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DAY 30: Saint Joseph died a holy and a happy death, gazing upon Jesus and resting in the arms of Mary. You have a loving, spiritual father to help you prepare for death.

DAY 30: Patron of the Dying, Pray for Us

The name of Joseph will be our protection during all the days of our life, but above all at the moment of death.1
— Blessed William Joseph Chaminade

Saint Joseph died a holy and happy death. He died gazing upon Jesus and resting in the arms of Mary. What greater death could a person experience? God has designated St. Joseph as the Patron of the Dying because he wants us to experience a death similar to that of St. Joseph, a holy and happy death.

Death is a part of life, but it is not an easy part of life. Letting go and saying goodbye to family and friends is not easy. In many monasteries, there are signs that read “Memento Mori” (“Remember You Will Die”). The sign is not meant to be morbid, but rather to serve as a reminder that our life on earth will come to an end, and we need to be prepared for death.

We need to be prepared for death because Satan always tries to get a soul to despair and turn away from our loving God at the hour of death. Ask any priest; he will tell you that a spiritual battle takes place over a soul at the hour of death. For this reason, we need the intercession of our spiritual father to fortify us, protect us, and fill us with trust in God’s love and mercy.

Jesus granted to him [St. Joseph] the special privilege of safe-guarding the dying against the snares of Lucifer, just as he had also saved him [Jesus] from the schemes of Herod. — St. Alphonsus Liguori

Saint Joseph is your personal patron. Saint Joseph is everyone’s personal patron because everyone is going to die. None of us is going to be here forever. You have a loving spiritual father who can help you prepare for death. On his deathbed, St. Joseph himself must have been concerned about the future of his wife and Son. Would they suffer? Would they be treated cruelly by others? Would their future be a happy one? Yet St. Joseph had boundless confidence in God’s love and mercy. He died trusting in Divine Providence, full of confidence that God would take care of his wife and Son. With St. Joseph in your life, you do not have to be fearful of death either. When your time comes, St. Joseph will help you experience a happy and holy death.

The Church encourages us to prepare ourselves for the hour of our death. In the litany of the saints, for instance, she has us pray: “From a sudden and unforeseen death, deliver us, O Lord,” to ask the Mother of God to intercede for us “at the hour of our death” in the Hail Mary; and to entrust ourselves to St. Joseph, the patron of a happy death. — Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Catechism tells us that, in order to prepare for death, we should “entrust ourselves to St. Joseph.” In other words, consecrate yourself to St. Joseph! To prevent an unhappy death — a death that catches us unprepared, without the last Sacraments — prepare for it now by consecrating yourself to St. Joseph and living a holy life. In giving everything to St. Joseph, death will not catch you unprepared. Today, many people are not prepared for death. They do not consider their mortality, living as if they are immortal and immune to the grave. The finality of death will be a torture for such people.

As for you, live a pious life in union with the Church. Remain in a state of sanctifying grace. Go to Confession and Holy Communion frequently. Give everything to St. Joseph!

He [a servant of St. Joseph] will beg of him the grace of dying as he himself did, with the kiss of Jesus and in the arms of Mary. — Blessed William Joseph Chaminade

Happy are you if your death has the assistance of St. Joseph. Then, no matter if flames devour you, or waters overwhelm you, or disease slays you, the prayers of St. Joseph will throw around you an all protecting mantle of defense. — Venerable Nelson Baker

Patron of a Happy Death

Since we all must die, we should cherish a special devotion to St. Joseph that he may obtain for us a happy death. — St. Alphonsus Liguori

Nobody knows when they are going to die. We don’t even know when St. Joseph died. Tradition holds that he died sometime before Jesus initiated his public ministry, but we don’t know the exact timeframe. Saint Bernardine of Siena offers a few insightful thoughts on St. Joseph’s death. He writes:

Though we do not read in Scripture when St. Joseph died, yet it may be believed that he probably died before our Lord’s Passion. For he would not have been absent from the Savior’s Cross had he been alive; nor would it have been becoming for Christ, from his cross, to have placed Mary in another’s care.

Saint Bernardine’s thoughts make a lot of sense. Were St. Joseph alive when his Son was crucified, he most certainly would have been at Calvary to comfort his wife and be a source of consolation to Jesus. As St. Bernardine points out, if St. Joseph was present at Calvary, the entrustment of Mary to St. John would have been very confusing for the early Church. God taking St. Joseph out of the picture before the public ministry and Passion of Jesus was clearly part of the divine plan.

“Why did God take St. Joseph before the Passion of Jesus?” you might wonder. Well, according to God’s plan, it was fitting that St. Joseph already be deceased so that Jesus could entrust his mother to St. John — and also entrust St. John (symbolizing all souls) to his mother. Were St. Joseph present at the Cross, the entrustment of souls to Mary as our spiritual mother would not have been as clear or understandable to the followers of Jesus. The filial relationship that each soul is called to have with Mary might have been obscured had St. Joseph been present. In addition, had St. Joseph been present at the Cross, Jesus would have also said to John the Apostle, “Behold, your father.” This entrustment would have caused tremendous con-fusion for the followers of Jesus regarding the difference between the Heavenly Father and St. Joseph. Jesus wants his disciples to have a filial relationship with St. Joseph as well as Mary, but the recognition of St. Joseph’s spiritual fatherhood would have needed to wait until the Church was mature enough to begin to understand it.

As it is fitting that St. Joseph died before the Passion of Jesus, so it is also fitting that his death should have taken place before Jesus’ public ministry. If St. Joseph were alive during the public ministry of Jesus, it would have been confusing for people to hear Jesus speak about his desire to take them to his Father. In order to avoid obscur-ing the primacy of the Heavenly Father, Joseph had to die before the public ministry of Jesus began.

Though we do not know exactly when St. Joseph died, saints and holy mystics do provide insights into the manner of his death.

It may be piously believed that at the moment of his [St. Joseph’s] death, Jesus and the most Blessed Virgin, his spouse, were present. What exhortations! What consoling words! What promises! What luminous and enflamed words! In this moment of his passage toward eternity, what revelations on eternal goods must he have received from his most holy spouse and from Jesus, the most loving Son of God! I leave the contemplation and con-sideration of all this to your own devotion. — St. Bernardine of Siena

He [St. Joseph] never preached, but he gave his entire life to the service of Jesus and died in his arms. If Jesus cried over Lazarus, must he not have cried over [the death of] St. Joseph? — St. Peter Julian Eymard

When Joseph was dying, Mary sat at the head of his bed, holding him in her arms. Jesus stood just below her near Joseph’s breast. The whole room was brilliant with light and full of angels. After his death, his hands were crossed on his breast, he was wrapped from head to foot in a white winding sheet, laid in a narrow casket, and placed in a very beautiful tomb, the gift of a good man. — Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich

Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich’s reported mystical insights about St. Joseph’s death have intrigued many people. Her idea that St. Joseph’s body was placed in a tomb has led many people to wonder if the tomb still exists. While it’s certainly probable that St. Joseph’s body was placed in a tomb, to date, we have no idea where the tomb of St. Joseph is located. Not one person in all of Christianity has ever claimed to know where the body of St. Joseph was placed after death. Isn’t that fascinating? We know where the tombs of the ancient patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are located because they are described in detail in the Old Testament, but as for St. Joseph’s tomb, we have no idea where it is.

If St. Joseph’s body is in a tomb, it would certainly be incorruptible, right? Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich thought so, and offered an interesting thought about it. She states:

Only a few men followed the coffin [of St. Joseph] with Jesus and Mary; but I saw it accompanied by angels and environed with light. Joseph’s remains were afterward removed by the Christians to Bethlehem, and interred. I think I can still see him lying there incorrupt.

Hmmm ... interesting. Blessed Anne Catherine’s notion that St. Joseph’s body might be incorrupt and lying somewhere in a tomb on earth has led some people to speculate that the incorrupt body of St. Joseph will be discovered one day and, when discovered, bring great rejoicing to the Church. Can you imagine? What a phenomenal day of rejoicing that would be! Yet, as wonderful as such an event would be, there’s a very good reason why we don’t know where the tomb of St. Joseph is located. It’s more probable that Joseph’s body is not lying incorrupt in a tomb on earth somewhere. Rather, it is more probable that his body is in heaven with Jesus and Mary.

Many saints believe that St. Joseph was assumed into heaven in a manner similar to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It makes a lot of sense if you think about it. There are no relics of Mary’s body on earth — we have only pieces of her veil, sash, or other fragments of her garments — because she was assumed into heaven, body and soul. Likewise, there are no bodily relics of St. Joseph on earth — we have only pieces of his garments or other items associated with him; for example, his staff — because he, too, was most likely assumed into heaven, body and soul. If Jesus assumed his mother’s body into heaven, why would he not do the same for his beloved father? What son, if he had divine power, would take his mother’s body to heaven and leave his father’s body in a tomb?

Saint Bernardine of Siena supported belief in the assumption of St. Joseph into heaven. He was quick to point out that such a belief can’t be held as doctrine (at least not in St. Bernardine’s time), but he did acknowledge that it was okay for the faithful of his era to piously believe it. He wrote:

We may piously believe, but not assert, that the Most Holy Son of God crowned his foster-father with the same privilege which he gave his mother; that as he assumed her into heaven bodily and glorious in soul, so also on the day when he [Jesus] arose he took Joseph up with him in the glory of the Resurrection.

A few centuries after St. Bernardine lived, St. Francis de Sales took the pious belief in the bodily assumption of St. Joseph to the next level. Saint Francis de Sales’ statement on the topic is probably the boldest claim ever made by a saint regarding St. Joseph being assumed into heaven. He stated:

We can never for a moment doubt that this glorious saint has great influence in heaven with him who raised him there in body and in soul — a fact which is the more probable because we have no relic of that body left to us here below! Indeed, it seems to me that no one can doubt this as a truth, for how could he who had been so obedient to St. Joseph, all through his life, refuse him this grace?

Saint Francis de Sales expanded on his thought and asserted the following:

If it is true, as we are bound to believe, that in virtue of the Blessed Sacrament which we receive, our bodies will come to life again on the day of judgment (Jn 6:55), how could we doubt that Our Lord raised up to heaven, in body and soul, the glori-ous St. Joseph? For he had the honor and the grace of carrying him so often in his blessed arms, those arms in which Our Lord took so much pleasure.

In modern times, a saintly pope, John XXIII, has asserted that St. Joseph was assumed bodily into heaven. In a homily given on May 26, 1960, the Solemnity of the Ascension, he stated:

It [the Ascension of Jesus] corresponds, also, to those deceased from the Old Testament who were closest to Jesus. We name two who were the most intimate in his life; John the Baptist, the Forerunner; and Joseph of Nazareth, his putative father and custodian. It [the Ascension] corresponds to them, as well, and can be piously believed. It is an honor and a privilege for them to experience this admirable path to heaven.

Why would saints and popes believe that St. Joseph was assumed into heaven in body and soul? Well, there are several reasons. One is found in the New Testament itself. In the Gospel of Matthew, we are told about an incredible event that happened to many people after the Resurrection of Jesus. It reads:

And behold, the veil in the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. — Mt 27:51-53

It’s an intriguing passage, to say the least. Who are the saints that came forth from their tombs at the death of Jesus? Well, we don’t know exactly who they were because no names are given, but the Church has often thought that they are the prophets of the Old Testament, as well as St. John the Baptist and St. Joseph. It certainly makes sense that St. Joseph would be among their number.

If people rose from the dead at the death of Jesus — a fact that is clearly stated in the passage from Matthew’s Gospel — would not St. Joseph have been one of them? Why would our Lord raise others from the dead and leave his own beloved father in a tomb? Saint Joseph is greater than all the Old Testament prophets, including St. John the Baptist. Saint Joseph is even greater than the grandparents of Jesus, Sts. Joachim and Anne. It should come as no surprise, then, that St. Bernardine of Siena, St. Francis de Sales, St. Pope John XXIII, and St. George Preca believed that St. Joseph rose from the dead at the death of Christ and, after appearing to many in Jerusalem, was assumed into heaven, body and soul, after the Resurrection of Christ.

If the Resurrection of Christ, as we read in the Gospel of Matthew, caused the bodies of certain saints to rise and appear to many, isn’t it likely that St. Joseph shared in this privilege since he died before Christ? — St. George Preca

Taking it one step further, if St. Joseph is one of the saints mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew who rose from the dead at the Resurrection of Jesus, entering the holy city of Jerusalem and appearing to many, who would St. Joseph most likely have gone to see? Why, his wife, of course! All this is speculation, but it does make for delightful meditation. Imagine the sweet reunion, the chaste, tear-filled embrace!

There is yet another reason to believe that St. Joseph was assumed into heaven. It comes from the idea that St. Joseph was sanctified in the womb of his mother, as St. John the Baptist was sanctified in the womb of his mother. This idea has been affirmed by many saints as well.

If God, as I firmly believe, so sanctified all the patriarchs because the Messiah was to be born from them, and sanctified all the prophets to foretell mysteries concerning the Messiah, and sanctified Jeremiah in the womb, and filled John the Baptist with the Holy Spirit to be the herald of the Messiah, and above all sanctified the Blessed Virgin to be the mother of Christ, why would he not also sanctify Joseph, the father of Christ? — St. Lawrence of Brindisi

If Jeremiah had the privilege of being sanctified before birth, if St. John the Baptist received the same grace in preparation for his service as precursor of the Messiah, are we not to believe that the one who served as the father of the Savior, and husband of the Queen of virgins, was treated with equal love and mercy? — St. Bartolo Longo

Now, to be clear, neither St. Joseph nor any other saint expe-rienced an immaculate conception anything like Our Lady’s. After the fall of man, the Virgin Mary was the first to be free of all stain of sin from the first moment of her existence. She and her Son alone have had that unique privilege. Yet St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Blessed Bartolo Longo, and many others affirm that God did give extraor-dinary gifts of holiness to certain saints immediately after they were conceived because of the mission that God had entrusted to them. Since this is the case, not only would St. Joseph have been on the list of saints who were sanctified in the womb, but he would have been the “most sanctified” of them all. His mission of love was far greater than those of any of the Old Testament prophets, and even greater than the mission of St. John the Baptist.

The belief that St. Joseph was sanctified in the womb has led many people to ponder the cause of St. Joseph’s death. In other words, what did he die from, old age or other causes? According to many saints, there’s a lot more to St. Joseph’s death than we think. They claim that his death was both natural and supernatural. He died from a natural cause (illness or advanced age), but also from a supernatural cause (love).

Love was the real cause of the death of St. Joseph. — Venerable Mary of Ágreda

What does that mean? How can a person die from love? Actually, this kind of death should come as no surprise. Poets and musicians have written and sung about dying of love from time immemorial. For St. Joseph, it was more than poetic; it was real.

Let’s explore this a bit more.

Saint Joseph’s main purpose in life was to get his wife (the New Eve) and his divine Son (the New Adam) to Calvary. There, they could offer their sacrifice and redeem the world. Saint Joseph’s physical presence, however, was not necessary at Calvary. God required St. Joseph to make his sacrifice beforehand. Sure, God could have kept St. Joseph alive to suffer with Jesus and Mary at Calvary, but God exercised great mercy toward St. Joseph in sparing him from being a witness to the Crucifixion of his Son and the piercing of his wife’s Heart. Saint Joseph had already done his suffering.

Adhering to God’s plan, St. Joseph had already offered his loving sacrifice before Jesus and Mary offered their sacrifice on Calvary. His mission required that he die to self every day in order to get Jesus and Mary to Calvary so that they could make their sacrifice. Saint Joseph had done all he could do, and though his body was surely giving out due to the limits of human nature, his death was more about love than anything else. His mind, heart, soul, and body could endure no more suffering. He was exhausted from love. For decades, he had poured out all his heart for Jesus and Mary. Love had consumed him. Love “killed” him.

No one has suffered more for Jesus and Mary than St. Joseph. You might ask, “How is this possible? He was not a martyr. Nor was he pierced by a lance, whipped, burned, or drawn and quartered as other martyrs have been throughout history.” Yes, it is true that he wasn’t a martyr by blood. However, St. Joseph’s suffering for Jesus and Mary lasted for decades and was of such interior intensity that no martyr’s blood can ever compare to the sacrificial love that the father of Jesus offered for so many years. He lived with the never-ending knowledge that his wife’s Heart would be pierced and his Son mocked, ridiculed, and hated. He was not ignorant of the prophecy of Simeon. He knew it well. He carried it in his heart for decades. The purer your heart, the purer your sacrifice. The greater your soul, the greater your suffering.

Saint Joseph is the greatest saint after Mary because he suffered more than any other saint for Jesus. Before St. John the Baptist offered his head to the axe and the early Christians surrendered their bodies to the lions, St. Joseph had already given his heart and soul as a sacrifice for Jesus. The Desert Fathers observed rigorous methods of penance and years of asceticism, but the glorious St. Joseph had already lived extreme poverty, exile, and hardship for love of Christ. Saint Francis Xavier sailed across the high seas to evangelize foreign lands, suffering for the Gospel in a distant country, but St. Joseph had already been the first and greatest missionary. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux taught the world the “little way” of holiness and childlike simplicity, but St. Joseph long before her had already perfected the spirituality of childlike confidence in God. Saint Joseph gave everything for Jesus and Mary. He poured himself out. When completely exhausted from love, he died from having loved so much.

We may well call St. Joseph the martyr of the hidden life, for no one ever suffered as he did. But why so much sorrow in his life? Simply because the holier a person is, the more he must suffer for the love and glory of God. Suffering is the flowering of God’s grace in a soul and the triumph of the soul’s love for God. Therefore, St. Joseph, the greatest of saints after Mary, suffered more than all the martyrs. The source of his suffering lay in his deep, tender, and enlightened love for Jesus and in his veneration for the Virgin Mary. All the elect must climb the hill of Calvary, and it is only through the wounds in His hands and feet that they reach the heart of Jesus. It is not so much a question of penitence as of love; penitence only pays a debt, but love goes further and crucifies itself with Jesus and for Jesus. It is a truth then that the more a soul loves, the more it suffers. That is why St. Joseph’s Calvary lasted thirty years with no respite whatever. When he was honored with the dignity of foster-father of Christ, the Cross was set up in his heart and he labored in its shadow for the rest of his life. — St. Peter Julian Eymard

Were it the will of God, St. Joseph would have eagerly desired to stay on earth and suffer even more with Jesus and Mary at Calvary. However, it was not God’s will.

Saint Joseph foresaw Mary’s tears and misery. He would have desired to stay by her side, and he must have begged Jesus to be allowed to remain on earth that he might climb Calvary and sustain Mary. — St. Peter Julian Eymard

God accepted St. Joseph’s years of sacrificial love and filled his heart with such extraordinary graces that he died of love and was spared the tortures of Calvary. As a good son (indeed, as the good Son!), Jesus showed great mercy to his earthly father. Jesus, the Son of Joseph, did not desire for his earthly father to witness Calvary.

God was pleased to take to himself St. Joseph before our Savior’s Passion, to spare him the overwhelming grief it would have caused him. —  St. Bernardine of Siena

Joseph had of necessity to die before the Lord, for he could not have endured his crucifixion; he was too gentle, too loving. — Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich

Mary, as the New Eve and Mother of All the Living, had to be at Calvary; St. Joseph, a New Adam, had already given himself and offered his loving sacrifice. Unlike St. Joseph, Mary’s presence at the Cross was absolutely necessary. She had to be there in order to give birth to the Church. As (according to a venerable tradition) God had kept St. Joseph’s eyes from seeing the birth of Christ at Bethlehem, so (according to Scripture) he also hid from St. Joseph’s eyes the Crucifixion of his beloved Son on Calvary. Calvary would have been a double-torture to St. Joseph’s heart.

Poor St. Joseph! He had to submit to death and leave behind him Jesus and Mary: Jesus to be crucified and abandoned by his people; Mary, to suffer alone, unassisted. How his love for them was crucified! — St. Peter Julian Eymard

Venerable Mary of Ágreda had a vision of being transported to the bedside of St. Joseph so as to witness his last breath and final words to his loving wife. In a statement that is sure to move your heart and touch your soul, Venerable Mary of Ágreda related that St. Joseph said the following goodbye to Mary before he died.

Blessed art thou among all women. Let angels and men praise thee; let all the generations know, praise, and exalt thy dignity; and may the Most High be eternally praised for having created thee so pleasing in his eyes and in the sight of all the blessed spirits. I hope to enjoy thy sight in the heavenly fatherland.

Pray the Litany of St. Joseph:

Lord, have mercy.  Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.  Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven,  have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Noble Offspring of David,  pray for us.
Light of Patriarchs, pray for us.
Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us.
Guardian of the Redeemer, pray for us.
Chaste Guardian of the Virgin, pray for us.
Foster-Father of the Son of God, pray for us.
Zealous Defender of Christ, pray for us.
Servant of Christ, pray for us.
Minister of Salvation, pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.

Joseph Most Just, pray for us.
Joseph Most Chaste,  pray for us.
Joseph Most Prudent,  pray for us.
Joseph Most Courageous,  pray for us.
Joseph Most Obedient, pray for us.
Joseph Most Faithful, pray for us.

Mirror of Patience, pray for us.
Lover of Poverty, pray for us.
Model of Workmen, pray for us.
Glory of Domestic Life, pray for us.
Guardian of Virgins, pray for us.
Pillar of Families, pray for us.
Support in Difficulties, pray for us.
Comfort of the Afflicted, pray for us.
Hope of the Sick, pray for us.
Patron of Exiles,  pray for us.
Patron of the Afflicted, pray for us.
Patron of the Poor, pray for us.
Patron of the Dying, pray for us.
Terror of Demons,  pray for us.
Protector of the Holy Church, pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

V. He has made him lord of his household,
R. And prince over all his possessions.

Let us pray. O God, who, in your loving providence, chose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of your most Holy Mother, grant us the favor of having him for our intercessor in heaven whom on earth we venerate as our protector. You, who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

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