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Time to Give Joseph His Due

Priest sees stolid husband to Jesus's mother as a role model

By Michael Roston, Newser User

Posted Dec 23, 2008 8:30 PM CST

(Newser) – Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and even the Three Kings come to mind at Christmastime, but rarely do Christians think of humble Joseph. James Martin, a Jesuit priest, writes in Slate that forgetting the man who raised Jesus—the reason for the season—is unfair. "It's time to take a fresh look at this 'model' and restore him to his rightful place in the Christmas story," he says.

Joseph fades into the background of nativity scenes because his marriage to Mary conflicts with Catholicism's teachings on her 'perpetual virginity.' But remember, Martin notes, that Joseph protected Jesus and Mary when they were threatened by Herod's henchmen. And throughout his life, the carpenter represented "the holiness of the 'hidden life,' doing meaningful things without fanfare." Though he gets scant mention in the Gospels, "he carried out an astonishingly important task: raising the son of God."

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

Anbetung der Hirten by Martin Schongauer, ca. 1475-80. (The Yorck Project)

James Collinson, Holy Family

Saint Joseph with the infant Jesus by Guido Reni, ca. 1635

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The next time you're singing 'Silent Night' and get to the part about the 'Mother and child,' don't forget about the fellow in the back, the guy who cared for them for the rest of his life, silently. - James Martin for Slate

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Time to Give Joseph His Due