Hunolt Sermons/Volume 12/Sermon 40
FORTIETH SERMON
ON ST. JOSEPH, THE PATRON OF OUR FATHERLAND.
Subject.
The archdiocese of Treves could not have chosen, after the Blessed Virgin, a better patron and protector than St. Joseph. Preached on the feast of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Text.
"Behold, I have appointed thee over the whole land of Egypt." (Gen 41:41)
Introduction.
Behold, I have placed you as overseer over my house, as viceroy in my kingdom. So said King Pharao to Joseph, the son of Jacob, who having spent many years in the country unknown, was at last brought out of prison. Pharao caused him to ascend his chariot with great pomp and show, with a herald crying out before him: "The crier proclaiming that all should bow their knee before him, and that they should know he was made govern or over the whole land of Egypt." There was no one at court, no one in the city or the whole land, who did not show Joseph the greatest reverence; and as he was borne along in the royal chariot all praised him with shouts and cries of joy as the saviour of their country, according to the name given him by Pharao: "And he turned his name, and called him in the Egyptian tongue the saviour of the world." There, my dear brethren, we have a figure of our great St. Joseph, in whose honor we are now assembled here; and at the same time a figure of the triumph with which God in these days of ours leads him through the world, after he had been many years unknown and hidden, as it were, in the Church of Christ; for now God has caused him to be praised and extolled with public and special devotions by all the people in most Christian countries and kingdoms. " Behold, I have appointed thee over the whole land," said Ferdinand, the third Roman emperor of the name, when with unusual solemnity he appointed St. Joseph as the protector of the whole kingdom of Bohemia, and to that end instituted the celebrated and now universally known confraternity. " Behold, I have appointed thee over the whole land," said also Leopold the First, when he appointed St. Joseph as the protector of the whole house of Austria, and the ruler of his kingdom and country, begging at the same time all the other electors and princes of the Roman empire to choose the same saint as their patron, especially in Germany, and to show him special honor. And most of those princes followed his example. " Behold, I have appointed thee over the whole land, "said also one of the first of the archbishops of Treves, Charles Gaspar von der Layen of glorious memory, when he dedicated himself and his whole diocese to St. Joseph and chose him as the father of his country. And what is the meaning of this feast, celebrated from his time to ours every year with extraordinary pomp? Why do all the people of Treves assemble here in their different classes and guilds? Is it not to hail with a unanimous shout of joy St. Joseph as the patron and protector of the whole diocese? And there is good reason for the holy custom, my dear brethren, as I shall now prove.
Plan of Discourse.
Archdiocese of Treves! after the Blessed Virgin herself, thou couldst not have chosen a better patron and protector than St. Joseph; such is the whole subject of this panegyric, and its object is to increase love and devotion to this saint in the minds of all.
This grace, St. Joseph (it is a matter that concerns thy honor!), we beg of thee to obtain for us through Jesus and Mary by the hands of the holy angels,
He who is about to choose a patron and protector must look out for one who is able to fulfil all the duties of that office; one who by his high dignity can secure the respect and esteem of the people; one who by his power and influence can protect the land power. from all dangers. These were the qualities that made Joseph so respected and beloved in all Egypt, for the people had heard of the wonderful wisdom with which he had interpreted most difficult and mysterious dreams. " Seeing God hath showed thee all that thou hast said," said Pharao to him, "can I find one wiser, and one like unto thee? " (Gen 41:39) They noticed his diligence and fatherly care, for he caused the abundant crops to be gathered here and there into barns to provide for the coming scarcity. They saw him seated on the throne and giving commands as a second king; they knew that everything was subject to his pow er, that without his consent not a hand or foot might move in the whole land, and that all favors were to flow from him, as the king said: " Without thy commandment no man shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." Therefore he attracted to himself even people from far distant lands, who all did homage to him as their common father: " Our life is in thy hand," said they to him; " only let my lord look favorably upon us, and we will gladly serve the king."
My dear brethren, let the Egyptians congratulate themselves on their Joseph; what he did for them, after all, was to take their goods in pawn during the famine and make slaves of them. We have a much better, higher, and mightier patron in our St. Joseph, A better: and here for brevity's sake I appeal to the testimony of the God of infinite wisdom, who cannot err in His choice, and who, as the Apostle says, appoints capable men for every office and position: "Who hath made us fit ministers." What wisdom and capability must He not have found in St. Joseph! God had to provide for the welfare of a family on earth which was of the utmost importance to Him, which He preferred to all the kingdoms and empires of the world, and from which the salvation of the world was to come. Mary, the Mother of God, the spouse of the Holy Ghost, must have a companion and protect or to guard her virginal purity, to live with her outwardly as her husband, and thus keep for a time from public knowledge the Incarnation of the Son of God, whose father he was supposed to be; an opinion that even the devils entertained for a long time, as we learn from the testimony of SS. Ambrose, Basil, Leo, Bernard, Jerome, Damascene, and others. Jesus Christ, the eternal God, required a tutor when He became man in time to bring Him up from His childhood, to feed and clothe Him, to protect Him from dangers; and this tutor's instructions, commands, and advice God was to obey as a most obedient child. Where was a man to be found to whom such an office could be entrusted? If faith did not teach us that he was a man, we should have more reason for asking: Where was a God to be found to rule over a God? " Who was that faithful, that prudent man? " asks Nicephorus, in wonder; " no other man but Joseph was found suited to the office."
Abraham, Moses, David, Isaias, Elias, Daniel what great men they were! The world still wonders at their very names; but not one of them was chosen by the Almighty as the father of His household; " no other man but Joseph was found suited to the office." Other duties were entrusted to them which were of far less importance, although they seemed weightier in the eyes of the world. "I have made thee a father of many nations, said the Lord to Abraham, " and kings shall come out of thee." " Behold,, I have appointed thee the God of Pharao, " said the Lord to Moses. He made Isaias a preacher to the kings, princes, and tyrants of the world; Elias a conqueror of the false prophets; Daniel the master of King Nebuchadnezzar. But of none of them could the words be said: "He made him master of His house; " "no one but Joseph was found worthy of that office." That God who by His infinite wisdom rules heaven and earth, before whom the principalities tremble, and every knee in heaven, on earth, and under the earth must bow: "Under whom they stoop that bear up the world;" that God, I say, as if He were not capable of ruling Himself, gives Himself over to the government and care of Joseph: " He was subject to them." Joseph (who can understand it?) by his teaching and instruction had to help the incarnate God to stand, speak, and work; Joseph by his labor, diligence, care, and protection had to see that God was not in need of begging His bread, that God had food and clothing, that God was not slain by Herod. Boast, ye monarchs and potentates of earth, of the vast dominion and the numerous peoples that are subject to your sway; our patron St. Joseph had but two under his authority; but one of them was God and the other the Mother of God. i( Consider," says St. Bernard, " what sort of a man St. Joseph was, and how great his dignity; the Lord appointed him as the comforter of His Mother, as the foster-father of His human nature, and finally as the only most faithful helper of the divine council on earth; " that is, the divine council for the redemption of the human race. Now if while still on earth St. Joseph was entrusted with the care and government of the greatest and noblest family in the world, how prudently have we not acted in giving ourselves over to his care and protection, now that he reigns in glory in heaven?
And what rank and title does he enjoy there? What gained for Joseph in Egypt so much influence and esteem among the people was the title of Father of Pharao, that the king himself conferred on him, as he himself said to his brothers: "By the will of God was I sent hither, who hath made me, as it were, a father to Pharao." Most ancient and royal race from which our saint descended, nearest blood-relationship with the humanity of Christ! I do not need ye to bring forward the dignity and high position of St. Joseph. Only one thought I will borrow from St. Basil, as he was breaking out into the praises of Mary, and was about to describe her excellence: "Do you wish," he says, " to weave a crown worthy of that great virgin? You may do so in a few words: Mary, of whom was born Jesus." In the same way I may sum up all the praise due to Joseph in the words: Joseph, the father of Jesus, the Son of God. Such is the title given him by Mary, his spouse: "Behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing." And all men at the time looked on him in the same light: "Is not this the carpenter's son?" Such, too, is the name given him in the gospel of St. Luke: "And His father and mother were Wondering at those things which were spoken concerning Him." Christ Himself confirmed this by His childlike obedience and reverence towards him. Joseph was the father of Jesus, not indeed according to nature, but an adopted father, as Augustine says; he was His father by marriage, as Rupert says; he was His father by superiority, as Suarez says; he was His father by law, as Gerson says; he was His father by dignity, as Cajetan says; he was His father by the power which the eternal Father gave him over His Son, as Bernard says. So that as the heavenly Father sent down from heaven the joyful words: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," so Joseph in his workshop and elsewhere might have well boast ed, and to the greatest comfort of his heart have thought in the same words: " This is my beloved Son." Oh, how happy lam! This is my beloved Son! What think you of this, holy angels? Behold, all men! This is my Son! He is your King, but my Son! He calls me by the name of father, and I call Him my most beloved Child! What can be imagined or said to redound more to Joseph's honor and dignity?
Great and holy patron, as long as we compare thee to men and
angels we fail in our object, and do not give thee the praise due
to thy merit; for there still remains something which elevates
thee far above all comparison, namely, the title of Father of Jesus Christ. From this alone St. Bernard, St. Bernardine, St.
Isidor, Gerson, and Suarez conclude that Joseph must far excel
all the other saints, the Mother of God excepted, in holiness,
dignity, and glory. "I do not think I am speaking rashly,"
says the great theologian Francis Suarez, "when I say that it
is a pious and probable opinion that St. Joseph excels all the
others in grace and beatitude." But I will leave this question
untouched, and not try to rob any of the saints of the glory,
holiness, and happiness due to them in my efforts to sound the
praises of St. Joseph. All I say is this: As far as the title and
honor of being the father of Jesus Christ is concerned, Joseph has
not his equal. In this sense St. Bernard says, without the least
hesitation: "No one born on this earth, except Joseph, can call
himself the father of the Son of God. In this dignity he is without a rival." During the wars of the Spaniards against the
Moors, Vasco Fernandez ventured very far into one of the enemy's
cities which he was besieging, and in memory of his heroism he
caused the inscription to be written on a house: Thus far did
Vasco Fernandez come. Another Spaniard saw this, and not
wishing to be outdone, went still farther into the town, and wrote
on a house: Thus far Vasco Fernandez did not come. Great
and holy servants of God! far, very far did you advance in merit,
in holiness, in honor and dignity; precursor of Christ, vicar of
Christ, apostles of Christ, ye martyrs of Christ, ye friends,
brothers, and children of Christ! so far have ye come; but, not to
take away anything from your glory, you must confess that you
have not gone so far as to be called father of the eternal Son of
God; that is a dignity none of you attained; it is an honor that
belongs to Joseph alone. Archdiocese of Treves, such is the
patron thou hast chosen; couldst thou have made a better choice?
From what we have seen we may without further argument infer the great power and efficacy of the prayers of Joseph with the Almighty in favor of his children, if they only appeal to him in their necessities with confidence. For if the proverb be true: The prayer of a friend is a command, so that a discreet man sometimes hesitates to ask his friend for a favor which the latter cannot confer without trouble, although he is sure it would not be denied him, how powerful, then, will not be the prayers of a father to a son who can give everything without difficulty or trouble? If other friends of God are so powerful in obtaining graces for us by appealing to what they did in God's service, as we know by experience; if, as St. Chrysostom says, even the blood of the poor whom we feed by our alms cries unceasingly to heaven to obtain blessings and graces for us from God; what may not be effected by the far more intimate and perfect service which Joseph rendered the Son of God? And how much more efficacious will be the voice of he blood of Jesus Christ, which was nourished by the toil and labor of Joseph?
Let other friends of God say in their prayers: Lord, Thou wert hungry, and we fed Thee; Thou wert thirsty, and we gave Thee to drink; Thou wert naked, and we clothed Thee; Thou wert sick, and we visited Thee; Thou wert a stranger, and we received Thee into our houses; truly they can say that; yet it still remains true that all this was done only for the servants of Christ, Our Lord considering as done to Himself the least benefit conferred on the most lowly of them. But Joseph can say with truth that he did all this to Our Lord in His own person. Remember, beloved Son, how, when Thou wert a weak little infant, I brought Thee to Egypt and back again; how often, when Thou wert hungry on the road, and I had not a bit of bread for Thee, I ran into the woods to seek some fruit to refresh Thee, how often, when Thou wert thirsty, I ran to get a refreshing drink for Thee from some brook! Often, when Thou wert tired, I took Thee in my arms and carried Thee. Often we were over taken by night in the open country, and I took off my garments to make a shelter for Thee. With the labor of my hands I supported Thee and Thy Mother for many years in our house at Nazareth. Look now OH my children, who have committed themselves to my protection, assured that I can do everything with Thee; they are now calling on me, expecting me to help them in their necessities. There are poor, hungry people who sit at home, hearing their little ones cry out for bread; there is a sick man suffering grievous pain, who desires relief; here are orphans deprived of father and mother, who cry out for help; there an unhappy wife is plunged in grief through the conduct of a jealous, dissipated, or passionate husband; another appeals to me on account of her disobedient children; there a poor widow, harassed by debt, cries out for assistance; and others who are tried in various ways wish at least to obtain from me the grace of patience; others again look for help and strength against the violence of temptations and in the dangers that affect their souls; others wish to have light and understanding to manage well the affairs of state. Most beloved Son, they are my children; canst Thou refuse me what I ask for them?
My dear Christians, I ask you again, if the friends of God on earth are heard on account of the services they render to Christ in the persons of the poor, can the prayer of the foster-father of Christ be in vain? No! Willingly, angelic Doctor, do I agree with thy teaching! Some saints, he says, receive from God the grace of being able to help in special necessities, " but to St. Joseph is granted the power of rendering aid in every business and necessity, and to defend and succor all who with devotion and confidence appeal to him." I agree with thee, too, Isidor: "Amongst the patrons whom mortals have at the throne of God, I think that St. Joseph is the most powerful after the Blessed Virgin." I believe firmly, holy mother Teresa, that in all thy necessities thou didst have recourse to this great intercessor St. Joseph, and that thou didst never ask anything from him which thou didst not obtain. Oh, if thou gavest us only the half of thy devotion to and confidence in this holy foster-father of Christ, we should have to make the same confession, and a happy experience would teach us to congratulate ourselves on having such a patron for our city and land!
Ah, I cannot help thinking sometimes, how is it that such a powerful patron and intercessor, such a great saint, remained so long unknown and hidden in the Christian Church; that for so many hundred years no church was erected nor devotion established in his honor? Martyrs, confessors, virgins by the thousand, whose lives have been less holy, have immediately after their happy deaths begun to shine like stars in the firmament; God has made them known to the world by countless miracles, and signified His wish that they should be appealed to as intercessors; but of Joseph nothing, so to speak, was publicly known. Why is that? Segneri gives the correct answer to this question: The sanctity and dignity of Joseph, says he, were so great above those of other saints that it was not meet to publish them too openly in Christendom for some time. But why? Could he not, then, have been more honored? No; for in the first ages of Christianity there were different heresies, the head of which was Cerinthus, who, wishing to lessen the dignity of Christ, taught that He, like other men, was conceived by an earthly father, and that St. Joseph was really His father according to nature. This heresy would certainly have gained more ground if public honor, such as is due to that great Saint, were everywhere shown him. Therefore the Church, enlightened by the Holy Ghost, prudently refrained for a long time from showing him any public signs of veneration; and God did not wish to bring before the world this, His most beloved foster-father, until those later years, when calamities and trials render his help and intercession more necessary, and thus cause his praises and glories to be all the more fervently published the longer they remained hidden in the Church in former times. Blessed, then, be the memories of those princes, kings, and emperors Ferdinand, Leopold, Charles Gas- par, and their illustrious descendants who helped to carry out this design of the Almighty! How happy w e are, my dear brethren, in being reserved for these times, in which we can boast of the help and protection of this Saint in our necessities!
And still happier should we be if our devotion, confidence, and love for him increased more and more. So shall it be, most holy Joseph! We wish and desire to remain under thy protection and patronage, under which the archdiocese of Treves placed itself; and as this land in general chose thee, so do we now in particular each and every one of us choose thee, with renewed desires and the assurance of our fidelity, as our patron and father. In future not a week in the year shall pass in which we shall not set apart a day in thy honor, nor a day in which we shall not perform some special act of devotion to thee. All we ask of thee, since thou canst do everything with thy divine Son and thy virginal Spouse, is that we may be faithful to thee in confidence, true love, and devotion till the day of our death; and then we may comfort ourselves with the assurance that thou wilt protect our fatherland and our city with paternal care from all dangers, hear our prayers in our necessities, and, above all, in the hour of death, in our last agony, by thy help take our souls to thyself and thy Son in heaven. Amen.