St Joseph: Saint of Silence – Mgr Guérard des Lauriers OP
What are we taught by St Joseph's silence – and his decision with regards to Our Lady being with child?
What are we taught by St Joseph’s silence – and his decision with regards to Our Lady being with child?
Editors’ Notes
What follows is the second part of Mgr Guérard des Lauriers OP’s 1986 essay, St Joseph: Saint Par Excellence, Saint of Silence.
We are publishing this text on 1 May, the modern feast of St Joseph the Worker.
In 1955, Pope Pius XII established the feast of “St Joseph the Worker” to be held on 1st May, which took the place of the Eastertide feast in his honour. 1st May had long been treated as “International Workers’ Day”, with significant connections to Marxist politics.1
This feast, along with other aspects of Pope Pius XII’s liturgical reforms, has been criticised by some.
This is not without controversy, and Mgr Guérard des Lauriers spoke of this feast in 1987, saying:
“Although it was Pius XII who made this transformation, I believe that on this occasion he was not exactly well inspired.
“He allowed the solemnity of the Wednesday of the third week after Easter to be supplanted by the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker; so that the title of Patron of the Universal Church, which was celebrated the third week after Easter, was transferred back to today’s feast [19 March].”
Mgr Guérard des Lauriers did not make any further comment on the feast in the 1987 sermon – although the first part of this present text did contain some interesting remarks on John XXIII’s inclusion of St Joseph in the Roman Canon.2
Some critics of this change to the calendar point out that it displaces the received date of the feast of Ss Philip and James the Apostles, and that its proper chants (which use the Bea Psalter) have been judged to be sub-standard. Another criticism is that it is too “sociological”, and attempts to use the liturgy to effect social ends – although it is difficult to see how the feast of Christ the King is not subject to the latter criticism as well, at least in part.
Others defend the feast as being a positive development, its establishment being within the power of the Roman Pontiff, and having nothing to do with being a “bridge” to the Novus Ordo reforms following Vatican II (as, perhaps, other “Pian” liturgical reforms might be seen).
Without taking a position, or going further into the discussion, let us proceed to Mgr Guérard des Lauriers’ text.
The text from Mgr Guérard des Lauriers
This is the second part of a longer text, published in the July–August 1986 edition of Sous la bannière. We have separated the text into two parts to be published separately.
In this second part, Mgr Guérard des Lauriers focuses on why St Joseph is “Saint of Silence”, returning to a theme which he discusses in the first of the Cahiers de Cassiciacum – St Joseph’s refusal to judge Our Lady, between realising that she was pregnant and receiving his own message from the angel. But whereas in the Cahier this reflection is ordered towards his explanation of the “Thesis of Cassiciacum”, here it is an instruction on our own moral duties towards each other and to God. And we can certainly benefit from this, whether we follow his “Thesis” or not.
Following this instruction, the bishop considers how it is that St Joseph finds himself associated with the Blessed Trinity in the person of Our Lord, his adoptive Son.
Parts of this text may seem very dense, but it is worth making the effort to persevere with it. The footnotes are lengthy, and contain a lot of interesting material that explain in detail some of points the bishop makes in the text.
Mgr Guérard des Lauriers was a very significant figure in post-Vatican II theological controversies. For more on his life and legacy, see HERE.
St Joseph: Saint of Silence
Mgr Guérard des Lauriers OP
Part II of St Joseph: Saint Par Excellence, Saint of Silence
In Sous la Bannière, n. 6, July–August, 1986
Text separated into two parts by The WM Review for ease of reading. Headings and some line breaks added for the same reason.
We believe that our translation of this text is covered by fair use; if there is an existing copyright holder who would like us to remove it, they can reach us in the comments to this article.
Introduction
Holiness in God is ineffable, as He Himself is. The “thrice Holy” surpasses every determination arising from the created, which implies limitation; He cannot, therefore, be adequately named by us.
The same holds for the Holiness of the Incarnate Word and for that of Mary His Mother, Mother of God. No aspect can be singled out as dominant over the rest, whether in the order of the virtues or in that of the gifts; all aspects belong to the same “degree,” convertible with the mysterious Equality that is the seal of absolute perfection.
Saint Joseph is less far from us: he condescends within his transcendence! He shows forth, through virtue, through heroism, the proper character of his holiness. He is, as one may observe, the Saint of Silence in the created order; and because he is that first of all, we are drawn to adore its Mystery in the Uncreated Order.
Saint Joseph, Saint of Silence in the Created Order
This silence consists in the fact that Saint Joseph did not judge Holy Mary.
Here is the proof. Saint Joseph is confronted with a fact: Mary is with child.3 He resolves upon a practical course of action: “To send Mary away in secret.”4 What was the inference by which Saint Joseph “passed” from premises to conclusion? Did this inference involve passing judgement on Mary – yes, or no? That is the question. It can be resolved from the expression Saint Matthew employs. We shall draw out the two truths implicitly contained there: Joseph “passes over” any question of Mary’s guilt; Joseph refers himself to the Law of Israel.
Recall that under Jewish law, the adulterous wife was to be denounced and stoned: “Thus shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee, or of Israel.”5 Mary is only a betrothed bride, but Joseph already bears responsibility for her to the degree that he already has rights over her.
Let us suppose, then, that Joseph judged Mary unfaithful, and let us show that this hypothesis is ruled out by the “mode of signifying” Saint Matthew employs.
If Joseph had judged Mary unfaithful, he would have been bound, “being a just man” in Israel, to denounce her had she been his wife; at the very least, since she is his betrothed, he must “put away the evil from his house” and send Mary away. To send her away publicly would amount to denouncing her. Because Mary is only his betrothed, Joseph can satisfy the demands of justice by sending Mary away in secret.
If Mary had been judged guilty by Joseph, then the text of Saint Matthew would have to be read as follows: “Joseph, being just, was consequently bound to send Mary away, whether publicly or in secret. BUT, not wishing to expose her to public disgrace, he resolved to send her away in secret.”
Now, the BUT that the initial hypothesis makes indispensable for the text to be intelligible – this BUT is precisely what is not in the text. Saint Matthew writes: “Joseph, being just and not wishing...”; he does not write: “Joseph, being just but not wishing...” Not BUT, but AND.
It is necessary to conclude that the alleged hypothesis is false: that is to say, Joseph did not judge Mary guilty. And since, had he judged her so, there would apparently have been evidence of guilt, it follows that Saint Joseph did not judge Holy Mary in any way whatsoever.
Let us express the same thing more broadly.
Had Saint Matthew written but, the meaning would have been: “Joseph, being just [according to the Law] and judging Mary guilty, was therefore bound to denounce her. But, since Mary was only his betrothed and not yet his wife, Joseph was sufficiently just – that is, he satisfied the Law of Israel sufficiently – by sending Mary away in secret.”
Since Saint Matthew wrote and, the true meaning is: “Joseph, not judging Mary guilty [that is, suspending his judgement regarding Mary] and being just – it is by virtue of this perfect justice, and with regard to the scandal, that, firstly, Joseph decides to send Mary away, for to keep her would have allowed the supposition that the child was his; and that, secondly, he sends her away in secret, for a public dismissal would have been to defame Mary.”
Such is the fact. Let each measure its significance.
What St Joseph teaches us about judgment
By comparison with oneself, first. We are so quick to judge, especially when our self-love is wounded. The ungoverned spontaneity that then erupts in condemnations – supposedly the protest of offended justice – is too often nothing but an instinct of vengeance no longer ruled by love of the Truth.
Judgement is, like the tongue, the best and the worst of things. There is a time for judging, in order to bear witness usque ad mortem to the Truth.6 But ordinarily we must practise the counsel Jesus Himself gave: “Judge not, and you shall not be judged.”7 Do we not sin through judgement?8 “If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart.”9 May Jesus help us, in the vigilant Watch that kept watch even over Him; and may we, through our very weakness, come to sense the silence of Joseph who did not judge Mary.
To show the good… by observing the evil: this is well enough, by way of manuductio [leading by the hand]; but it belongs to the good itself to manifest itself for what it is. That our mental dissipation should lead us back to Saint Joseph is not, for his silence, a sufficient homage. This silence must be considered in itself. It consists in not judging.
Judging is the proper act of the intelligence. And since created intelligence is not naturally in act, judging requires, for man no less than for the Angel, the conception and prolation of a word. This interior word, the verbum mentis,10 has two functions: one of actuation, as just stated; the other of representation – one judges concerning the thing of which the word is the expression. This second function demands meticulous preparation,11 so that the first may be exercised in a simple act, which is ultimately: THIS [that is, the reality expressed by and in the word] IS; or: THIS IS NOT.
This being so, there are at least three reasons why one might not posit the act of judging:
One has not elaborated, or not sufficiently, the conditions on which the second function of the verbum mentis depends.12
Having carried out this elaboration as far as possible, one nevertheless refrains from judging because one fears facing the consequences that will very probably follow from the judgement. This is the crime – latent, yet all too common – of high treason against Truth. It is the opposite of Testimony, which is the radiance of Truth in the transparency of the sense connaturally ordered to it.
Having carried out the elaboration required by the second function of the verbum mentis, one may refrain from judging through an infused discretion13 that inclines one to remit the judgement to God Himself: one wills to judge only in His judgement. So did Jesus habitually act, according to His human will;14 so did Saint Joseph, not judging Holy Mary.
Saint John the Baptist was precursor through the word;15 Saint Joseph, through silence. Joseph, at the very instant when he discovers Jesus living in Mary, is divinely moved not to judge her. He thus manifests, in his own state, that which the Agony will reveal for Jesus.16 Saint Joseph, Saint of Silence, radiates the Silence of the Word incarnating Himself in Mary. WISDOM, ORDER, PEACE, JOY... leading back to the Uncreated Order.
Saint Joseph, Saint of Silence in the Uncreated Order
“Every creature is created in the Word.”17 Each, however, is created in a manner proper to itself – a manner that encompasses and grounds, for that creature, the decree of predestination, and that will be revealed to it precisely in Verbo, in the universe of Glory.18 What relation does the Saint of Silence bear to the Word who creates him? The same question arises, prompted by the same curiosity of Love, first of all for Mary, She who is first in the created order. Nothing on this point is explicitly revealed. We confine ourselves to a discreet and respectful suggestion.19
The Word of God,20 being That in Whom all is created, it is fitting that what concerns Him should be manifested in those creatures closest to Him. Now the Word is the Son begotten by the Father,21 Himself subsisting in the Triune Essence that is Love. And by virtue of this eternal Generation, the Word is, of Himself, subsisting in the same Triune Essence that is Love, the Word of God. Here, then, are three things that are one, and that precision nevertheless requires us to distinguish:
a) The Word in the eternal Generation, which is Communication of the divine Nature [Being, Life, Light, Love...]22 – comparable to the prolation of the mental word.
b) The Word in Himself, subsisting in the Triune Essence that is Love – comparable to the mental word as proferred, not to the prolation, but to the TERM that terminates it.
c) The Word insofar as He is the Word of God – that is, the subsistent expression of the Whole of the Most Holy Trinity. And Mary is comparable, in this regard, to the mental word expressing the reality which is grasped by the intellect, in the word that it proffers.
With this recalled, the analogy of the mental word yields the following triple import.
The third modality – the word-expression (c) – is the only one implying no imperfection. For the very existence of the word, and the prolation that created intelligence MUST make of it in order to understand, belong to a congenital imperfection – namely, not being Pure Act, and consequently requiring actuation.
The third modality [word-expression] is therefore, one might say, within the analogy of the mental word, the proper portion of the Word Himself. He proceeds not from a necessity inherent in the imperfection of nature, but in life and in freedom; His name is WORD OF GOD – the subsequent and perfect expression of ALL GOD WHO IS LOVE. In this respect, no created word is comparable to the WORD OF GOD.
The first two modalities of the mental word, to which is inherent the radical imperfection affecting all creation – so as to proclaim the Glory of God – these, since the third is (as just observed) “reserved,” are to be shared between the two creatures who are, of all, the most privileged.
The Word is begotten; “He is in the Bosom of the Father.”23 To Her who begets Him humanly, He gives as her portion what His own Generation implies. Her Name is CONCEPTION.24
The Word is Word SPOKEN, Word proferred, TERM of the Dictio – and not “dictio”; in this sense, He is Silence. To him who on earth received Him in the heroism of mental silence, the Word gives as his portion what His own mode of subsisting implies. His Name – Joseph’s name – is SILENCE.
Saint Joseph, the Saint par Excellence, is the Saint of Silence.
M.L. GUÉRARD DES LAURIERS
Base text translated with AI and thoroughly checked by The WM Review.
We believe that our translation of this text is covered by fair use; if there is an existing copyright holder who would like us to remove it, they can reach us in the comments to this article.
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The Matins readings for the new office explain his motivation:
“The Church, most provident Mother of All, expends the greatest efforts for the protection and relief of the workers, erecting and promoting for them societies which Pius XII, the Supreme Pontiff, now wishes to be entrusted to the most powerful patronage of St. Joseph. For St. Joseph, since he was reckoned the father of Christ, who deigned to be called the son of a workman, on account of the irrevocable bond which united him to Jesus, drank abundantly of that spirit which ennobles and elevates labor. In like manner, associations of workers ought to be aware of the same kind of spirit, so that Christ may always be present in them, in their members, in their families and in fact in every labor organization, because the chief purpose of these associations is to foster and nourish the Christian life in their members, to spread the Kingdom of God more widely, especially among fellow workers in the same plant. […]
“In order that the dignity of human labor and the principles which underlie it might penetrate more deeply into souls, Pius XII has instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Workman, as an example and a protection for all associations of workers. For from this example, those who follow the worker’s calling ought to learn how and in what spirit they should discharge their duties, so that, obeying the first law of God, they might likewise subdue the earth and attain to economic prosperity, and at the same time reap the rewards of eternal life. Nor will the prudent guardian of the Family of Nazareth fail to shield with his protection, and from heaven bless the homes of those who, like him, are artisans and workmen. Most aptly has the Supreme Pontiff ordered this feast to be celebrated on the first of May, a day which the workers have adopted as their own; from henceforth let it be hoped that this day, dedicated to St. Joseph the Workman, will, as time goes on, not sharpen hatred and inflame strife, but with each recurring year, invite everyone to strive more and more for those things which are still lacking to civil peace, and indeed that it may stimulate the public authorities to use their abilities in effecting whatever right order demands of human fellowship.”
He wrote:
“John XXIII inserted the name of Saint Joseph into the “Communicantes.” The two lists [“Communicantes” and “Nobis quoque peccatoribus”], or “Diptychs,” lie in the margin of the Canon. A Pope who truly is such may make a modification to them. And we hold, until certain proof to the contrary, that John XXIII was truly Pope. His Encyclicals, however, show well enough that he was not inspired by the Holy Ghost in each of the acts he performed; but the mention of Saint Joseph is a thing good ex se. In other words: from an Authority that enjoys the Sessio, even though it offers no full guarantee regarding the MISSIO, one may accept the [disciplinary] “ordinations” that the said Authority has the power to promulgate, on the condition that these “ordinations” conform to the demands of Truth.”
Mt. 1:18
Mt 1:19.
Deut 22:21, 24.
“For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mk 8:38).
Lk 6:37.
“If anyone does not sin in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also” (Jas 3:2). – This is truer still, and more difficult, of judgements than of words.
1 Jn 3:20.
The verbum oris is, for man, its sensibly communicable manifestation. It must, BY NATURE, correspond to the verbum mentis. Otherwise there is a lie. The lie is intrinsically evil, because it is against nature.
Thus Saint Joseph, in order to arrive at the final judgement “I must send Mary away in secret,” had assembled all the data needed for this determination to be justified.
If one is in a situation where one ought to judge, this lack of information and reflection is a sin: laziness, even hypocrisy, in order to dodge the responsibility of having to judge. “I don’t want to judge – I’m not a theologian.” What this really means is: “I don’t want to compromise myself by taking a stand in conformity with the instinct of faith...” [which belongs to every Christian, not only to ‘theologians’].
This third reason, wholly supernatural, must therefore not be confused with the second, which is sin. Only the Spirit of Truth can grant this discernment, and “guide into all the Truth” (Jn 16:13).
“The Father judges no one; He has given all judgement to the Son, [because he is Son of Man]” (Jn 5:22, 27). – “You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And if I do judge, my judgement is true, because I am not alone: it is I and the Father who sent me” (Jn 8:15–16). – Jesus could have said: “My Judgement is not my judgement,” just as He affirmed: “My doctrine is not my doctrine” (Jn 7:16).
“I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness...” (Jn 1:23).
“Therefore, on coming into the world, Christ says: ‘Thou hast desired neither holocaust nor sacrifice for sin. Then I said: Behold, I have come (for it is written of me in the scroll of the Book) – behold, I have come, O God, to do thy will’“ (Heb 10:5–7). – “Abba! Father! All things are possible to thee: take this chalice from me! But... not what I will, but what thou [wilt]” (Mk 14:36). – “My will is not my will”... It is the same suspension, and in this sense the same silence, for Jesus – from the womb of Mary, throughout His whole life, until the Agony. The sublime silence of Saint Joseph, which Mary moreover respects! [She herself says nothing to Joseph. It is the angel who appears to him: “Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife” (Mt 1:20).] This silence of Joseph is the sign of the permanent state of Jesus, of which it is the fruit.
“Panta di’ autoû egeneto” (Jn 1:3). All things were made [in, by] Him.
“To the victor I will give of the hidden manna. I will give him also a white stone, and on the stone a new name inscribed, which no one knows save him who receives it” (Rev 2:17). One may suppose that Mary knows the name of Joseph.
“Discreet,” given the ineffable mystery. “Respectful” toward the future [!] Magisterium. We believe that Father Maximilian Kolbe is a saint; the process of canonisation will simply need to be validated. Saint Maximilian Kolbe, then, interpreted in an absolute sense the declaration made by Mary Herself to Saint Bernadette: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Mary, created in VERBO like every creature, would have for her Name: THE CONCEPTION. The saint-martyr’s intuition sheds a vivid light. There would, however, be much to say – but this is not the place. We raise the foregoing only in order to better situate our question: what relation do these two in some sense primordial creatures, Mary and Joseph, bear to the WORD who creates them?
The Word is spoken by the Father. Yet: “His name is called ‘the Word of God’ [Word of God, not Word of the Father – because He is the Expression of ALL GOD, of the ONE-TRIUNE]” (Rev 19:13).
“Ego hodie genui te” (Ps 2:7). Introit of Christmas, Midnight Mass.
“What was made, in him, was Life; and the Life was the light of men” (Jn 1:3–4). Life is light, because this Life is at the Principle (Jn 1:2); and because, for all things, light flows from the principle.
Jn 1:18.
There would be much to say... and it ought to have been said.
St Joseph has so many virtues!--among them humility, prompt obedience to the will of God, courage, chastity. But indeed silence seems to be especially his. For me, he is a wonderful model of listening in prayer. Thank you for this essay to celebrate St Joseph today.