Respect the Foster Father of Christ

“The Church admires the simplicity and the depth of [St. Joseph's] faith.” – St. Pope John Paul II

    Last year, I had the opportunity to participate in a consecration to St. Joseph. While devotion to Saint Joseph is not a modern invention—St. John of the Cross in the 16th century admitted he lacked sufficient knowledge of the greatest of St. Joseph—it is admittedly a newer theological study (Consecration to St. Joseph, page 1). Josephology really took off about 150 years ago, when Pope Pius IX proclaimed Saint Joseph "Patron of the Universal Church." Since then, a deeper appreciation for St. Joseph and more study into the role he had in the Holy Family has occurred. While I knew that Josephology is a relatively modern field, I was frankly shocked with how the Pewterers' and Founders' Guilds represent the saint in their play during Middle Ages England.

    Before we can examine the accuracy of this medieval depiction of St. Joseph, it is prudent to refer to Sacred Scripture first. St. Joseph is very much a "background character" in the Gospels, instead choosing to elevate his foster Son and wife instead. What we know about Joseph's attitude during the build-up to the Nativity is found in Chapter 1 of the Gospel of Mark:

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Essentially, St. Joseph's qualities and actions can be simplified into the following:

1) He is a righteous man.

2) He planned to "dismiss" Mary "quietly" so she would not be "expose[d] to public disgrace].

3) After receiving an apparition from an angel confirming the Incarnation of Jesus through the Virgin Mary and being told to "not be afraid to take Mary as [his] wife", Joseph does as the angel commanded by taking Mary as his wife and not having marital relations with her.

    In the play "Joseph's Trouble about Mary", only point 3 is satisfied. St. Joseph does receive an apparition from an angel at the end of the play confirming that Mary's child was divinely conceived, and that Joseph should not leave her. However, before the angel's apparition, Joseph was anything but righteous. He threatens Mary that if she is not honest about how she is pregnant, she will have to 'pay the price' (line 111). This is neither the action of a righteous man nor a man who wanted to dismiss Mary quietly. Instead, Joseph is written in as a comedic character to create tension in the play. A righteous man—even when perceivably cheated on—would not immediately call his betrothed a wench and a liar, nor would he joke that a human tricked Mary by disguising himself as an angel. 

    The Advent Lyrics, found in the Exeter Book (dated to around the 10th century) paints a somewhat better picture of St. Joseph, but not my ideal. Specifically, Advent Lyric VII is a conversation Joseph and Mary, where Joseph doubts Mary's virginity. His response to Mary reads:

This wicked conception is the source of my shame. / This pregnancy has been nothing but trouble. / How can I battle slander, struggle with woe? / How can I answer my endless enemies? / Their hateful words are like daggers in my heart. / Everyone knows that I gladly received / From the temple of God a clean maiden, / Pure and unstained. Yet now this is undone, / Your virtue unmade in some unknown way. / It does me no good to speak or keep silent. If I speak the truth, then the daughter of David / Must suffer the law—death by stoning. / If I keep silent, concealing the crime, / Then I am bound to bear the burden / Of whispered perjury and malicious scorn, / Loathed by everyone, accused by all.

    This story does not cover point 3, which isn't the most blatant offense. Even though Scripture does not record a conversation between Joseph and Mary before Joseph changes his mind, it also does not discredit the possibility of it occurring. Thus, the angelic apparition could have just occurred after this scene. Point 2 is satisfied as well; the Joseph of the poem accurately recounts the internal dilemma he is facing. If he reveals Mary's 'infidelity', she could be stoned to death. If he stays with Mary, he, Mary, and their child would be the subject of non-stop gossip.  In his lament, he clearly expresses that he does not want Mary to die, unlike the Joseph of the play who threatens Mary for a confession. Furthermore, he does not necessarily doubt or blame Mary throughout the poem. Instead, Joseph grieves over the shame and abuse he has suffered and would continue to suffer. But are these the actions of a righteous man?

Saint Joseph. Francesco Grandi. Sacro Monte della Beata Vergine del Soccorso - Ossuccio, Italy.

    There are three theories behind why St. Joseph wanted to "dismiss [Mary] quietly", which have all been held by various saints of scholars.

1. St. Joseph suspected Mary of having committed adultery and wants to receive a divorce. According to Jewish law, he would need to stone her. Because he is just, he does not want to stone her and wants to divorce her quietly.
2. St. Joseph is perplexed by Mary's pregnancy. He doesn't doubt Mary's innocence, but he has no idea how she got pregnant and what he should do. He decides to divorce her quietly.
3. St. Joseph is fully aware that Mary is pregnant and how she got pregnant. He does not doubt her innocence and purity, but, as a just man, he knows that Mary belongs to God. He feels himself unworthy to be the human father of Jesus Christ out of respect and love for both God and Mary.

The Church has never objectively said which of these three theories is 'the truth', and reasonable defenses could perhaps be made for both. But isn't the third one so inspiring? In the Litany to St. Joseph, he is invoked as the "Pillar of Families" and "Glory of Family Life." Would this be the same that wants to divorce the pure Virgin Mary, greatest of all saints? God chose Mary specifically to be the mother of Christ. Why would God not have chosen Joseph as well? Jesus would spend almost his entire life being raised by both Mary and Joseph; why would the latter not have been a role model as well?

    I personally believe that the third theory makes the most sense, but the Church opens room for any of these three interpretations. However, there is a sharp contrast between theory 1 and what the play depicted. No righteous man would call the Virgin Mary a wretch, and what he threatened was definitely not dismissing them quietly. Plays do not need to be entirely accurate to their source material, especially if the goal is just to convey the underlying moral lesson, like we talked about in class. However, I truly think this play does more harm than good in its depiction of the Spouse of the Mother of God.

- Alejandro Ignacio