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Exurgens autem Ioseph a somno, fecit
sicut praecepit ei angelus Domini, et accepit coniugem suam. Et
non cognoscebat eam donec peperit filium suum primogenitum: et
vocavit nomen eius Iesum.
(Matth.
1, 18-25)
Qui
cum recessissent, ecce angelus Domini apparuit in somnis Ioseph,
dicens: Surge, et accipe puerum, et matrem eius, et fuge in
Aegyptum, et esto in ibi usque dum dicam tibi. Futurum est enim
ut Herodes quaerat puerum ut ad perdendum eum. Qui consurgens
accepit puerum et matrem eius nocte, et secessit in Aegyptum: et
erat ibi usque ad obitum Herodis: ut adimplretur quod dictum est
a Domino per prophetam dicentem: Ex Aegypto vocavi filium meum.
[...]
Defuncto
autem Herode, ecce angelus Domini apparuit in somnis Ioseph in
Aegypto, dicens: Surge, et accipe puerum, et matrem eius, et
vade in terram Israel: defuncti sunt enim qui quarebant animam
pueri. Qui
consurgens accepit puerum et matrem eius et venit in terram
Israel. Audiens autem quod Archelaus regnaret in Iudaea pro
Herode patre suo, timuit illo ire: et admonitus in somnis,
secessit in partes Galilaeae. Et veniens habitavit in civitate
quae vocatur Nazareth: ut adimpleretur quod dictum est per
prophetas: Quoniam Nazaraeus vocabitur.
(Matth.
2, 12-15 e 19-23)
Puer
autem crescebat, et confortabatur plenus sapientia: et gratia
Dei erat in illo.
Et
ibant parentes eius per omnes annos in Ierusalem, in die solemni
Paschae. et cum factus esset annorum duodecim, ascendentibus
illis Ierosolymam secundum consuetudinem diei fasti,
consummatisque diebus, cum redirent, remansit puer Iesus in
Ierusalem, et non cognoverunt parentes eius. Existimantes autem
illum esse in comitatu, venerunt iter diei, et requirebant eum
inter cognatos et notos.
Et
non invenientes, regressi sunt in Ierusalem, requirentes eum. Et
factum est, post triduum invenerunt illum in templo sedentem in
medio doctorum, audientem illos et interrogantem eos. Stupebant
autem omnes qui eum audiebant, super prudentia et responsis eius.
Et videntes admirati sunt. Et dixit mater eius ad illum: Fili,
quid fecist nobis sic? Ecce pater tuus et ego dolentes
quaerebamus te. Et ait ad illos: Quid est quod quaerebatis?
Nesciebatis quia in his quae patris mei sunt oportet me esse? Et
ipsi non intellexerunt verbum quod locutus est ad eos. Et
descendit cum eis, et venit Nazareth: et erat subditus illis. Et
mater eius conservabat omnia verba haec in corde suo. Et Iesus
proficiebat sapientia, et aetate, et gratia apud Deum et homines.
(Luc.
2, 40-52)
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ happened
His mother Mary was pledged to Joseph, but before
they came to live together, she was found to be with child through the
Holy Spirit. As Joseph her husband was a
righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace,
he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of
David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because
what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She
will give birth to a son, and you will give him the name Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had
said through the prophet:"The virgin will conceive a child and
will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel" -which
means, "God with us."When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the
Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But
he had no union with her. Finally she gave birth to a son. And
he gave him the name Jesus.
When the Magi had gone away, an angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said,
"take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay
there until I tell you, because Herod is going to look for the child
to kill him." So he got up, took the child and
his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where
he stayed until the death of Herod. And so it was fulfilled what
the Lord had said through the prophet: "From Egypt I
called my son."
After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in
a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up,
take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel,
those who were trying to kill the child are dead."
So he got up, took the child and his mother and
went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that
Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he
was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he went
to the district of Galilee, and he lived in a town
called Nazareth. So it was fulfilled what was said through the
prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."
And
the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and
the grace of God was upon him.
Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Celebration of
Easter. When he was twelve years old,
they went to the Feast, according to the custom. After
the Feast was over, while his parents were coming back home, the
boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking
he was in their company, they travelled on for a day. Then they
began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When
they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for
him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the
teachers, listening to them and asking
them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed
at his understanding and his answers. When his
parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him,
"Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I
have been anxiously searching for you."
"Why were you searching for me?" he asked.
"Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But
they did not understand what he was saying to them.
Then he came back to Nazareth with them and was
obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in
her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature in favor with God and
men.
The
day dedicated to St. Joseph has to be remembered among the most
important celebrations, because he was the man who took care
Jesus's and Mary's life : Catholic Church considers him
"the first among the saints", giving him a worship
that is called protodulìa (from the Greek protos "first"and
dulìa, worship of veneration to the Saints, different by the latrìa that is the adoration made
only to God). Before the Italian Government abolished Saint
Joseph's celebration for miserable economic reasons, this feast,
maybe the most known and the nicest among people, prepared the
coming of the spring. The fair, where the fathers went with
their children, was the visible sign that each of them wanted to
identify themself with Saint Joseph, "the first among the
saints" because he is "the first among the fathers".
From
the texts of
the Gospel that we have quoted, Saint Joseph's figure stands out, a man who has
cancelled from his heart pride and
prejudice and he is absorbed in the discharge of a duty that
only a just man can understand: any adult person
in front of a baby must feel father; and the
Gospel calls Joseph "just man" that in the scriptural
language has got a meaning stronger.
A
good etymology, that maybe it is not scientific, but it is
surely fascinating (one day, dear reader, I will have to
explain you the difference between scientific etimology and
popular etimology) compares three Latin words: pater, pasco,
panis. According to this etymology, then, the pa-ter (father) is
who pa-sce (feed) his children, giving them some pa-nis (bread.
When the etymology is popular, generally it is not true, but it
is good and true; it is true in a deeper meaning than the arid
thruth that offers us the science (and whose our intellectual
life needs).
So,
the title "putative" that is given to the father, when
we speak about Saint Joseph, is limiting, or even unjust:
"putative father" is considered a father, without to be
it really.
Now,
this adjective that is burn from the legitim preoccupation to
insist on Mary's virginity, is not adapt to Joseph, who, if he was
not father in the flesh, he was really Jesus's father in the
spirit, because he accepted him and protected him with love,
watching over the fragile existence of the Divine Child, making
possible His saving mission.
Actually,
Mary, who knows more than others, tells Jesus: "Your father
and I". Jesus, even if underlines that He has got another
Father in the sky and has got a special realtionship with Him (He
will always say:" My father and your Father") and must
fulfil His will, does not deny this human paternity, but on
the contrary, the Gospel says: "He was subjected to his
parents".
Maybe,
dear reader, when you put on the crib and put the earthen
statuette that represents the first among the saints near Child's
cradle, you don't think about it, but the tremor of the emotion,
that you fell, indicates it. I am enough pleased of my effort to
make words, if they are able to give voice to your deeper
feeling.
I
dedicate this short article to Don Giuseppe Rassello's memory;
he was parson in the Church of Santa Maria of the Sanità in
Naples and was teacher of Religion in the Liceo "Antonio
Genovesi". He was really father for all young people who
rescued from the culture of the death and giving back them to
the cult of the life. I suggest you, dear reader, an
interesting book, written by Don Giuseppe, who was a devote man of
human arts and indefatigable researcher of country memories,
its title is "San Severo fuori le mura" (Naples 1985).
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