Let us think to-day, of the social life between Joseph and Mary. St. Joseph was a very great saint, and Mary was unstained by sin: so pure, so holy, that no created being could be compared to her. What can we suppose was the conversation of these heavenly beings? When Mary visited her cousin, St. Elizabeth, John, in his mother's womb, leaped for joy. In other words, the presence of the God-man in the womb of the Blessed Virgin scattered graces about her with god-like profusion, and certainly St. Joseph, too, was affected by it. With as lively a faith as we have before the tabernacle on the altar, St. Joseph must have recognized the presence of the Lord, for he was acquainted with the mystery of the incarnation, as it had been revealed by the mouth of the angel. We are silent, and sunk in deep devotion in church, where God dwells. Was St. Joseph less impressed than we, when he recognized Him Who was the Son of God, and Who was to redeem His people Israel from their sins? How great was their devotion to the hidden Lord, how fervent their prayers! Still St. Joseph was the master in that house; he was the head of the family, and was obeyed in all his instructions.
Prayer.
Holy St. Joseph, spouse of Mary, etc., etc.
Twenty-seventh Day.
Joseph was obedient to the Law of Moses; scrupulously exact in following the instructions of the Jewish ceremonial, as all good Jews were. Poor as he was, and notwithstanding the loss of time it necessarily entailed, he still went every year, as was the custom, to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of the Passover. He did this because it was a law of Moses. The Blessed Virgin and the Child Jesus were equally anxious to fulfil the law. And when the feast was over, all went back to Nazareth, but Jesus remained behind, and hid Himself from Joseph for three days, making him feel wretched, because he thought that he had been delinquent in his trust of the divine Jesus. But Jesus wants to be looked for, not with an ordinary desire, but with a real love, and the longer we are separated from Him the more loving should we become, because our heart is desolate without His holy presence. O my God, I have sought Thee all my life! but I have not found Thee because I do not look for Thee where Thou art to be found. Indeed Thou art in my heart, but I go out and look for Thee in distractions where Thou shalt not be found.
Prayer.
Holy St. Joseph, spouse of Mary, etc., etc.