There is a
general rule concerning all special graces granted to any human being: whenever
the divine favor chooses someone to receive a special grace or to accept a
lofty vocation, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit
needed to fulfil the task at hand. This general rule is especially verified in
the case of Saint Joseph, the foster-father of our Lord and the husband of the
Queen of our world, enthroned above the angels. He was chosen by the eternal
Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures,
namely, his divine Son and Mary, his spouse. He carried out this vocation
with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying: Enter, good and
faithful servant, into the joy of your Lord.
What then is
Joseph’s position in the whole Church of Christ? Is he not a man chosen and set
apart? Through him and, yes, under him, Christ was fittingly and honorably
introduced into the world. Holy Church in its entirety is indebted to the
Virgin Mother because through her it was judged worthy to receive Christ. But
after her we undoubtedly owe special gratitude and reverence to Saint Joseph. In
him the Old Testament finds its fitting close. He brought the noble line of
patriarchs and prophets to its promised fulfilment. What the divine goodness
had offered as a promise to them, he held in his arms.
Clearly Christ does not now deny to Joseph that intimacy, reverence, and highest honor which he gave him on earth as a son to his father. Rather, we must say that in heaven Christ completes and perfects all that he gave at Nazareth. Now we can see how the last summoning words of the Lord befit Saint Joseph: Enter into the joy of your Lord. In fact, although the joy of eternal happiness enters into the soul of a man, the Lord preferred to say to Joseph: Enter into joy. His intention was that the words should have a hidden spiritual meaning for us. They convey not only that this holy man possesses an inward joy, but also that it surrounds him and engulfs him like an infinite abyss.