The patriarch Joseph, the son of Jacob, is in many ways a type of Joseph, the foster father of Jesus and the patron of the universal Church. The Mass readings from Genesis over the last couple of days call to mind parallels between the two Josephs. In his magnificent daily devotional series, In Conversation with God, Fr. Francis Fernandez notes some of the most striking similarities, summarized below:
1. Both Josephs were forced to go to Egypt – the patriarch was sold into slavery by his brothers (prefiguring the handing over of Jesus by his kinsmen), while the husband of Mary was forced there to avoid the wrath of Herod, who sought the infant Jesus’ life (cf. Matt. 2:13-15).
2. God enabled the OT Joseph to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh; God spoke to the NT Joseph through dreams. In a sense, a particular dream of the first Joseph would be fulfilled in a greater way by the second: “…and behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me” (see Genesis 37:5-10). Joseph meant by this his parents and brothers. Later, the Sun of Righteousness, Jesus Christ, and his Mother Mary, (the Christian who best reflected God’s glory, as the moon best reflects the sun), would, in a sense, “bow” to Joseph by submitting to his leadership in the holy house of Nazareth.
3. Joseph the patriarch won the favour of the most powerful king on earth, so much so that when hungry nations came to Egypt looking for food, Pharaoh could say confidently, “Go to Joseph, and what he says to you, do” (Gen. 41:55). Today, the world is hungry for spiritual food – true Christian teaching, because “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). We, too, must “go to Joseph”, for he, like Mary, will lead us to the Lord they know better than anyone ever did. And Joseph protects the members of Christ ‘s mystical body just as surely as he cared for Jesus himself.
Truly we can see here that, as Scott Hahn puts it, “God writes the world the way humans write with words”. Just as a human author used devices like foreshadowing to make a point, God uses historical events and people of the Old Covenant – like the patriarch Joseph – to preview far the far greater personages and events of the New.
“And Joseph protects the members of Christ ’s mystical body just as surely as he cared for Jesus himself.”
The abundance of God’s provision for the Church. Just awesome!
St. Joseph, pray for us.
So true, Josh. St Teresa of Avila used to say that she had never once been let down by the intercession of St Joseph – even though she had entrusted him with some nearly impossible requests from a human perspective.
St Joseph the most powerful saint. He was chosen by God the Father to protect the two most important human beings in salvation history, Jesus and Mary. He is the patron saint of the dying because he also had the best death in the presence of Jesus and Mary. He has always comes through for me in my family’s sake maybe because he kept the family of Nazareth together and protected. He is the greatest father figure and if you are a father I ecourage you to put him to the test. He was welcomed to heaven with special honors so he can relay your prayers to the Father and to the Son who is always seen in Joseph’s hands. Like the aparition in Fatima.
Thanks, Roberto. You’ve pointed out something very important that I didn’t mention in the post – that St Joseph is indeed the patron of a happy death. We ask for his intercession that we may be granted, in the end, final perseverance.
Hello brother,
Last advent/ Christmas the Holy Spirit lead me to St Joseph in a really powerful way; today your meditation has taken me to another level of really embracing this Saint of the Church.
Christmas last presented Joseph to me as a man with a good heart, through which God could communicate, with a heart that was so confident in the power of God, Joseph hesitated not, to embrace his dream as God’s Holy direction
Connecting him to the OT Joseph is helping me to put those readings in a context that can only enhance my faith
Thank God for using us in this time and space
Catherine George
West Indies
Saw you on EWTN last night. Great Show! My wife to be is a Christian and now is wanting to come home to the church. Not my doing but the Holy Spirit has led her to understand Mary and the saints. She now understands that we simply love Mary so much because through her we have Jesus and through her we can be led back to Him. ” Strength through unity. Unity through faith.”
Thanks for your kind comments about the show, Roberto! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding, and on your fiancee’s new relationship with Our Lady. As St maximillian Kolbe once said, “never be afraid of loving Mary too much – we can never love her more than Jesus did.”