St. Joseph was endowed with all gifts and graces required by the charge which the Eternal Father willed to commit to him, over all the domestic and temporal concerns of Our Lord, and the guidance of his family, which was composed of three persons only, representing to us the mystery of the most holy and adorable Trinity. Not that there is any real comparison in this matter excepting as regards Our Lord, Who is one of the Persons of the most blessed Trinity, for the others were but creatures; yet still we may say that it was a trinity on earth representing in some sort the most holy Trinity. Mary, Jesus, and Joseph — Joseph, Jesus, and Mary — a trinity worthy indeed to be honoured and greatly esteemed!

 

You understand, then, how exalted was the dig­nity of St. Joseph, and how full he was of all virtue. And yet you see how deeply he was abased and humbled, more than we can ever say or imagine. One instance alone is sufficient to prove this; he went into his own country and to his own town of Bethlehem, and, as far as we know, ho alone was refused admittance into any of the inns, so that he was constrained to retire, and to conduct his most chaste Spouse into a stable among oxen and asses [Lk. 2:4-7]. Oh, to what an extremity of abjection and humiliation was ho not reduced! His humility also, as St. Bernard explains[4], was the cause of his wishing to quit Our Lady when he saw that she was with child; for St. Bernard says that he spoke thus to himself: “Ah! What is this? I know that she is a virgin, for we have together made a vow to keep our virginity and purity intact — a vow which nothing would induce her to break; yet I see that she is with child. How can it be that maternity is found in virginity, and that virginity does not hinder maternity? O my God! Must not this be that glorious Virgin of whom the Prophets declare that she shall conceive and be the Mother of the Messiah? [Is. 7:14].  Oh, if this is so, God forbid that I should remain with her — I, who am so unworthy of such an honour! Better far that I should quit her secretly on account of my unworthiness, and that I should dwell no longer in her company."  What admirable humility! It was the same feeling which stirred St. Peter when he was in the boat with Our Lord and had seen His almighty power manifested in the great draught of fishes, following instantly upon their obeying His command to cast their nets into the sea; a feeling of overwhelming humility making him cry out: Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man [Lk. 5:3-8], unworthy to be with Thee. "I know," he seems to say, "that if I throw myself into the sea I shall perish, but Thou Who art Almighty canst walk without danger upon the waters, therefore I entreat Thee to depart from me, rather than that I should depart from Thee." But if St. Joseph was careful to keep his virtues safely concealed under the shelter of holy humility, he was especially so with regard to the precious pearl of his virginity.  For this reason he consented to be married, in order that no one might be aware of it, and that under the veil of holy marriage he might lead a still more hidden life.  So, too, all men and women who wish to live a life of perfect chastity and virginity, are taught that this is not enough, and avails little if they are not also humble, locking up this treasure of purity in the precious casket of humility.  If they fail to do this, they will be like the foolish virgins who, for want of humility and merciful charity, were shut out from the marriage feast of the Bridegroom, and were thus constrained to be guests only at the marriage feasts of earth, where the counsel given by the heavenly Bridegroom is not observed. He says [Lk. 14:8,10] — thus inculcating the practice of humility — "Going or being invited to the marriage feast, take the Invest place. "Thus we see how necessary humility is for the preservation of virginity, since, undoubtedly, none will be admitted to the heavenly banquet — that marriage feast which God prepares for Virgins in the celestial kingdom — unless they take with them this virtue.

 

We do not keep precious things, especially such as sweet-smelling ointments, uncovered and exposed to the air, for not only would their perfume waste itself and evaporate, but also flies would spoil them and make them lose their price and value. So too the souls of the just, fearing to lose the price and value of their good works, lock them up generally in a box, but not in a common one, rather in a box of alabaster, like precious ointment, such as that which St. Mary Magdalene poured upon the sacred Head of our divine Lord, when He restored her to a virginity, not indeed essential, but repaired. This is sometimes the most excellent kind, being acquired and reestablished by penance, whereas that which is wholly unblemished is, or may be, accompanied by less humility. This alabaster box is, then, humility, in which we, imitating Our Lady and St. Joseph, ought to lock up our virtues and all that can make us esteemed by men, and be content to please God and remain hidden under the blessed veil of self-humiliation; we must wait, as we have said, until God Himself shall come to take us into the place of safety, which is life eternal, and shall Himself manifest our virtues for His own honour and glory.

 

But what more perfect humility can be imagined than that of St. Joseph?  I put aside that of Our Lady, for we have already said that St. Joseph received a great increase of all virtues by the reflection of those of the Blessed Virgin.  He had a very great share in the divine treasure, Our Lord and Master, which he guarded in his house, and yet he behaved so meekly and humbly that it appeared as if he had no part in it. Yet no one can doubt that the holy Child, being of St. Joseph's family, and the Son of his own Spouse, belonged to him more than to any other excepting Our Blessed Lady.  If a dove (to render the comparison more suitable to the purity of the Saints of whom I am speaking) carried in her beak a date which she let fall into a garden, would you not say that the palm-tree which sprang up from the date belonged to the owner of the garden?  Well, if that is so, who can doubt that the Holy Ghost, like a holy Dove, having let fall this divine date into the enclosed and shut-up garden of the Blessed Virgin, a garden sealed [Cant. 4:12] and hedged in on all sides by the sacred vow of virginity and immaculate chastity, which belonged to St. Joseph as the bride to her husband — who can doubt, I repeat, that this divine palm-tree, which bears fruits of immortal nourishment, belongs most truly to St. Joseph, who yet, instead of becoming prouder on that account, becomes more humble ?

 

How good it is to see the reverence and respect of all our Saint's dealings and intercourse both with the Mother and the Son! If he had for a moment wished to quit the Mother, not then fully understanding the greatness of his dignity, with what admiration and profound self-abasement was he not afterwards overwhelmed when he saw himself so much honoured by Our Lord and Our Lady, who actually obeyed his will and did only what he commanded! This, indeed, is a thing beyond comprehension, and we must therefore pass on to the third property we remark in the palm — namely, a marvellous union of courage, constancy, and strength — virtues which are pre-eminently found in our Saint.

 

The palm has a strength, courage, and even constancy far beyond all other trees, therefore it takes the highest rank among them.  The palm shows its strength in this, that the more it is laden, the more it shoots up and the higher it grows; which is quite unlike all other trees, and indeed all other things, for the more heavily they are laden, the more they bow down to the earth.  The palm, however, shows its strength and constancy, never bending down, whatever load is placed upon it.  It is its instinct to shoot upwards, and nothing can prevent it from doing so. It shows its valour in its sword-shaped foliage, and seems, therefore, to have as many weapons of defence as it has leaves.

 

Certainly St. Joseph is most justly said to resemble the palm, for he was always constant, persevering, strong, and valiant. There is a great difference between these four virtues. We call a man constant when he remains firm, and prepared to Buffer the assaults of the enemy, without surprise or loss of courage during the combat. Perseverance, however, has chiefly to do with a certain weariness of mind which comes upon us when we have suffered a long time, and this weariness is as powerful an enemy as we can meet with. Now, perseverance enables a man so to disregard this enemy that he gains the victory over it by continual calmness and submission to the will of God. Strength makes a man vigorously resist the attacks of his enemies. And valour is a virtue which makes us not only hold ourselves in readiness to fight or to offer re­sistance when the occasion presents itself, but also to attack the enemy at the moment when he least expects it.

 

Now, our glorious St. Joseph was endowed with all these virtues, and practised them marvellously well. As regards his constancy, did he not display it wonderfully when, seeing Our Lady with child, and not knowing how that could be, his mind was tossed with distress, perplexity, and trouble? Yet, in spite of all, he never complained, he was never harsh or ungracious towards his holy Spouse, but remained just as gentle and respectful in his demeanour as he had ever been. But what valour and strength did he not display in the victory which he gamed over the two greatest enemies of man, the devil and the world? And that by the practice of a most perfect humility, as we have said, throughout the whole course of his life. The devil, who for want of humility, and because he would not accept it for his inseparable companion, was driven out of heaven and cast down into hell, is so great an enemy to the lowly virtue, that there is no artifice or in­vention he will not use to make men fall away from it — so much the more because it is a virtue which renders them infinitely pleasing to God. We may, therefore, well say: "Valiant and strong is the man who, like St. Joseph, perseveres in humility; he will be conqueror at once of the devil and of the world, which is full of ambition, vanity, and pride."

 

As regards perseverance, which overcomes that secret enemy of our souls; weariness and dejection under the continued assaults of humbling, painful circumstances — ill fortune, as we say — and the thou­sand accidents and misadventures of daily life, how greatly was the Saint tried in this way by God and man in his journey into Egypt!    The Angel commanded him to set forth immediately and to take Our Lady and the Holy Child into that country [Mt. 2:13, 14].  Instantly, without a moment’s delay, without even a word, he obeys. He does not ask: "Where shall I go? What road shall I take?  How shall we be fed? Who will receive us there?"  With his tools on his back, so that he may earn his poor livelihood and that of his family in the sweat of his brow, he sots forth on his journey. How heavily this dejection and distress of mind, of which we have spoken, must have oppressed him, since the Angel had not told him how long a time he must remain in Egypt, and he could not settle down in any fixed abode, not knowing when he might be commanded to return.

 

St. Paul greatly admired the obedience of Abraham [Heb. 9:8-9], when God commanded him to leave his country [Gen. 12:1] without telling him in what direction he should go. The Patriarch   did not reply: "Lord, Thou hast bid me go forth; tell me only if I shall pass through the South gate or through the North?” but instantly set out and went whither the Spirit of God conducted him.  How much more shall we not admire the perfect obedience of St. Joseph! The Angel did not tell him how long he was to remain in Egypt, and he did not inquire. He remained there for the space of five years, as is generally believed, without asking any question as to his return, secure that He who had commanded his departure would also command his return, and he remained ready always to obey the divine voice. He was in a land not only strange, but hostile to the Israelites, inasmuch as the Egyptians resented the fact of their having escaped from their tyranny, and also of their having been the cause of many of their nation being drowned in the depths of the Red Sea, when in pursuit of them. I leave you, therefore, to imagine how great must have been St. Joseph’s desire to return, on account of the continual fear in which ho lived among the Egyptians. The anxiety, too, of not knowing when he might depart, must greatly have afflicted and tormented his poor heart. Yet he remained always himself, always gentle, tranquil, and persevering in his submission to the good pleasure of God, to Whose guidance he yielded implicitly, for as he was a just man [Mt. 1:19] his will was always absolutely united and conformed to the will of God.

 

To be just is, indeed, to be perfectly united to the divine will, and to be always conformed to it, in all sorts of events, whether prosperous or adverse. That St. Joseph was this, no one can doubt. See how the Angel moulds him like wax in his hands! He tells him that he must go into Egypt; he goes. He commands him to return into his own country; he returns. God wills that he should be always poor, which is one of the heaviest trials that Ho can lay upon him, and he submits lovingly, not for a time only, but for his whole life. And what, poverty — despised, rejected, needy poverty!

 

That voluntary poverty which is one of the vows of Religious is very mild, since it does not prevent them from receiving and taking things necessary to them; forbidding and depriving them only of superfluities. But the poverty of St. Joseph, of Our Lord and of Our Lady, was not like this, for although it too was voluntary, and although they loved it dearly, it was nevertheless abject, moan, despised, and most needy; for every one looked upon this Saint as a poor carpenter [Mt. 13:55; Mk. 6:3]. Though ho toiled with the most affectionate zeal for the support of his little family, yet he could not earn enough to prevent their wanting many necessary things.  Then, as the years went on, and his poverty and abjection continued, he still submitted always most humbly to the will of God. He never allowed himself to be conquered or subdued by dejection of mind, which yet, no doubt, constantly attacked him, but always increased and grew in more per­fect submission, as in all other virtues. So, too, it was with Our Lady, who day by day gained an increase of virtues and perfections from contact with her all-holy Son, Who Himself being unable to grow in any perfection — since He was, from the moment of His conception, what He is and will be eternally [Heb. 13:8] — bestowed upon the Holy Family, of which He deigned to be a member, this grace of continual growth and advance in perfection. Our Lady drew hers from His own divine Goodness, and St. Joseph received it, as we have said, through the intervention of Our Lady.

 

What more remains to be said, except that we can never for a moment doubt that this glorious Saint has great influence in heaven with Him Who raised him there in body and in soul — a fact which is the more probable because we have no relic of that body left to us here below!  Indeed, it seems to me that no one can doubt this as a truth, for how could He Who had boon so obedient to St. Joseph, all through His life, refuse him this grace? Doubtless when Our Lord descended into Limbo He was accosted by St. Joseph in words like these: "Oh my Lord, remember, if it please Thee, that when Thou didst come down from heaven to earth, I received Thee into my house and my family, and that at the moment of Thy birth I received Thee into mine arms. Now that Thou art returning to heaven, take me there with Thee; I received Thee into my family, receive me now into Thine. I have carried Thee in my arms, take me into Thine; and as I carefully nourished and protected Thee in Thy mortal life, take care of me and lead mo into life immortal." And if it is true, as we are bound to believe, that in virtue of the Blessed Sacrament which we receive, our bodies will come to life again in the day of judgment [Jn. 6:55], how could we doubt that Our Lord raised up to heaven, in body and soul, the glorious St. Joseph? For he had the honour and the grace of carrying Him so often in his blessed arms, those arms in which Our Lord took so much pleasure. Oh, how many and what tender kisses His sacred lips bestowed on him, to reward him for his toil and labours!

 

St. Joseph is, then, undoubtedly in heaven in body and soul. Oh, how happy shall we be if we can merit a share in his holy intercession! for nothing will be refused to him either by Our Lady or by her glorious Son. If we have confidence in him, he will obtain for us growth in all virtues, but especially in those which, as we have seen, he possesses in a higher degree than any other man. These are great purity of body and mind, humility, constancy, courage, and perseverance. These virtues will make us victorious in this life over our enemies, and through them we shall merit the grace to enjoy in eternal life the rewards prepared for those who shall imitate the example given by St. Joseph whilst in this life — a reward which will be nothing less than eternal happiness, in which we shall enjoy the unclouded vision of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Blessed be God!

 

 

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[1] Sermon preached by our Blessed Father on the Feast of St. Joseph.

[2] Cf. Pliny, Hist. Nat. (Bk. Xii. C. vii. Al. iv.), cum notis Variorum.

[3] determined.

[4] Homilia, II., super missus est, para. 14.

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