March 19 is the Solemn Feast of St. Joseph, Spouse of Mary, for Catholics and some other Christians. Fr. Jerome of the Mother of God (Jerome Cracian), a close friend of St. Teresa of Avila, wrote a book about the excellencies of St. Joseph, to whom Teresa was extremely devoted. Excerpts from the book have been translated into English.
Among other things, the good Father mentions that St. Joseph was handsome and had all his teeth, because it would have been unseemly for the man chosen as protector of the Virgin Mother of God and the Christ to have some physical flaw.
On the other hand, he did not say that Joseph had all his hair. Fr. Jerome was pretty bald, although he was reputed to be handsome, too.
All in the eye of the beholder, I guess, and in the pen of the author.
Some Christians make much about how the Holy Family (Joseph, Mary and Jesus) is a model for families today. Since it was by all accounts a non-traditional family in many ways, perhaps they are right.
You failed to mention that Teresa not only named her first monastery for St. Joseph, but of the 17 founded in her lifetime, a dozen were named for the saint.
ReplyDeleteAs for Jerome Gracian (AKA simply Gracian or Gratian), despite having been expelled from the Order during his lifetime, there is a move afoot now to have him beatified. This year marks the 400th anniversary of his death.
Of course, I was not raised Catholic, but it seems to me that there are a lot of canonized saints who were not all that popular with church leaders during their lifetime. Am I correct?
ReplyDeleteYou are correct, Daniel. A nun once told me that the bishops and popes love nuns -- dead nuns, that is. There is an unfortunate distrust of them while they are alive. St. Teresa herself, the first woman named Doctor of the Church centuries after her death, was widely criticized by members of the hierarchy during her lifetime. And leaders among the friars of the community she had founded tried to downplay her importance as much as they could. They considered is a blot on the reputation of the Order to say that it had been founded by a woman!
ReplyDeleteI carry a St. Joseph card with me at all times.
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