Chapter
XXVII: JOSEPH MOST HOLY:
CERTAIN ASPECTS OF HIS LIFE AND PRIESTLY MINISTRY.
1. We dedicate this
chapter to the exaltation of the glories of Divine Saint Joseph, who was
predestined from eternity in the mind of God for the most high dignity of
Virginal Spouse of Mary and Virginal Father of Jesus, and to be,
consequently, Head of the Holy Family.
These incomparable prerogatives, which constitute him member of the
August Trinity on earth and raise him above all other creatures, imply his
priestly character and universal mediation between Mary and the rest of
creation.
2. Although Saint
Joseph's ministry was limited by divine decree to the Work of Reparation
and Redemption, that Just Man was nevertheless taken account of in the
Work of the whole of Creation, since God, considering the dignity which
would correspond to Joseph Most Holy, and through a sublime providence,
accomplished His works in such a way that all of them together, with the
exception of Christ and Mary, should not reach the perfection of the one
who would one day be His representative on earth with respect to His
Incarnate Son.
3. Once the Redemption
of the human race had been decreed in Paradise, Divine Joseph's universal
mediation, although he was not to exist for thousands of years, was
necessary in the anticipated application of the fruits of Calvary, since
in His inscrutable plans God ordained that the Work of Redemption also be
dependent upon the will of him who would be the Virginal Spouse of the
Mother of the Redeemer, for Saint Joseph's priestly fiat was an
indispensable condition for the Incarnation of the Infinite Victim, which
would make Redemption possible. Besides,
the most holy Patriarch exercised his priestly mission on Calvary by
entrusting the whole of the finite sacrifice of the Church up until that
moment to Saint John, thus making possible the anticipated application of
the merits of the Cross. That is, those merits were applied in advance, the future
entrusting of sacrifices by Saint Joseph having been foreseen in the
divine plans.
4. We move on to
consider the exalted figure of Saint Joseph during his life.
It has already been defined that Saint Joseph's parents were Saint
Jacob and Saint Rachel, both direct descendants of King David.
In the apostle Saint Matthew's genealogy of Jesus Christ we find
Saint Joseph's father Jacob, who in turn is son of Mathan and descendant
of the house of David by the line of King Solomon.
Here is the sacred text: "Mathan begot Jacob.
And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary..." (Matt. I,
15-16).
5. The Italian mystic,
Maria Cecilia Baij, Benedictine abbess in the eighteenth century, on whom
we shall partly base our doctrine in this chapter, speaks in her
revelations received from Saint Joseph himself, of certain details
concerning the life and virtues of the most Holy Patriarch's parents.
She says that Saint Jacob was from Nazareth and his wife, Saint
Rachel, from Bethlehem. Moreover,
once they were married, they both went to live in Nazareth.
Therefore this Holy Council inter-prets that the first part of the
wedding ceremony took place in Bethlehem and the second part in the town
where the husband resided. Saint
Joseph's parents were, then, a comfortably well-off family, and they had
houses and other properties in their res-pective towns of origin, for
which reason they lived for spells in one place as in another.
6. In chapter XIX of
this Treatise we defined the doctrine of the pre-sanctification of Saint
Jacob and Saint Rachel, as well as their affiliation to the Essenes.
The mystic Cecilia Baij gives us an outpouring of praise in honour
of Saint Joseph's august parents and presents them as outstanding models
of spouses, eminent for their piety, charity, spirit of sacrifice, austere
life, conjugal love and above all for their absolute self-surrender to
God. She goes on to say that
their holy matrimony lasted many years without issue, due to infertility,
since divine Providence ordained that their son Saint Joseph be implored
for by prayer. Both spouses
prayed intensely for the Most High to grant them the fertility so much
longed for, and to this end they made frequent visits to the Temple; and
God heard their petitions.
7. This Holy Council,
inspired by the Holy Ghost, completes the above teaching of the Italian
mystic with the following account: Whilst Saint Joseph's parents were in
prayer in the Temple, they were startled by a most powerful light that
pene-trated their being and transported them in vision to the Tabernacle.
In front of the Sancta Sanctorum was the figure of a man of most
handsome appearance who shone with extraordinary brilliance. That celestial Figure was the Most Divine Soul of Christ
under human appearance, in Whose hands could be seen the Chalice that
contained the Sacrament of the Triple Benediction.
On His right was the figure of a woman of unspeakable beauty, Who
was the Divine Soul of Mary under human appearance.
Both heavenly personages were attired in royal garments
indescribably rich and majestic, and were escorted by innumerable angels.
The Most Divine Soul of Christ first blessed the Holy Spouses with
the mysterious Sacrament and afterwards imposed the Sacred Chalice in
which It was contained upon Saint Jacob's head, anointing him King; since
by right he was King of the Chosen People.
The Most Divine heavenly Figure told them that God had heard their
petitions, by which they had become worthy to have a son predestined for
high mysteries, whose sanctity would overshadow the heavenly spirits and
who would be praised forever by mankind; that they should call him Joseph,
since the Most High would raise him to the dignity of Father, Spouse and
King. Afterwards, the light
which covered the Spouses vanished and both again found themselves in the
place where they were praying.
After they had returned to their home in Bethlehem and the marriage
act had taken place, the promise in the vision was fulfilled and Saint
Rachel was found with child. This Holy Council rejects all those revelations and writings
not in accord with the doctrine given above nor with the exalted virtues
of the most worthy parents of Joseph Most Holy.
8. This Holy Council
extols the grandeur of the most august figure of Joseph Most Holy by
solemnly proclaiming the exceptional prerogative with which the Most High
deigned to honour and exalt him at the moment of his conception, which
took place on 20 October in the year of Creation 5171: God One and Three,
considering the most high dignity of Saint Joseph, and through a most
singular privilege, excluded this Most Just Man from part of the divine
decree of Redemption by his being conceived with the imperfect grace of
justification. By virtue of
that grace he at no time inherited Adam's mortal sin nor the indwelling of
Satan which it implies, so that Saint Joseph, in this respect, was
Irredeemed; since, conceived in the friendship of God and therefore never
subject to the infernal enemy, he was in no need of being redeemed or
rescued from his malign power. Moreover,
through that exalted prerogative, Divine Joseph became vinculated to the
Mystical Soul of the Church at the very moment of his Concep-tion.
9. On the other hand
this Holy Council teaches that the Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph was
indeed subject in part to the divine decree of Redemption, insofar as he
inherited in his soul at conception the stain of original sin, which is
the absence of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, since the absence of the
Light of the Paraclete leaves the soul in supernatural darkness, and that
is called "stain". In
that respect Saint Joseph had to be redeemed, that is to say rescued, from
that consequence of origi-nal sin, a grace which he obtained later when he
was presanctified. We
conclude: Saint Joseph is Irredeemed in that he did not inherit Adam's
mortal sin nor the indwelling of -Satan; but insofar as he did inherit the
stain of that sin, which is the absence of the indwelling of the Holy
Ghost, he is indeed redeemed.
10. Saint Joseph's
presanctification took place three months after his conception, a truth
defined by His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII and stated in the Pal-marian
Creed. The mystic Cecilia
Baij speaks in her revelations of the vision of an angel that the Holy
Spouses Jacob and Rachel each had at the same time in dreams, and whom we
affirm to be the Archangel Saint Gabriel, who told them that the son to be
born to them would have the grace to see and to know the promised Messias,
confirming as well the name they should give him, and that he would be
great in God's eyes. That
night three stars of extraordinary brightness appeared over Jacob's and
Rachel's house. This Holy
Council, interpreting this passage, affirms that the apparition of the
angel immediately preceded the presanctification of the future Virginal
Father of the Redeemer, and that the three stars were the Most Blessed
Trinity under three human figures Who
descended to the house of Joseph's parents at the instant of his
presancti-fication on 20 January in the year of Creation 5172.
11. This Holy Council,
moved by the Holy Ghost, enlarges upon the details of the aforementioned
apparition and affirms the following doctrine on the presancti-fication of
Saint Joseph, by virtue of which he was cleansed from the stain of
original sin through the indwelling of the Holy Ghost: The Most Divine
Soul of Christ under human appearance bore in His Hands the Chalice of
Melchisedech containing the Triple Benedic-tion.
The Divine Soul of Mary accompanied Him in bodily form.
The Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity blessed Joseph Most Holy
with the Chalice, presanctifying him: and at that same instant the Divine
Sacrament, without leaving the Sacred Vessel, transpierced Saint Joseph's
heart, consecrating him Priest; touched his lips anointing him Prophet;
and rested on his head, anointing and crowning him King.
The Infant Joseph, at the very instant of his presanctification,
made to God his vow of perpetual virginity, became espoused with the Souls
of Christ and Mary, was full of grace, and enjoyed the use of reason,
infused knowledge and other most high gifts, as for example the beatific
vision, which he enjoyed not only when he was presanctified, but also in
many other moments of his life. With
great joy did the Angelic Court venerate the Infant Joseph as its King,
and it intoned psalms of praise in his honour, glorifying God for having
formed such an exalted creature. At
various moments during his life, until the Imma-culate Conception of the
Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph was favoured with the material pre-sence of the
Triple Benediction in his heart, and the Divine Sacrament sanctified
pri-vileged persons from that excellent throne.
12. When Saint Joseph
was blessed by the Soul of Christ and became pre-sanctified, he received
in his soul a character similar to that of Baptism, and conse-quently a
common priesthood of the faithful similar to the one we receive in that
Sacrament. When we say similar, one must also understand that the
character as well as the priesthood are in lower degrees to those
corresponding to the Sacrament of Baptism.
This doctrine on Saint Joseph applies to the presanctified and
sanctified of the Old Testament, since they possessed a character and a
common priesthood similar to those received in Baptism.
The presanctified and sanctified who had the opportunity to be
baptized because they lived in Christ's time, received the character and
common priest-hood proper to the Sacrament, and in this way the character
and common priesthood which they already possessed in lower degrees were
perfected and made complete. Moreover,
at the very instant when the Triple Benediction transpierced his heart,
Saint Joseph received his singular Priesthood, which is the very
privileged participation of his soul in the Souls of Christ and Mary, as
we shall explain later.
13. This Holy Council
clarifies the following doctrine: When we say in the course of this
Treatise that various mysteries took place in "an instant", one
must understand an instant
materially indivisible, and consequently that everything took place at the
same time, that is, in one only instant.
There is an identical meaning when we say "an instant divided
into instants" since the division into instants does not amount to
more instants, rather it continues to be one only instant.
For that reason it must be understood in both cases that we are
treating of one only instant in which the events are ordered mysteriously
by God's infinite Wisdom. For
example, all the things that were made by God on the Day of Creation were
created in a single instant, according to the order in which they were
conceived in His Mind to be created.
14. In his
presanctification the Infant Joseph was filled with all virtues and graces
to so excellent a degree that after the Divine Mary he surpasses all the
angels and saints together. Those
gifts continued to grow in the measure in which his most perfect love of
God intensified, united to his sufferings and other heroic acts during his
life on earth; but he did not acquire merit for himself alone, but also,
in a special way, for all of mankind.
The innumerable merits acquired by Saint Joseph during his earthly
pilgrimage won for him after his death, and later on in his sweet transit
or Assumption into Heaven, higher degrees of essential glory, with the
conse-quent increase in his most perfect love of God.
When the Messianic Kingdom arrives, the essential glory of Saint
Joseph will become even more intense when he is enthroned in the Heart of
Mary. The glorification of
Saint Joseph will culminate in indescribable degrees of happiness and love
when the Nuptials of the Lamb take place and he is enthroned directly in
the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
15. With respect to
Saint Joseph's body, we affirm that during the first three months after
his conception it was subject to development in the maternal womb, but on
being presanctified it became perfect in every way and acquired an
indescribable beauty which after Mary surpasses that of all other human
beings. Moreover, Saint
Joseph's body, although not glorious during the earthly pilgrimage, was
favoured with glorious qualities; some of a permanent nature, such as, for
example, freedom from ill-ness, as well as from ordinary organic functions
in the elimination of food and other secretions, which were miraculously
replaced by an odourless, and often fragrant, perspiration; however, at
certain moments of his life he enjoyed other qualities, such as for
example, the manifestation of the radiance of glorious bodies: at his
presanctifi-cation, at his birth and at other outstanding events.
Such privileges were a consequence of his very singular espousal
with the Divine Souls, and corresponded to him who was to be Head of the
Holy Family. As distinct from
Jesus and Mary, Joseph Most Chaste was sub-ject to the need to take food
in order to survive, but by means of a special grace he -often subsisted
without nutrition when undertaking rigorous fasts.
16. Another of the
most singular gifts that enriched the soul and body of Mary's Virginal
Spouse after his presanctification
was that of being exempt from fomes peccati, that is, from all
concupiscence. Nevertheless Satan dauntlessly lay in wait for that most Just
Man by divine permission, loosing all his infernal strength against him,
except in chastity, but he failed to procure the least influence or
alteration in his soul or body; for Saint Joseph was absolutely
impregnable against all diabolical wiles, since his powerful foot, in
union with Mary, crushed the serpent's head.
How-ever, his spiritual and bodily sufferings were necessary in
order to accomplish his mission as co-reparator and co-redeemer with Mary,
since Saint Joseph had nothing in himself to expiate, because as far as
personal fault was concerned he was Immaculate.
The Glorious Patriarch's impeccability was the singular privilege
of impeccancy in the highest degree, which was equivalent in grace to
intrinsic impeccability. Thus,
by divine providence, Saint Joseph was never able to sin either mortally
or venially, and was free of every kind of imperfection both in soul and
in body.
17. Although Joseph
Most Holy did not possess a glorious body, and as a consequence did not
possess the beatific vision by nature during his life on earth as Christ
and Mary did, nevertheless by virtue of his most high dignity of Virginal
Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Virginal Spouse of the Divine Mary he
was granted during his earthly pilgrimage the most high privilege of the
beatific vision in all his soul from the instant of his presanctification.
However, in order for him to be able to exercise the virtues of
faith and hope and acquire merit through expiation, the vision was veiled
for most of his life, though he conserved the graces proper to the
beatific contemplation which kept him in the fullness of his holiness at
each moment and in the immaculate perfection of his actions, and which
also preserved certain permanent glorious qualities in his body.
Moreover, each time he enjoyed the beatific vision he received yet
further increases in the love of God.
18. With respect to
the Most Holy Spouses Anne and Joachim, we teach also that by virtue of
their most high dignity as parents of Divine Mary and grandparents of Our
Lord Jesus Christ, they were granted, by a singular grace, the joy of the
beatific vision from the time of their presanctifications and during their
life on earth, but only in the higher part of their souls.
However, in order for them to be able to exer-cise the virtues of
faith and hope, and acquire merit through expiation in the higher part too
of their souls, that vision was suspended nearly all their life, though
they conserved those graces proper to the beatific contemplation which
kept them in the fullness of their very great holiness at each moment.
Consequently, as the grace of the beatific vision corresponding to
the Holy Spouses Anne and Joachim during their life affected only the
higher part of their souls, since they did not possess the grace of that
vision in the lower part, obviously their most holy bodies did not
parti-cipate in the beatific vision save for certain exceptions.
For that reason, although most holy and exempt from all
concupiscence and physical disorder, for being most
beautiful and most perfect, their bodies did not enjoy all the
qualities of Saint Joseph's body, without his being glorious either.
This does not mean that Saint Anne and Saint Joachim did not at
determined moments of their life enjoy the beatific vision in all their
soul, with the corresponding participation of their bodies; nor that
Joseph Most Holy, when he enjoyed the beatific vision, always possessed it
in all his soul, since sometimes it was only in the higher part.
19. By virtue of
infused knowledge Joseph Most Holy had full understanding of the most high
ministry for which he had been predestined by God, which was to be the
Eternal Father's Vicar in the heart of the Holy Family, Virginal Father of
the Redeemer, Most Chaste Spouse of the Divine Virgin Mary and Bosom
Friend of the Holy Ghost; and moreover that it required him to be
intimately associated, indispensably, to the Work of Reparation and
Redemption as Co-priest of Mary, his Divine Spouse.
The most holy Infant Joseph, from whom God in many moments of his
life suspended infused knowledge and other exalted gifts so that he might
exercise virtue in heroic degree, prepared himself from his mother's womb
through repeated sacrifices and prayers for the benefit of fallen
man-kind. But his desires to
suffer and to acquire merit through expiation with greater intensity moved
him to entreat of the Most High the grace to be more frequently deprived
of infused knowledge and other exalted gifts.
20. In chapter XXI of
the present Treatise we defined the doctrine of the infinite value of the
acts of Saint Joseph without need of the union of sacrifices realized by
Saint John on Calvary. We
examine this doctrine in greater depth: The Most High, fore-seeing the
exalted dignity and priestly ministry of Saint Joseph, endowed him with
super-abundant gifts and graces in his presanctification so that he could
be immaculate and most perfect in his works, and for these to be accepted
directly by God without having to await the union of sacrifices on the
Cross, participating, in these two aspects as well, in original justice.
This privilege of the value of Saint Joseph's acts is essentially
linked to his role of Universal Mediator, a mission which ended on Calvary
when he entrusted to Saint John the Evangelist the finite Sacrifice of the
Church past and present, with the following distinction: since the
sacrifices of Saint Joseph and the angels were united directly to the
Infinite Sacrifice of Christ and Mary, they were given over by Saint
Joseph on Calvary in order for that union to be perpetuated by Saint John;
all the other sacrifices past and present were given over by Saint Joseph
so as to be united to the Infinite Sacrifice of the Cross by Saint John.
Without the giving over of these sacrifices by Saint Joseph, their
perpetuation and union, respectively, realized by the apostle as a
ministerial priest, would not have been possible; since Saint John was the
mediator on Calvary for himself and for mankind up until that moment,
except for Saint Joseph. It
is obvious that Saint Joseph, as universal Father and Mediator of the
Church, had no need of a mediator inferior to himself, as is the
minis-terial priest.
Consequently, Joseph Most Holy had no need of the union of
sacrifices carried out by Saint John on Calvary, either in order to be
redeemed from the stain of Adam's sin or for his acts to acquire infinite
value, since all this took place through a most special and singular
application in advance of the merits of Christ and Mary on Calvary,
without need of the intervention and mediation of Saint John as
ministerial priest. Saint
Joseph's finite sacrifices acquired infinite value at the very instant
they were realized, when they were united by himself to the Sacrifice of
the Cross. All of this was in
virtue of his most singular espousal with the Souls of Christ and Mary and
in view of his most high dignity of Virginal Father of Jesus and Virginal
Spouse of Mary; for which he is due the prerogative of Universal Mediator.
21. We clarify the
concept of "the giving over of sacrifices" by Saint Joseph.
The ministerial priest in the state of grace embraces all the
sacrifices of the Church past, present and future in his mystical
sacerdotal heart, since he is an autho-rized minister.
But their possession is not for him to offer them up, nor to
perpetuate or unite them according to the case, as long as they are not
given over by Saint Joseph for that purpose; that is to say, as long as
Saint Joseph does not authorize it in Holy Mass, since that is what is
meant by "the giving over of sacrifices".
If, however, God forbid, the priest were unfortunately to be in
mortal sin, then, since he does not possess the finite sacrifice of the
Church in his heart, he needs not only Saint Joseph's autho-rization in
Holy Mass, but also to receive from him that finite sacrifice.
22. When his nine
month stay in the maternal womb had elapsed the divine Infant Joseph was
born resplendent and most beautiful, without his mother Saint Rachel
suffering the discomfort of the natural birth to which she was subject;
that was because at the moment of his birth her son manifested the
luminosity of bodies in the state of glory, thanks to which she was
enraptured in a most high ecstasy. Saint Joseph's birth took place in Bethlehem on the happy day
of 20 July in the year of Creation 5172.
23. Eight days after
his birth the parents of the holy Patriarch complied with the legal rite
of circumcision, and imposed on him the name of Joseph, which con-tains
profound and mysterious meanings: "he who grows",
"increases", and "is magnified".
Saint Joseph, who already was full of grace and most perfect love
of God, grew day by day, reaching unimaginable heights of charity and
perfection. Moreover, the
most high dignity of that most Just and Virginal Man became progressively
more exalted, since to his elevated Priesthood and other excelling
prerogatives received in his presanctifi-cation, was later united the
singular privilege of being the Legal and Virginal Spouse of the Mother of
God, of Whom he was already the beloved Mystical Spouse because of his
most singular espousal with the Divine Soul of Mary.
His exalted dignity on earth was crowned when the Eternal Father
delegated to him His Paternity over
the Incarnate Word, constituting him His Vicar with authority over Jesus
Christ, since Saint Joseph is the true Legal and Virginal Father of Jesus.
24. The sweet name of
Joseph has an even more profound and transcendental meaning, namely that
of Father, because it was chosen by the Most High to designate the man who
was to exercise Paternity over His Divine Son and the Church.
Saint Joseph's Patronage was applied in advance in the Old
Testament by virtue of his future universal Paternity over the Church,
which, by means of his singular Priesthood, he exercised from the time of
his presanctification. When
the Mystical Body of Mary was constituted, Saint Joseph exercised
Patronage over Its members, being the Neck of that Mystical Body, the Head
of which was Mary. From the Incarnation of the Word Saint Joseph exer-cised his
Paternity over the members of the Mystical Body of Christ not only through
his singular Priesthood, but in addition through his being the Legal and
Virginal Father of Jesus, Head of that Mystical Body.
Therefore Saint Joseph's Paternity over the Mystical Body of Christ
has a twofold basis: as Priest and as Father of Jesus. Finally, the Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph consummated his
Paternity on Calvary when he entrusted the finite sacrifice of the Church
to Saint John, before the Church was born of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus
and Mary. We conclude the
doctrine on the profound meaning of the sweet name of Joseph drawing
attention to the exaltation of the glories of the Most Holy Patriarch who
has been elevated more and more each day in the feeling of the Church, and
in the understanding of his very high dignity which is reaching its peak
in the present Pontificate de Gloria Olivae.
25. We further explain
the above doctrine on the giving over of sacri-fices on Calvary.
In order that the finite sacrifices of the vinculated in the Bosom
of Abraham and in Purgatory might be united to the Infinite Sacrifice of
Christ and Mary by Saint John, it was necessary that first those members
be sanctified. That occurred
at the very instant Christ expired, because when His Most Divine Soul,
with the Divine Soul of Mary, descended to the Bosom of Abraham and to
Purgatory, He communicated the Most Pure Drop of Blood to the vinculated
by means of His divine priestly ministry and in virtue of the application
in advance of the future union of sacrifices which would take place one
hour later through Saint John. The
reason why the vinculated were to be sanctified before the union of
sacrifices is based in that, although the imperfect grace of justification
gave their works value that was in some way supernatural, making them
meritorious, nevertheless they were not works which possessed value that
was perfectly supernatural, since they were not vivified by the Holy
Ghost; therefore they could not be united to the Infinite Sacrifice of
Christ and Mary whilst they were not made fully supernatural by
Sanctifying Grace. A
difference must be drawn between the supernatural or meritorious value of
the works and the degree of merit with which those works are realized.
However, the works realized by the vinculated in the state of
imperfect grace of justification
who were later condemned were not lost, since they were meritor-ious.
And although there was no possibility of the members who realized
them being sanctified, for they were in Hell, those works were
nevertheless made fully supernatural, to the benefit of the Church, at the
very instant Christ expired.
26. The mystic Cecilia
Baij refers in her revelations to the legal rite of Purification of Saint
Rachel, as well as to the Presentation of the most holy Infant Saint
Joseph in the Temple by his parents, forty days after his birth.
That offering to God was made by a priest whom we interpret to be
the holy prophet Simeon. He,
illu-minated by the Most High, knew of the profound mystery hidden in the
person of Divine Joseph. The
holy priest felt himself transported with unspeakable joy at the presence
of the future Spouse of the Virgin Mary and Virginal Father of the
Redeemer, and said to the parents of the holy Patriarch that the child
would be the consolation of all those who had contact with him, that is to
say, who took refuge in his protection.
27. Several days later
Saint Jacob and Saint Rachel departed for Nazareth with their holy son,
and from there went on fervent pilgrimage to Mount Carmel, See of the
Essenes, where the Infant Joseph was consecrated in a special way to the
Virgin Mother of God to come by the Supreme Pontiff of the Essenes.
Afterwards they returned to Nazareth, where Saint Joseph spent most
of his life.
28. In the revelations
of the mystic Cecilia Baij we find factual details of Saint Joseph's
childhood and youth. He was
an only child who lived under obedience to, and was educated by his
parents, separated from the world, absorbed in divine con-templation, and
who undertook rigorous fasts. We
add that Saint Joseph accelerated the Immaculate Conception of his future
Spouse, Mary, with those heroic acts.
Cecilia Baij goes on to say that when the Holy Man was eighteen
years of age his mother died, and shortly afterwards his father; and that
in order to live in voluntary poverty he divided his property among the
poor and gave part of his inheritance to the Temple in Jerusalem, next to
which he later worked as a carpenter.
This Holy Council affirms that Saint Joseph lived there as a member
of the Carmelite Third Order and besides, that he kept the house which he
possessed in Nazareth as part of his inheritance.
29. When Saint Joseph
arrived at the Temple six years had already elapsed since the Most Holy
Virgin Mary had dwelt there. Cecilia
Baij says that between both there existed a mysterious spiritual
communication directed to entreat of God the prompt coming of the Messias.
This Holy Council adds that Saint Joseph already venerated Mary as
Mother of the future Redeemer; and She rejoiced at becoming the Virginal
Spouse of that most Just Man since, because of that, God's will would be
fulfilled. Neither of the two
ever saw each other personally until the very day of their Espousal.
30. We now explain the
doctrine on the priestly ministry of Saint Joseph, whose Priesthood, as
defined in the Palmarian Creed, is inferior to the Priesthood of the
Divine Virgin Mary, superior to the Ministerial Priesthood and greatly
superior to the Common Priesthood of the faithful.
By divine decree Saint Joseph's mission in the Work of Salvation is
absolutely necessary since, although his sacerdotal activity did not enter
the very essence of the bloody Sacrifice of Calvary, as neither does it
enter the essence of the unbloody Sacrifice which perpetuates it,
nevertheless his action on Calvary was indispensable, as it continues to
be also in Holy Mass. This
doctrine perfectly resembles Saint Joseph's sacerdotal activity in the
Incarnation of the Divine Word, in which he did not enter the essence of
the mystery but where his fiat was indispen-sable.
At the very moment of his presanctification the Glorious Patriarch
was invested with the most high dignity of his singular and unique
Priesthood, which is the very privileged participation of his soul in the
Divine Souls of Christ and Mary. At
that same instant his Priesthood was extended to his body and he received
in his priestly Heart the mysterious Light in the form of a Cross, which
is the Soul of Christ, and from that very instant the finite sacrifice of
the Church past and present dwelt in him, as well as the members who
belonged to the Church's invisible aspect - namely the angels, the souls
of the sanctified in the Bosom of Abraham and those of Purgatory, and the
sanctified of the Church Militant in the state of grace, and all in virtue
of the indwelling in them of the Souls of Christ and Mary.
The imperfectly justified of the Church Expectant and the Church
Suffering, as well as the members of the Church Militant possessing the
imperfect grace of justification, were vinculated to the Priestly Heart of
Saint Joseph on possessing the reflection of the Souls of Christ and Mary
in their souls. These
sacrifices and members were surrendered to him by Abraham from the Limbo
of the Just where he dwelt, without that Patriarch losing their
indwelling; thus ending his mission as principal trustee.
The new members who were sanctified or vinculated after Saint
Joseph's presanctification also became enthroned and vinculated,
respec-tively, to his most Chaste Priestly Heart.
31. Once Christ
conferred the Priesthood on the Apostles in the Cenacle, the enthronement
of the faithful in Joseph's most holy Priestly Heart is by means of the
ministerial priest, who from that moment exercises mediation between Saint
Joseph and the whole Church. That
is, once then are enthroned in the heart of the ministerial priest they
become so enthroned in the Heart of the most holy Patriarch at the same
time, in virtue of the mysterious Light in the form of a Cross present in
his most Chaste Priestly Heart. When
the Messianic Kingdom arrives Glorious Saint Joseph will surrender to Mary
all the members present in his mystical Heart, who will each be enthroned
direc-tly in the Immaculate Heart of his Virginal Spouse.
As well as this direct enthrone-ment, all members of the Church
shall be enthroned in Mary by concomitance when Saint Joseph becomes
enthroned in Her.
32. On the other hand,
Joseph Most Holy dwells in the heart of the minis-terial priest in a
pre-eminent way surpassing all the other faithful of the Church in the
state of grace, since in the priest's heart is present the whole Mystical
Body of Christ, of which Saint Joseph, together with the Divine Mary, are
the Neck which unites the members with Christ, invisible Head of the
Church.
33. We crown the above
doctrine on Saint Joseph by reaffirming the need of his mediation in order
to reach the Divine Mary. So
indispensable is Saint Joseph for salvation that all those who
deliberately reject his intervention have absolutely no possibility of
being saved as long as they maintain that attitude, since it obstructs the
channel of grace between Divine Mary and mankind, - Saint Joseph.
That is the deep significance to be found in the prerogative of the
Universal Mediation of the most holy Patriarch, which cannot be considered
a mere intercession like that of the other saints, but is rather a
Mediation that is absolutely indispensable in the Work of Salvation, since
he is the Church's Universal Shepherd.
He brings us to the Staff of Mary, the Divine Shepherdess, who in
turn leads us to the Supreme Shepherd, Christ Jesus.
Besides, we shall discover the safest way to climb to the heights
of holiness by confidently placing ourselves in the most chaste hands of
this exalted Father and Doctor of the Church, Saint Joseph, who will teach
us to love and serve his Divine Spouse the Virgin Mary more worthily.
In Her we shall find a maternal Heart completely open to all those
who, ardently longing for perfection, are presented to Her by Her exalted
spouse Saint Joseph. Once in
the most loving bosom of our Queen and Heavenly Mother, how easy it shall
be for us to reach the sweet and consoling Arms of Christ, since Mary will
entrust us even more purified to Her Divine son, covering us with Her
mantle of com-passion and filling us with superabundant graces for
acquiring the holiness we have so much desired.
And when we are thus closely united to our Divine Master, He will,
as Good Shepherd, introduce us into the fold of eternal happiness where we
shall reign with the Heavenly Father, enjoying the unimaginable delights
to be found in the con-templation of His Divine Majesty.
TABLE
WITH DOGMATICAL DEFINED DATES
Year
of the Years
before
World
Christ
5171
28
20 October
Conception of Saint
Joseph
5172
27
20 January
Presanctification
of Joseph Most Holy
5172
27
20 July
Birth of Saint
Joseph
5172
27
27 July
Circumcision
5172
27
29 August
Presentation of the
Infant Joseph in
the Temple
5180
19
8 December
Immaculate Concep-
tion of the Most
Holy Virgin Mary
5181
18
8 September Birth of Mary
5184
15
September
The Infant Mary
enters the Temple
5185
14
20 March
Death of Saint
Joachim
5190
9
Saint Joseph's
parents die, and he
moves to Jerusalem
5198
1
26 July
Death of Saint Anne
5199
0
23 January
Espousal between
Mary and Joseph
