{"id":95736,"date":"2015-03-11T09:30:04","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T14:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=95736"},"modified":"2015-03-11T09:48:49","modified_gmt":"2015-03-11T14:48:49","slug":"the-love-of-st-joseph-and-the-betrothal-to-mary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/03\/the-love-of-st-joseph-and-the-betrothal-to-mary\/","title":{"rendered":"The World’s Greatest Love"},"content":{"rendered":"
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St Mary and St Joseph<\/p><\/div>\n

As the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mar<\/em>y approaches on March 19th let us contemplate the betrothal and love of Joseph and Mary, and how it can help couples and also single people in their search for a spouse. Pope Benedict XVI reminded us on July 5, 2010 that the “The espousals between Joseph and Mary are an episode of great importance.”<\/em> While it is mentioned very little in scripture, it was the foundation for the family into which Jesus Christ was born.<\/p>\n

St. Pope John Paul II wrote in His Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris custos<\/em> (Guardian of the Redeemer), \u201cAccording to Jewish custom, marriage took place in two stages: first, the legal, or true marriage was celebrated, and then, only after a certain period of time, the husband brought the wife into his home.\u201d <\/em>The first stage was known as the betrothal <\/em>and the second stage was the great wedding feast, like those mentioned in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) and the wedding at Cana in John 2:1-11.<\/p>\n

The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary and Joseph<\/h2>\n
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Source: The Nativity Story (New Line Cinema)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cMary was betrothed to Joseph but before they lived together.\u201d(<\/em>Matt. 1:18) Betrothal was much more than the modern day \u201cengagement.\u201d Its juridical consequences were similar to those of Catholic marriage today for which the union has not yet been consummated, even though the wedding has already been validly celebrated. The betrothed were already called \u201chusband\u201d and \u201cwife\u201d enjoying the same legal rights as spouses who had already celebrated their marriage feast. This is why we see very early in Matthew 1:16, \u201cJoseph, the husband of Mary\u201d <\/em>and in verse 19, \u201cher husband Joseph.\u201d<\/em> Only cohabitation and conjugal relations were excluded during the period of betrothal –\u201cBut he knew her not.\u201d <\/em>(Matt. 1:24) Infidelity carried all the consequences of adultery and separation required a formal decree.<\/p>\n

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St Joseph and the Virgin Mary traveling to Bethlehem<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cA virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph.\u201d <\/em>(Lk. 1:27) During the betrothal period, the rabbis intended for the bride to have time to prepare her trousseau, and the groom, time to fulfill the promises of the contract and prepare the new home with all its furnishings. This betrothal period, which was sometimes up to a year, also allowed the bride to mature in age – the normal betrothal age was 14 or 15 for a girl and 18 for a young man.<\/p>\n

On the question of Joseph\u2019s age, third century iconographs picture Joseph beardless and young especially in the catacombs of St. Hippolytus in Rome. In the fourth century the sarcophagus of St. Celsus in Milan, also picture Joseph as beardless and young. The Fathers of the Church and saints concur that he was a young man and they even challenge the apocryphal writings that say he was an elderly widower with other children. Regrettably later, artists make Joseph appear as an old man trying to defend Our Lady\u2019s perpetual virginity. Modern mystics like Venerable Maria de Agreda, Mother Maria Cecilia Baij, and Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, in their visions see Joseph as a young man at the time of his espousal to Mary. Scripture describes the Old Testament Joseph as having, “A beautiful countenance and comely to behold,”<\/em> (Gen 39:6) and this too is what the New Testament Joseph is like in the eyes of his bride.<\/p>\n