Youthful in Old Age

 First off, sorry that I missed posting last week. We're back on track.

In Psalm 92, we often look to Joe in the words "The just shall flourish like the palm tree." Yet, if we continue with the psalm, I believe that we will learn more about him. The psalmist continues:

The just shall flourish like the palm tree,

shall grow like a cedar of Lebanon. 

Planted in the house of the LORD,

they shall flourish in the courts of our God.

They shall bear fruit even in old age,

they will stay fresh and green,

To proclaim: “The LORD is just; 

my rock, in whom there is no wrong.”

What struck me particularly was "They shall bear fruit even in old age, they will stay fresh and green." For a while now, I have found myself going back and forth between seeing Joe as a young or elderly man. For most of history, most artists portrayed him as an elderly man following the tradition of several ancient apocryphal writings; recently, however, there seems to be a growing trend to depict him as a young man. Yet, this passage seems to indicate that Joe was an old man.

Was he young or old according to the reckoning of time? Who knows... I guess what's important is that he embodied the best of both. Either he was a young man with the venerability of old age, or he was an old man with the youthfulness of prime. I'm sure that he had a spark in his step and a sparkle in his eyes.

Joe on Spotify

I recently came across this playlist of songs that center on Joe and thought I would share. You can listen on the Grotto Network website or on the Spotify Playlist.

By the way, I'm diggin' his headphones.

Chain Of Love

I love country music - especially country music from the 90s. Although I don’t listen to country music as nearly as much as I used to, I still turn it on every now and again, sit back, and just let it soak in. The other day, the song “Chain of Love” by Clay Walker came on. As I listened this time, I realized that this could very well have been a song about Mary and Joe. I hope you watch this music video and see what I mean.

The Silent Builder

This last Sunday, we celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. In other words, we celebrate the physical entrance of the Jesus into His House. In 1 Kings 6:7 we learn that when Solomon built the Temple, he had the stone cut and carved at the quarry “so that no hammer or ax, no iron tool, was to be heard in the house [of the Lord] during its construction.” This got me thinking. Perhaps, this was a foreshadowing of the Private or Hidden Years of Jesus - those years of which we know nothing of.

Joe is the Son of Solomon just as he is the Son of David. So, as the Lord’s  covenant with David is fulfilled by Jesus through Joe (2 Samuel 7:8-16), so also, the Lord’s covenant with Solomon will also be fulfilled by Jesus through Joe: “I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites and will not forsake my people Israel.” (1 Kings 6:13). Yet, there is a new twist in understanding this covenant when Jesus begins His public ministry for He reveals that He is the true Temple of the Father (John 2:21). The House of Nazareth was the quarry where the stone was cut and prepared for the construction. I don’t think it is coincidental that Joe was a carpenter, the “hammer, axe, and iron tool” were the tools of his trade.

Guadalupe Joe

Tomorrow, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and I am reminded of an image that a friend of mine shared with me when he was visiting Catholic Family Land in Bloomingdale, Ohio;

 

Obviously, it is based on the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. And why not?

Joe at the Manger

This past Sunday, Pope Francis sent an Apostolic Letter in which he spoke about “the meaning and importance of the Nativity Scene”. I found paragraph #7 worth sharing here in part:

Gradually, we come to the cave, where we find the figures of Mary and Joseph... At Mary’s side, shown protecting the Child and his Mother, stands Saint Joseph. He is usually depicted with staff in hand, or holding up a lamp. Saint Joseph plays an important role in the life of Jesus and Mary. He is the guardian who tirelessly protects his family. When God warned him of Herod’s threat, he did not hesitate to set out and flee to Egypt (cf. Mt 2:13-15). And once the danger had passed, he brought the family back to Nazareth, where he was to be the first teacher of Jesus as a boy and then as a young man. Joseph treasured in his heart the great mystery surrounding Jesus and Mary his spouse; as a just man, he entrusted himself always to God’s will, and put it into practice.

Prince Joe

As we come to the end of this Liturgical Year and approach the final Sunday of Christ the King of the Universe, I thought it would be appropriate to share (perhaps again?, I don’t really recall) a line from scripture that has been applied to Joe from the early years of the Church: “He made him lord over his household, ruler over all his possessions...” (Psalm 105:21). What immediately follows also catches my attention: “... to instruct his princes as he desired, to teach his elders wisdom.” (Psalm 105:22). 

Joe taught Jesus, Who really was Joe’s elder, but Joe did not allow himself to be filled with pride. No, Joe acted in humility-simply doing what God the Father commanded when He commanded it. For this reason, Joe truly is the greatest prince of his Son’s Kingdom.

This coming Saturday, we remember the memory of Blessed Fr. Miguel Pro, a Mexican Jesuit priest who was martyred for serving the persecuted Catholics of Mexico in 1927. It’s hard for me to believe that it has almost been a whole year since I visited the Church of the Holy Family in Mexico City that keeps his relics. (I shared some pictures in La Parroquia de la Sagrada Familia...) I feel it is appropriate to share once again the painting in the apes of the sanctuary:

The Visitation of Mary, with Joe?

Among the various depictions of Joe at St Jude’s in Elyria, this particular stained glass of the Visitation caught my attention. What strikes me is that Joe is depicted in the scene of Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth but he is never mentioned in this part of the story (Luke 1:39-56).

I was wondering if there is a tradition of Joe accompanying Mary to visit Elizabeth, and so I did what everyone else does, I googled it. I came across this article by Fr Edward Looney that shortly asks the question from three sources: Scripture, private revelations, and art. His conclusion... there’s no way of knowing for sure.

One of the benefits of the holding the view that Joe accompanied Mary is it offers an answer to how Joseph found Mary “with child through the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18). In fact, we could understand this passage in a new way: Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant, before others were able to know, through the Holy Spirit, Who spoke through Elizabeth that Mary was pregnant (Luke 1:41-45).

Joe in Elyria

A couple days ago, I had the opportunity to stop in the church of St. Jude’s in Elyria, Ohio. I was really struck by the number of images of Joe in the church. I was particularly struck by this statue of the Holy Family:

What strikes me about it is the level of love and comfort that Jesus must have shown to Joe throughout His Childhood. It also shows the intense love that Mary and Joe must have had for each other.

I wondered what was was happening in this scene. Jesus is the only one smiling. I wonder if He said something profound to Joe and Mary that struck them differently.

• Perhaps, Jesus told Joe that he was going to die soon in order to tell all the holy ones waiting for the Savior that He had finally come (Joseph in Hades).
• Perhaps, Jesus went out on a really long walk and just came home after spending a night in prayer with His Heavenly Father, and Mary and Joe were super concerned and Jesus thought it wasn’t a big deal (cf. Luke 6:13).
• Perhaps, this is the scene when Joe informs Jesus and Mary that they are returning back to Israel after being in Egypt, but Joe and Mary are concerned because Herod’s son was ruler in Judea and Jesus is not at all concerned (Matthew 2:19-33).

Whatever the particular scene is that is rendered here, I think what it fundamentally demonstrates is that this truly was a family - a Holy Family.

Joe in Omaha, NE

This past Sunday, I went to St. Joseph's Church in Omaha for Mass. I truly was a beautiful church. I particularly loved the stained-glass which depicted scenes in Joe's life: