All the splendor, all the holiness, all the beauty of the Church; the wonder of all the saints that were, are and will be are symbolized in St. Joseph. Otherwise, he would not have the height to be the Patron of the Catholic Church.
Newsroom (18/06/2023 09:03, Gaudium Press) Throughout the centuries the Lord “has shown the power of his arm” (Lk 1:51) against his enemies, sending providential men and women who have saved his people through admirable events, in which the supernatural factor has always been decisive.
However, in many circumstances the divine omnipotence was preceded by a long wait, to the point that the psalmist exclaimed: “Wake up, Lord! Why do you sleep? Awake! Do not reject us continually” (Ps 43:24). And when all seemed lost, the intervention came in a surprising way, surpassing all expectations.
A similar mystery occurs with St. Joseph: endowed with every form of heroism and audacity to defend Jesus, on few occasions was he able to express these virtues in their multiple unfoldings. Faced with the plan of Redemption, he had to accept with obedience and resignation the divine design of the Savior’s death. That is why those qualities remained somewhat hidden during his life, for if he had used them to the full, he would have avoided the Passion.
Once he was in Heaven, however, the veils of darkness that covered his strength in the eyes of men were removed, revealing progressively, from eternity, the vigor of God’s arm through the increasingly clear and decisive intervention of the Holy Patriarch in the events.
In fact, being the greatest of the holy men in history, Saint Joseph enjoys, in beatitude, a very special audience and great power of intercession in favor of those who have recourse to him. Through his close link with the Mystical Body of Christ, he watches over all its members, protecting the innocent and obtaining repentance for sinners. He exercises this authentic mediation in the order of grace with generosity, efficacy and dominion, deserving as nobody else the title of Patriarch of the Catholic Church.
Patriarch and Father
When Holy Scripture calls someone a patriarch, it seems to want to unite in the same person the prerogatives of the Father and the greatness of the monarch. Like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the patriarch is, first of all, the first of a numerous lineage. He represents for his children the divine fatherhood itself, being able to devote himself entirely to his children in order to save them, as Noah devoted his existence to building the ark and preserving, amidst the purifying waters of the flood, the life of God’s chosen ones.
Now, Saint Joseph was officially declared Patriarch and Patron of the Holy Church, a title that contains a profound meaning, not yet discovered to the eyes of all men. In fact, his paternity began when, by consenting to the conception of the Son of God in Mary’s womb, he received Jesus as his own Son, and was further enhanced by the divine mandate to give the Child his name. This bond with the Incarnate Word puts him in a very close relationship with the Church, because, by the fact that he is the father of Christ, Saint Joseph is also the father of his Mystical Body, since the Head cannot be separated from the members.
This is why he has the most intense dedication and paternal care for each of the baptized, interceding continually so that the breath of the Holy Spirit may vivify them and lead them to perfection. Moreover, he is concerned, as a good father, for the needs of all, corrects their faults and sins, and defends them from their enemies, especially from the devil and his snares.
All the splendor, all the holiness, all the beauty of the Church; the wonder of all the saints that were, are and will be are symbolized in St. Joseph. Otherwise, he would not have the height to be the Patron of the Catholic Church.
In this sense, one can safely say that when the Church needed special help in the face of difficulties and persecutions, her Holy Patriarch was there as a powerful intercessor and a very singular protector, communicating irresistible encouragement to the soldiers of the Faith, in order to overcome themselves and defeat the adversaries of her Son Jesus Christ.
Msgr. João Scognamiglio Clá Dias
