S E S S I O N 15 The Paradise at Nazareth Last week we saw that the home at Nazareth was born of St. Joseph s opened heart. To enter more deeply into the mystery of St. Joseph, we must consider the home at Nazareth more deeply.! The Home of St. Joseph at Nazareth Source: Doze, Fr. Andrew, Saint Joseph: The Shadow of the Father, Trans. Audett, F., Alba House, New York, 1992, p. 52. Jesus went down with Mary and Joseph and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them them (Luke 2:51).! The Holy Family was a heaven, a paradise on earth, endless delights in this place of grief; it was a glory already begun in the vileness, abjection and lowliness of their life (Monsignor Jean Jacques Olier).! The Holy Family is not so much a reflection of the Paradise in Eden, but of the Paradise in the Book of Revelation.! 1
The Paradise in Revelation Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more But nothing unclean shall enter it, nor any one who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb s book of life.!!!!!!revelation 21:1-27! One of the chief characteristics of the Paradise in the Book of Revelation is that nothing unclean can enter into it. We need to consider the holiness of the Holy Family very carefully.! The Holiness of Jesus and Mary Jesus is the Word Incarnate: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come (Revelation 4:8).! Mary is the Immaculate Conception: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin (Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854).! St. Joseph: The Second Greatest Saint In truth, the dignity of the Mother of God is so lofty that naught created can rank above it. But as Joseph has been united to the Blessed Virgin by the ties of marriage, it may not be doubted that he approached nearer than any to the eminent dignity by which the Mother of God surpasses so nobly all created natures.!!pope Leo XIII, Quamquam Pluries, 1889! 2
The Holiness of St. John the Baptist I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he (Luke 7:28).! Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother s womb (Luke 1:13-15).! For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for you (Luke 1:44).! The Holiness of St. Joseph We do NOT have a definitive teaching from the Church.! Many saints and theologians have postulated that St. Joseph was sanctified in his mother s womb in a manner more eminent than St. John the Baptist.! The stain of Original Sin was removed the second after it had been contracted.! Further, they postulate that the effects of sin the triple concupiscence was totally destroyed in St. Joseph or at least minimized so that it did not hinder the exercise of his responsibilities.! A Great Mystery of the Spousal Bond Marriage is the most intimate of all unions which from its essence imparts a community of gifts between those that by it are joined together. Thus in giving Joseph the Blessed Virgin Mary as spouse, God appointed him to be a participator in her sublime dignity (Pope Leo XIII, Quamquam Pluries, 1889).! It is therefore logical that Jesus is but of one heart with Mary; as a result, we can say that Mary is but of one heart with Joseph, and Joseph consequently is but of one heart with Jesus and Mary (St. John Eudes, Le Coeur Admirable, v. 8, Chapter 3).! A Theological Stretch [Monsignor Olier] thinks, like St. Francis de Sales, that the light illuminating the soul of Joseph was of the same nature as the one illuminating Mary s soul. But, in contrast with other authors, he does not think he should set up degrees he grants that Joseph had a kind of beauty and wisdom that knew no limitations since he was Christ s guardian on earth.! Fr. Andrew Doze!! Saint Joseph: Shadow of the Father, p. 51! 3
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception was proclaimed in light of Mary s role relative to Christ in the mysteries of salvation.! What was the role of St. Joseph?! The Mission of St. Joseph The admirable St. Joseph was given to the earth to express the adorable perfection of God the Father in a tangible way. In his person alone, he bore the beauties of God the Father, his purity and love, his wisdom and prudence, his mercy and compassion. One saint alone is destined to represent God the Father while an infinite number of creatures, a multitude of saints are needed to represent Jesus Hence, the majestic St. Joseph must be considered as the greatest, the most famous and the most incomprehensible person in the world. The Father, having chosen this saint to make of him his image on earth.!! Monsignor Jean Jacques Olier!! Saint Joseph: Shadow of the Father, p. 51! The mission of St. Joseph takes us back to the mystery of Paradise. We are called to be transformed by the vision of God.! To See the Face of God There shall no more be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him; they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads (Revelation 22:3-4).! See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are Beloved, we are God s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure (1 John 3:1-3).! 4
A vision that transforms. Suddenly, we are in a very familiar place but it is inside the Holy Family at Nazareth.! Intellectual Formation and Communion Source: Eliot, E., What s Going on in There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life, Bantam Books, New York, 1999, p. 392 and pp. 412-414. Siegel, D., The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are, 2 nd Edition, The Guilford Press, New York, 2012, pp, 35 and 112. Except for a few cognitive instincts, newborns pretty much just perceive and react Cognitive development is the product of two interacting influences brain growth and experience.! The brain continues to change in response to experience throughout the lifespan. We are in lifelong development, as reflected in the ever-changing structure of the brain throughout our lives attachment relationships are the major environmental factors that shape brain development during its period of maximal growth.! The Human Intellect of Christ Jesus Christ has a divine and human intellect.! This human soul that the Son of God assumed is endowed with a true human knowledge. As such, this knowledge could not in itself be unlimited This is why the Son of God could increase in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man, and would even have to inquire for himself about what one in the human condition can learn only from experience (Catechism #472).! Harmony in Jesus Christ The human nature of Christ must be in harmony with the divine person of the Word.! The intellect of the divine person of the Word beholds the Father: No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known (John 1:18).! The Father is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4).! The human intellect of Christ must have formed in it the image of fatherhood that is rich in mercy.! This is the mission of St. Joseph.! 5
The Spiritual Reality of Fatherhood Some propagate and conserve the spiritual life in a spiritual ministry only, and this belongs to the sacrament of orders; and some belong to the bodily and spiritual life simultaneously, which takes place in the sacrament of matrimony where a man and a woman come together to beget offspring and to rear them in divine worship.! St. Thomas Aquinas! Summa Contra Gentiles, 4.58.6! To be a Father Your children are both physical and spiritual.! As a father you are called to give life to both.! The physical begins at the moment of conception and gradually lessens as the child matures.! The spiritual begins at the moment of conception and increases throughout the life of the child.! With the passage from this world, the physical comes to an end while the spiritual reaches its fulfillment.! Small Group Discussion Your fatherhood is more amazing than you could ever image.! Men relive and reveal on earth the very fatherhood of God.! Starter Questions! 1. In what ways can you better focus on the spiritual reality of your fatherhood?! 2. Where has evil entered your home and how can you get it out?! Next Week! A Home Filled with Joy! 6