Third
Document
THE
JOSEPHINE DOGMAS: SAINT
JOSEPH PRESANCTIFIED; SAINT JOSEPH ASSUMED INTO HEAVEN
SAINT JOSEPH
FATHER AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH.
We, Supreme
Pontiff, Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Successor of St. Peter, Servant
of the Servants of the Lord, Bishop of Rome., and Patriarch of Palmar de
Troya:
According to
constant Tradition in the Church, from generation to generation, even if
not extensively, at least in humble chosen and privileged souls, there has
ever been believed firmly, and by learned defenders, that the Most
Glorious and exalted Patriarch Saint Joseph was PRESANCTIFIED IN THE
MATERNAL WOMB; and as well there has ever been believed with equal force,
that this great Saint IS IN HEAVEN WITH BODY AND SOUL.
This Doctrine, certain and secure, has been admitted, defended and
propagated by innumerable Saints, Mystics, Doctors of the Church and the
pious tradition of the faithful. Among
the innumerable Saints who have defended this Doctrine we meet Our common
Doctor Saint Thomas Aquinas, the great Saint Bernard, Saint Bernadine,
Saint Bonaventure Saint Francis de Sales, and other illustrious and
learned Saints of the Church.
For the
knowledge of all Bishops, Priests, Religious and faithful in general:
We explain that the Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph was pre
sanctified in the womb of his mother in the third month, excelling the
Precursor, Saint John the Baptist. Let us consider some logical consequences:
If, as we
believe, the Most Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, is She
who is full of grace, the most exalted creature of the whole of creation;
if we believe that the Eternal Father, the Divine Potter, formed Mary in
an exceptional way, and we say in the popular and apt phrase; "when
the Eternal Father created Mary, he broke the mould, not wishing to repeat
the work"; If, as we believe, the Most Blessed and ever Virgin Mary
is Mother of God, whereby Her Virginal Womb became Temple and Sanctuary of
the Most High Trinity; If, as we believe, the Virgin Mary is the second
Eve; granted that we call the first Eve our mother and we know that this
mother led humanity to destruction, whereas the second Eve became
spiritual Mother of us all: mindful that the first Eve fulfilled her
mission in respect to the flesh, that of procreation, whence we ourselves
are descended, also that the second Eve, who is Mary, accomplished the
most fruitful procreation in the spirit.
In respect to the flesh we descend from the first Eve; in respect
to the spirit, from the second Eve. The first Eve, as mother, gave us
flesh, the second Eve, as Mother, gave us Grace, gave us God Himself.
In Her Virginal Womb She enclosed Him Whom the Universe cannot
contain;
If, as we
know, God, Who is all perfect, Who is all beauty, and Who is all harmony,
felt Himself to be alone; He who had given to the first man, Adam, a
companion, the first woman, Eve. Considering
the exquisite delicacy of God, we clearly see and admire the beauty of the
things of God; then we conclude that God, Beauty all perfect, Who could
not remain alone, desired to share His Glory with a companion.
Let us regard the role of this exalted companion.
We know that God is One in so far as He is God, nevertheless in
Three Persons. Let us
penetrate this mystery of the Trinity, in which God, one and threefold,
feels Himself to be alone, in which God, one and threefold, desires to
have an exalted companion; and let us see how the Infinite Wisdom of God
has given Himself full contentment. Thus,
as He is One God in Three Persons distinct, He has chosen exemplarily a
unique companion for the One God; which companion, being the only one of
God, accomplishes in Herself three companionships.
Let us consider the reality:
The Eternal
Father has chosen Her as most favoured Daughter, exalted and unique.
The Son has chosen Her as authentic and real Mother, producing the
wonder and beauty beyond reach, of Her being at the same time Mother, and
Virgin. The Holy Ghost has
chosen Her as most august Spouse, Virgin Spouse, immaculate Spouse full of
grace, most fruitful Spouse, because this Spouse gives to the Holy Ghost
innumerable sons. These sons
are those whom we wash and purify in the Most Precious Blood of the Divine
Lamb. As you can see, God
finds Himself altogether satisfied, since He has put an and to His
solitude, having chosen a companion who, whilst being only one, can give
contentment to the Three August Persons; to the Father, to the Son, and to
the Holy Ghost. Now, inviting reflection, We ask the whole Church; is it not
perhaps a logical and necessary consequence that an exceptional man be the
august companion of the August Companion of God? We know that God is perfect, that in God subsists the root of
true beauty, that God is the great Potter Who has formed everything.
If, as we believe, God, having created the Virgin Mary, shattered
the mould, logically we believe as well, that having created the Most
Glorious Saint Joseph, He shattered the second mould.
God, Who in
all things works with wisdom, beauty and harmony, logically, for the
Spouse of the Mother of God, formed and prepared an exceptional man, who
would form with the Virgin Mary a beautiful and harmonious pair.
Regarding the outward appearance of this August Pair, let wisdom
guide our gaze; Mary, a young woman of about 15 or 16 possesses a beauty
that is sublime. Without any
doubt She is the most beautiful woman in creation; Her most beautiful
immaculate countenance is altogether indescribable.
Comparison is impossible, even with the most beautiful things we
know in this world. A
painting of the greatest artist would be as nothing compared to the
Virginal Countenance of Mary. The
finest statue of the best sculptor of the ages would appear impoverished
and absurd compared with the pure form of Mary. The loveliest harmonies of
the greatest musician of the centuries if we heard them, compared to the
praise, poetry and harmonies of the Choirs of Angels singing to Mary,
would seem to be ugly irritating noise.
The Virgin Mary possesses a beauty most perfect, because so has
desired the Divine Solitary, Who has chosen Her for His companion.
If we have given only the faintest notion of the outward beauty of
Mary, what would it be to speak of the inward beauty of Mary?
If,
declaring the beauty of God in His works, we see that God knows very well
how to harmonize beauty with beauty, we can be sure that Saint Joseph was
a young man of about 25, 26 or 24 years; and that this exalted man
possessed an indescribable beauty. His countenance was beautiful, his eyes
pure, chaste and penetrating; the features perfectly formed; body without
any defect; since God, Who is all beauty, gave as companion to the Virgin
Mary, a man who would form with Her a perfect pair.
It is not possible to admit that Saint Joseph was old with the
disfigurement of age, and repugnance of years, a person of little use for
so great a ministry. We know that Saint Joseph worked as a carpenter to
provide for Jesus and Mary. Thus
was necessary, for a tiring work, a young, and strong man, one prepared to
take care of the House of Nazareth. Moreover,
in the Divine plans, it was necessary for the moment not to reveal to the
world the Incarnation of the Word of God.
In the eyes of man it had to pass as an ordinary family.
Imagine what the neighbours would have thought of the Virgin Mary
had She been the wife of an unfit old man and mother at the same time.
Surely the good name of this exalted Lady had run grave risk.
If, an We
explained, Joseph in outward appearance formed a beautiful and harmonious
pair with Mary, inwardly he must have formed with Her an even more
beautiful and harmonious pair. Mary
was Virgin, consecrated to God as Virgin; the logical consequence, Joseph
is virgin. Mary is full of grace; consequently God forms a pair of the
Woman full of grace with the man full of grace.
Mary is Immaculate. Here
God has dealt with Mary in singular fashion; since She is conceived
Immaculate from the first moment of Her existence.
This being so, God has formed a pair of the Woman Immaculate with
the man purified in the maternal womb.
Certainly there is a great difference between the two; nevertheless
the difference is not repugnant to beauty.
Then to conclude, they form one August Pair of Immaculate, the one
from the moment of Conception, the other from a later moment in the
process of nature in the womb of his mother.
As we know,
the Virgin Mary, and here We proclaim it, did not die. Hers was a blessed transition, by means of the loveliest and
gentlest sleep. She was borne
by the Angels body and soul to Heaven, where She reigns over the Heavens
and the Earth. Mary, the
Woman Assumed into Heaven, forms a pair with Joseph, assumed into Heaven.
God Who, in His Infinite Wisdom, had created this beautiful pair,
Mary and Joseph; Mary to be the Mother of God, Joseph to be the Immaculate
Spouse of Mary, and in the world, in the heart of the Holy Family,
representative of the Eternal Father; God, Who in all beauty, could not
nor would He leave Heaven Incomplete; since there was visible, to all the
Blessed, Our Lord Jesus Christ with His Most Sacred Body, and with Him the
Virgin Mary in Body and Soul, as Empress, visible to all the Blessed Souls
in Heaven, and of course with beatific vision; the same reasoning shows us
clearly that Saint Joseph is in Heaven with body and soul.
We proclaim,
defend and teach as certain Doctrine, THAT THE MOST GLORIOUS PATRIARCH
SAINT JOSEPH, AFTER THE MOST HOLY VIRGIN MARY, IS THE GREATEST SAINT OF
ALL, ABOVE ALL THE ANGELS AND SAINTS OF THE CELESTIAL COURT.
We, with the
authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ, with that of the Apostles St. Peter
and St. Paul, and of Our own; As Universal Doctor of the Church, proclaim
THAT THE MOST GLORIOUS PATRIARCH SAINT JOSEPH WAS PRESANCTIFIED IN THE
WOMB OF HIS MOTHER. If anyone
dare to deny this Dogma of Faith, let him be anathema.
We proclaim
as infallible Doctor of the Church, THAT THE EXALTED PATRIARCH SAINT
JOSEPH, AT THE END OF THE COURSE OF HIS DAYS ON EARTH, BY MEANS OF A MOST
GENTLE SLEEP AND TRANSITION, WAS BORNE INTO HEAVEN BODY AND SOUL; whence,
as Spouse of the Virgin Mary, he exercises his imperium over the Angels
and Saints, and over the earth. If
anyone dare to deny this Infallible Truth, let him be anathema.
We, with the
authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ, with that of the Apostles St. Peter
and St. Paul, and Our own; We, as Universal Doctor of the Church, proclaim
THAT THE VIRGINAL SPOUSE OF MARY, THE GLORIOUS SAINT JOSEPH, IS FATHER AND
DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH. If
anyone commit the error of denying this Dogma of Faith, let him be
anathema. We give a brief explanation of this last Dogma:
We know that
Saint Joseph, because he is Virginal and Immaculate Spouse of the Blessed
ever Virgin Mary, is intimately linked to the Hypostatic Order. We know that Saint Joseph is putative Father of Our Lord
Jesus Christ, and representative of the Eternal Father, whereby we derive
a most lovely Doctrine. The
Church, our Mother, is the Mystical Body of Christ.
We know that Jesus, during the years at Nazareth, enjoyed the
company of Joseph; that with Mary they formed the Holy Family; and that
this same Holy Family reigns in the Heavens.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, after His Passion, Crucifixion, Death and
Resurrection, ascended by His own power into Heaven, where He remains at
the right hand of God the Father. The
Virgin Mary and the Virgin Joseph, were borne up to Heaven, assisted by
the Angels, thus completing in Heaven the Holy Family.
In the world, the Holy Family continues to fulfil its mission in
the following way; Christ, in the Church, forming His Mystical Body.
Mary, whole Mother of the whole Christ; whereby we gather that Mary
is the Mother of the Church; and because this Holy Family is indivisible,
Saint Joseph, for his proximity to the Hypostatic Order, continues to be
the putative Father of Christ, of His Mystical Body, which is the Church.
It remains to explain the spiritual Paternity of Saint Joseph over the
Church. If, as we believe, Christ was the Keystone which men
rejected, and that Keystone, Christ, is True God, True Man, and True
Mystical Body in His Church, then with logic, Saint Joseph, putative
Father of the Keystone, continues to exercise that paternity in the
Mystical Body, which is the Church. We
gather the following; the Church, as Mystical Body of Christ, is formed of
two Keystones, representing two Heads; one, the Invisible Head, Christ
Himself; the other, the Sweet Christ on Earth, His Vicar, the Pope.
Consequently, Saint Joseph, Putative Father of the Invisible Head,
Christ, is as well putative Father of the Visible Head, of the Vicar.
We grant a
Plenary Indulgence to those who, within the space of a day, recite with
devotion ten times the ejaculation: "Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph,
assumed into Heaven, intercede for us.”
And equally We grant a Plenary Indulgence to all those who devoutly
form the pious habit daily to direct ten invocations to Saint Joseph;
"Immaculate Saint Joseph, pre sanctified in the third month in the
maternal womb, pray for us.” We
know that the world will experience great relief and consolation when with
zeal there be spread abroad the Glories of Saint Joseph.
As salutary remedy for the Church in these Apocalyptic times, We
proclaim the Glorious Father of the Church, Saint Joseph, exalted Patron
of Our own Pontificate. With
hope We await a great splendour in the Church, through the knowledge of
the Exalted Father of the Church, Saint Joseph.
In order to
solemnly celebrate the Feast of the Pre sanctification of Saint Joseph, We
appoint the 10th of March each year, establishing a Novena in his honour
to end the l9th of the same month on the Feast of the great Saint. In order to celebrate the Feast of Saint Joseph Assumed into
Heaven, We appoint the 27th of March.
We establish as well the Feast of the Most Chaste Heart of Saint
Joseph on the 4th of March. And
as well, We establish the Feast of Saint Joseph, Father and Doctor of the
Church, on the 5th of March.
We, with the
authority with which we are vested, suppress
the most recent Feast of Saint Joseph, Worker; since We consider
this feast to be a political device, cowardly, pharisaical and not at all edifying for the spirituality of the Church.
We re establish the Feast of Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal
Church, under the title “Solemnity of Saint Joseph”, with all the
traditional dispositions. We
remind all Bishops, Priests, Religious and faithful in general, that they
should have great devotion to, and confidence in the Most Glorious Saint
Joseph, Father of the Church. In
this way they will gather abundant fruits.
Given in
this Holy See, in Seville, on the 13th, Feast of St. Hippolytus, Martyr,
of August of MCMLXXVIII.
With Our Apostolic Blessing.
