Friday, September 22, 2006

Saint Joseph Gets His Due in 1962

Communicántes, et memóriam venerántes, in primis gloriósæ semper Vírginis Maríæ, Genitrícis Dei et Dómini nostri Jesu Christi: sed et beáti Joseph ejúsdem Vírginis Sponsi.

In communion with, and honoring the memory in the first place of the glorious ever Virgin Mary Mother of our God and Lord Jesus Christ; also of blessed Joseph, her Spouse.

In relation to my essay on the role of the Mother of God in Anglicanism, consider this history-making addition in the wider Western Church:

In honour of Saint Joseph, the Most Chaste Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope John XXIII did what was unthinkable at the time and altered the venerable and 'inalterable' Canon of the Mass of the Roman Rite in 1962, by adding Saint Joseph to the list of those Saints commemorated in the Roman Liturgy from time immemorial.

Let us never forget to venerate the memory of Saint Joseph, foster father of Our Blessed Lord and Patron of the Universal Church.

Sancte Ioseph, ora pro nobis.


2 comments:

Mike+ said...

I feel much better now....

MLW+

Arturo Vasquez said...

This was the definitive beginning of the end of the Roman liturgy.

I have nothing against St. Joseph, but the Canon mentioned the saints it mentioned for a reason. And plopping St. Joseph in front of St. Peter and Paul is unacceptable theologically and liturgically. The very modern RC obsession of making St. Joseph #2 after the Blessed Virgin is one of the "traditionalist" symptoms of the deterioration of the ethos of the Roman Church.

If we look at two examples of ancient iconography, we see what the early Church thought in terms of these issues. On the one hand, in the scenes of the Nativity, St. Joseph is in a corner, almost looking sad. He is in the corner because he has nothing to do with the history of the Incarnation; he is the legal father of Christ, and that is it. That is why the early Church had no devotion to him, even if we now argue it should have.

The other example is the Deisis. In this icon, Christ is seated in glory with the Virgin on his right and St. John the Baptist on his left. That is how Christ will be presented at the end of the world because we have here the Bridegroom, the Mother of the Bridegroom, and His friend. In Patristic thought, both St. John the Baptist and the Virgin play key roles in the economy of salvation. St. Joseph the Betrothed does not.

This being said, there is nothing wrong with having a deep devotion to this saint, and appreciating and meditating on the tender relationship he had with Our Lord. We must, however, respect the mind of the ancient Church, and honor the saints in the right order.

Patriarca del alma mia, cuando la muerte llegara, tu patrocino y amparo con Jesus y Maria

-an old Mexican prayer to St. Joseph for a good death.

Archbishop Donald Arden

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