[Officium]
Die IV Infra Octavam S. Joseph

[Lectio1]
Lesson from the Acts of the Apostles
!Acts 28:16-20
16 And when we were come to Rome, Paul was suffered to dwell by himself, with a soldier that kept him. 
17 And after the third day, he called together the chief of the Jews. And when they were assembled, he said to them: Men, brethren, I, having done nothing against the people, or the custom of our fathers, was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans; 
18 Who, when they had examined me, would have released me, for that there was no cause of death in me; 
19 But the Jews contradicting it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had any thing to accuse my nation of. 
20 For this cause therefore I desired to see you, and to speak to you. Because that for the hope of Israel, I am bound with this chain.

[Lectio2]
!Acts 28:21-24
21 But they said to him: We neither received letters concerning thee from Judea, neither did any of the brethren that came hither, relate or speak any evil of thee. 
22 But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest; for as concerning this sect, we know that it is every where contradicted. 
23 And when they had appointed him a day, there came very many to him unto his lodgings; to whom he expounded, testifying the kingdom of God, and persuading them concerning Jesus, out of the law of Moses and the prophets, from morning until evening. 
24 And some believed the things that were said; but some believed not.

[Lectio3]
!Acts 28:25-31
25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, Paul speaking this one word: Well did the Holy Ghost speak to our fathers by Isaias the prophet,
26 Saying: Go to this people, and say to them: With the ear you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. 
27 For the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears have they heard heavily, and their eyes they have shut; lest perhaps they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 
28 Be it known therefore to you, that this salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it. 
29 And when he had said these things, the Jews went out from him, having much reasoning among themselves. 
30 And he remained two whole years in his own hired lodging; and he received all that came in to him,
31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, without prohibition.

[Lectio4]
From a Sermon by St. John Chrysostom
!Homilia 4 in Matth.
Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife. But what is: To take? Undoubtedly, to maintain, and that in his own house. For he had already sent her away in his mind. But now the Angel commandeth: Her whom thou wouldst send away, maintain; her, do thou, and not her parents, maintain, for God joineth her to thee; her, God verily joineth to thee, not in the sacred commerce of marriage, but in the fellowship of a common home; and her, God joineth to thee through the ministry of my words. Just as Christ himself later entrusted her to the care of his disciple, so now the Angel giveth her to her spouse; in such manner that she may have the consolation of his company without other conjugal rights. By this means her confinement would be explained in a worthier and more honourable way, and suspicion would be allayed. It is as though the Angel said: Not only was she not dishonoured by an unlawful embrace, but indeed she is fruitful in a manner above nature and usage; therefore grieve not at the happy confinement of thy Bride, but break forth into greater joy! For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

[Lectio5]
And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his Name Jesus. That is: Think not that the ministry of this great dispensation, because it is of the Holy Ghost, is a thing apart from thee. For even thought thou hast no part in his generation, since the Virgin remaineth ínviolate, yet do I readily grant thee this, namely; that thine are all the rights of a father, in so far as they obscure not the dignity of the Virgin; thou shalt certainly give the new-born his Name; thou shalt be the first to call him by his Name.  For even though he who is born is not thy son, nonetheless thou shalt shew him the care and solicitude of a parent; and therefore I unite thee to him by this immediate giving of the Name. But, lest anyone might think from this that Joseph was the begetter of Christ, the Angel was first careful to say: She shall bring forth a Son. He doth not say: She shall bear thee a son: but maketh his statement in an undetermined and indefinite way. For Mary did not bear a son to Joseph, but brought forth Christ to the whole world.

[Lectio6]
Therefore the Evangelist relateth that the Angel brought his Name from heaven, so that thus might be shewn how wonderful was his birth, seeing that he himself taught his Name to Joseph by an Angel sent from God. For this Name, which verily containeth a thousand treasures of good, was not given without meaning. Therefore the Angel doth himself interpret it, thereby consoling Joseph's grief with good hopes; and thus also inviting him to believe these words. For we are easily summoned to that which is pleasant, and give prompt credence unto good tidings. Wherefore the Angel said: He shall save his people from their sins. This also sheweth the novelty of the gift. For he announceth that this people are to be saved, not indeed from external wars, nor from the swords of barbarians, but from what is far greater than these: From their sins. And no mere man could ever accomplish this.

[Lectio7]
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke
!Luke 3:21-23
At that time: When all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized and praying, the heaven was opened. And so on, and that which followeth.
_
A Homily by St. Ambrose the Bishop
!Expositio in Luc. lib. 3
No one should be troubled at the words: As was supposed, the son of Joseph. For it was no more than a supposition, seeing that Christ was not the son of Joseph by nature. Albeit, it was so supposed because Mary who was espoused to her husband Joseph, gave Christ birth. And so, referring to Joseph as father, it is written: Is not this the carpenter's son? We have already discussed why the Lord of salvation chose to be born of a Virgin. We have also discussed why she was an espoused Virgin when her conception took place; and why it took place at the time of the enrollment for taxing. Hence it is not fitting to explain why Christ had a working-man for his father. For thereby is figured Christ's divine Father, who as Maker of all things, framed the world. Even though human and divine matters be not equal to each other, yet is this figure a complete one. Christ's Father worketh by fire and by breathing on things. Yea, like a good carpenter of the soul, he chippeth away our defects. Promptly doth he lay his axe to the barren trees and hew them down. Skilful is he in correcting whatever is built scantily, and in buttressing whatever is to be built magnificently. He tempereth the hardness of hearts as with fire, and with his gentle Breath. And by his diverse workings he formeth the quality of the human race.

[Lectio8]
We might wonder why the genealogy of Joseph, rather than of Mary, is given (since Mary conceived Christ by the Holy Ghost, and Joseph had not part in the Lord's conception), were it not that the Holy Scripture teacheth us how it was the custom to trace descent on the male side. For in this fashion the person of the man is set forth as pre-eminent, and his dignity maintained, even as it is wont to be done in the Senate and the other high places of the commonwealth. And how unseemly it would have been to have passed over the lineage of the father, and to have given that of the mother, since the so doing would have appeared to proclaim to all the people in the world that Christ had not father. It is a world-wide custom to trace the genealogy of a family in the male line. Therefore, be not perplexed that the lineage of Joseph is given. Forasmuch as Christ was born in the flesh, he was bound to follow this custom of the flesh. And he who came into the world had to be enrolled for taxing in the worldly manner, the more so that Joseph's descent was the same as Mary's.

[Lectio9]
But some explanation is required as to why Saint Matthew reckoneth Christ's descent from Abraham forward, whilst Saint Luke traceth the same from Christ backward to the creation of Adam by God. By this, Luke would have us understand that Christ's lineage should be traced to God, because God was Christ's true Progenitor, both as his Father whereof he was begotten, and as the Author, in the laver of baptism, of the mystical gift of the Spirit. Wherefore Luke doth not begin his Gospel with the reckoning of Christ's lineage, but recordeth it after the account of the baptism, thereby shewing forth in baptism the working of God, the Author of all things. Thus also Luke asserteth that Christ came forth from God according to a certain rule of orderliness. For he weaveth all things together to prove that Christ is by nature, by grace, and in the flesh, the Son of God. But what more evident proof of Christ's divine descent could we have than what Luke giveth? For before the Evangelist reckoneth the genealogy of Christ, he giveth the words of the Father himself: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
&teDeum