19 March 2022
Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Poor St. Joseph. He received a year in his honor, a year that matched covid, so once again our silent saint was pushed to the background. Joseph is an interesting saint from the point of view of art historians since of all the images of the saints, his image goes through the most changes. We see Saint Peter with keys, Paul with the sword, and Catherine with her wheel, all looking somewhat the same through the ages. Not St. Joseph! In the late middle ages and early renaissance, artists frequently portray Joseph as the old Grandpa asleep in the hay with donkeys and sheep paying more attention to the baby Jesus. Lest there be any confusion concerning the paternity of the kid in the crib, Joseph was portrayed as a very, very old man. Later, in the 1600s with the advance of the nuclear family in western Europe, the Jesuits advanced the image of Joseph as an “older” gentleman but clearly the active head of the happy home in Nazareth. A few more changes followed, but the big change came in the 1920s when Joseph takes on the image of the young father, back from the gym, with the baby Jesus in one hand and hammer in the other. Here we see the head of the Catholic household ready to defend the family against the godless commies. By the 20th century, the Catholic church needed a model of Christian fatherhood and an image of a man who saw dignity in labor and who obviously spent time hauling and lifting. The image of an aging grandpa did not portray what was needed. It is no surprise that Pope Leo XIII promulgated encyclicals on the dignity and the place of labor in salvation history and one on St. Joseph. St. Joseph said nothing in the scriptures. His role has been one of serving when needed, whether it was to be portrayed as old and doddering, or young and ready to defend the family. Often, we are called on to take on roles or jobs that we don’t accept or particularly like. Perhaps we can pray to St. Joseph for support, the foster father of Jesus who takes on the role of what the church needs at any particular time.