On this Wednesday after the 2nd Sunday of Easter, many who use the traditional calendar will opt to celebrate St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church. This was/is a moveable feast. The Mass formulary is essentially preserved, mutatis mutandis, in the Votive Mass of St. Joseph in the 1962 Missale Romanum.
The feast, called a Solemnity by Bl. Ildefonso Schuster, was established by Pius IX who at the time of the occupation of Rome by the troops of Victor Emmanuel, called on the protection of the Church by St. Joseph.
We might do the same today, in the time of another “Victor Emmanuel”.
If the Lord still exerts His care over the Church, why would not St. Joseph also be zealous to defend Christ’s Body the Church?
St. Joseph has special care of the dying. He gave up the ghost surely in the care of Jesus and Mary. What a grace. Would that we will have that grace as well. We should habituate to pray for it on a daily, even more often, basis.
Eventually, Pius XII founded on 1 May the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, against the encroachment of Communism. By doing so, St. Joseph was no longer moveable. Also, it displaced Sts. Philip of James, Apostles.
Sometimes I have pondered why Joseph disappears from view in the Gospels, surely because of his death. The most reasonable explanation is that Joseph was the true heir of the Davidic throne. As such, Joseph was the true King of the Jews, the Son of David. However, it was fitting that Christ have this title and role as he entered into His public ministry. He had to be the new David. Therefore, according to divine providence, Joseph remains in the background, having conveyed his Holy Family to safety at least three times, and having conveyed the Davidic title to Christ.
Holy St. Joseph! Pray for us!
Loading ...
Aw, dear St. Joseph. I love him so much. I was blessed to go to a mass of this feast yesterday. I prayed for you there, Fr. Z. p.s. Please say a prayer for my son named after St. Joseph. He’s been having such a horrible time for several years now.