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incredible historical events that were taking place,
in which he was
a central character.
The angel did not appear to Mary or a Priest or a Prophet, so that she/he could relay a message to Joseph. No, it was to Joseph directly that the angel brought God's message.
Such is the stature of Joseph about whom Scripture states:- a just man.
In his pure obedience Joseph did as the angel commanded and took Mary as his wife and her Son as his Son.
So it was, that The Eternal-father willed
that Joseph be His Son's father on earth.
P 47 2 13 And after they were departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him. PMatthew
This is also significant where an angel contacted Joseph directly, very obviously identifying him as the family head and guardian and as a result, Joseph took Mary and Jesus into Egypt.
P 47 2 19 But when Herod was dead, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt,
47 2 20 Saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel. For they are dead that sought the life of the child.
47 2 21 Who arose, and took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. P
So--Joseph received divine instructions through the angel, and in his obedience to these instructions,
Mary and the Child Jesus were
obedient to him.
Son of Man
Jesus called Himself Son of Man on many occasions, and so He truly was--a son of man; He was a man fully, just as He was The Son of God, fully.
So that, when Jesus called Himself Son of Man, He was not only quoting from the Old Testament but he was telling us that He was the Son of Joseph and Mary.
The Divine Work of Mary and Joseph
I have heard anti-Catholics attempt to reduce Mary's stature to a low level and no doubt St. Joseph cops the same treatment, and the only reason I can think of, as to why, is that
they do it because it is anti-Catholic.
Their first stand in the spiritual life
is this:-
anti-Catholic!!
One woman stated that Mary was a mere instrument--that being the end of Mary in her view--and passed on to other matters, as if she had put Mary in her place--so there!
We are all instruments of The Almighty.
Now, by saying that Mary was an instrument of The Almighty, the lady was intending to give the impression that Mary, having done her bit as this instrument, was relegated to the normal throng of humanity and there forgotten with the rest of the multitudes from the past.
It IS true that Mary was
an instrument of The Almighty,
there to do a divine work,
and this instrument, that is Mary,
is the most important instrument
of all creation, past, present and to come,
spiritual or physical.
This is true, simply because Mary was the Mother of Jesus Christ.
Her chaste spouse, Joseph, was also an instrument of The Almighty and he also, performed a divine work in his fatherhood of Jesus and in his marriage to Mary.
Because he was so closely associated with The Christ,
the work of Joseph
was second in importance only to Mary,
in all creation, past, present or to come.
That is to say, no-one ranks higher
in Heaven then Joseph
other then Jesus and Mary!
The Mystical Body of Christ
The Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ and, as already mentioned, The Church has declared that Joseph is the Patron of The Church.
It is easy to see the reasoning behind this fabulous acknowledgment of Joseph, for Joseph was the father of Jesus, and The Church is Jesus' Mystical Body.
Thus Joseph could be said to be the Father of The Church just as Mary has been declared to be Mother of the Church.
The Catholic Priesthood
This Priesthood--that is the ministerial Priesthood of The Church--issues from Jesus Christ. Each Priest is--in persona Christi--Christ Himself. Each Priest acts on behalf of Jesus Christ and in the stead of Jesus Christ.
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