I’m following Fr. Calloway’s 33 day Consecration to St. Joseph and was surprised to learn that there is quite a bit of convincing support for the notion that St. Joseph was actually a young man. I have always thought of him as being much older than Mary, but now, I’m of the belief that he was much younger than I originally thought.
Yes, I always imagined Saint Joseph to be in his early thirties when he and Mary were married. They made at least three long journeys we know about, and he was also said to be a carpenter. Doddery old men don't do carpentry working with saws and chisels etc., or make long journeys on foot or by donkey like Saint Joseph did. IMHO. I think he may have been say 33 when he married Mary. Then when Jesus was about 15, Saint Joseph died and left Mary and Jesus in God's hands preparing for the great work of Redemption. At least that is how I think it may have been.
Well, Joseph was old enough to be a full fledge carpenter when he married Mary. Or, maybe he was an apprentice who was getting ready to take over as a carpenter. Anyway, I always thought that he was at least 30 when he married Mary, and she a young teen. She was anywhere from 13 to 16 when they got married. And the last time Joseph was mentioned was in the temple when Jesus was 12. So he died sometime between then and the time Jesus started his public ministry at the age of 30. I heard, or read, somewhere that the Jews believed at that time that a man became a full "man" at the age of 30. So Jesus wouldn't have started his ministry until that time. These days, we think of kids as being adults at the age of 18. Back then it was probably different. I'm not sure how they figured when a man was old enough to marry back then, but Joseph may have been chosen because he was old enough to support Mary, but pure enough to keep his hands off her. I believe the Church teaches that Mary remained a virgin for all her life. So Joseph had to really be mature enough to handle this situation.
Good point Julia! Mother Angelica was once asked this question and her response was "...All I know, sweetie, is old men don't walk to Egypt!" Very typical Mother Angelica response, lol.
This quote from St. Josemaria Escriva, puts St. Joseph at an age not much older than Mary: "I see him as a strong, young man, perhaps a few years older than Our Lady, but in the prime of his life and work"..."You don't have to wait to be old or lifeless to practice the virtue of chastity. Purity comes from love; and the strength and gaiety of youth are no obstacle for noble love. Joseph had a young heart and a young body when he married Mary..." Venerable Bishop Fulton Sheen also said, "Joseph was probably a young man, strong, virile, athletic, handsome, chaste, and disciplined"...."Just as we would give very little credit to the Blessed Mother if she had taken her vow of virginity after having been an old maid for fifty years, so neither could we give much credit to a Joseph who became her spouse because he was advanced in years." Fr. Calloway has a lot of other examples to support the idea of a young St. Joseph in his book Consecration to St. Joseph.
According to Catherine Emmerich's account Jesus was born in Mary's 15th year. Mary died in her 63rd year. Joseph died just prior to Jesus's public ministry when Jesus was 30. She never specifically states Joseph's age but from reading her account I believe he was late 20's at the very youngest when they married and more likely early to mid thirties.
I am re doing my St Joseph 33 day consecration and I just read how so many saints and especially Fulton Sheen said he had to be young....not an old man....
St. Joseph has become one of my favorite saints over the past year. I've spent a lot of time contemplating the decision he made to become the stepfather of Christ and the amount of faith and sacrifice in that decision. I probably wouldn't have started this if it was not for an entry about St. Joseph in Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen's The World's First Love: But when one searches for the reasons why Christian art should have pictured Joseph as aged, we discover that it was in order to better safeguard the virginity of Mary. Somehow, the assumption had crept in that senility was a better protector of virginity than adolescence. Art thus unconcsciously made Joseph a spouse chaste and pure by age rather than virtue...To make Joseph appear pure only because his flesh had aged is like glorifying a mountain stream that has dried. The Church will not a ordain a man to the priesthood who has not his vital powers. She wants men who have something to tame, rather than those who are tame because they have no energy to be wild. It should be no different with God. ...Joseph was probably a young man, strong, virile, atheletic, handsome, chaste, and disciplined; the kind of man one sees sometimes shepherding sheep, or piloting a plane, or working at a carpenter's bench. Instead of being a man incapable of love, he must have been on fire with love....Instead, then, of being dried fruit to be served on the table of the king, he was rather a blossom filled with promise and power. He was not in the evening of life, but in its morning, bubbling over with energy, strength, and controlled passion.
I just read about that a few days ago! Hubby and I, also, are doing Fr. Calloway's Consecration to St. Joseph. I love finding out St. Joseph was a young man. It makes him feel like a much stronger and more energetic protector. I have the most wonderful picture of him on my prayer table...young, strong, and smiling up to Heaven with perfect confidence. I love it so much. St. Joseph is the saint who has ALWAYS come through for me, every time I pray to him. He always answers in a very obvious way, even if it wasn't exactly what I was asking for.. I still feel his clear hand in the outcome. We have many boys/men named after him in my family. My great grandfather, grandfather, father, brother, and my first son (who is in Heaven.) My husband's father, grandfather, brother, and nephew, and my nephew have Joseph as a middle name.
I too have been studying St Joseph over the years, and in an account written about 250 after Christ, he was, yes older than Mary of course, but in his late 20s. He also had taken responsibility for his dead brother's children later and this talks about St James the Greater who was said to be Jesus' brother. It was actually his cousin whom Joseph took in. This account is in "History of the Church" by Eusabius
Okay did some serious study on who protestants claim is Jesus brother, saint James the Greater. Nope the gospels prove he is actually the son of the sister of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is called Mary of Cleophas. See the gospels Mark chapter 15 verses 40-41 and John Chapter 19 verse 25. Also the other James who is called James the Lesser is the brother of John the Apostle also referred to as Sons of Thunder see reference in Matthew Chapter 20 Verses 20-21. The History of the Church as I mentioned above also explains Mary and Joseph did not have any children and that he was thought to have been a guardian to some of his brother's children.
It makes me wonder why Saint James the Greater the alleged nephew of Saint Joseph was not willing or able to take care of the Blessed Mother who was a widow at the time Jesus was executed by Crucifixion leaving her alone in the world. A woman in those days before welfare was invented would have been under a death sentence with no means to support herself, or reduced to begging. Think of how it is for women in the Middle East today. Would that have not been the very least he could do to show gratitude for Saint Josephs help when the nephew was young and vulnerable. I am not convinced by that account. If he had left the area he would not be mentioned in the Bible. IMHO
