Joseph's fidelity was unshakeable

Joseph went through many trials in the service of the Lord. A man of prayer and faith, he reacted to the unexpected events of his mission by responding without delay to God's calls: when he had to journey on foot with Mary, who was expecting Jesus any day, all the way to Bethlehem; when he experienced the poverty of the stable where Mary gave birth; when he received the formidable mission of saving the Savior's life from Herod's murderous jealousy by fleeing to Egypt where he and his family lived as refugees in a foreign land; in the daily work of Nazareth; in the unexpected finding of Jesus in the Temple after a three-day search… this episode was a forerunner of the time of waiting that was to take place between Jesus’ death and Resurrection. For when the Virgin Mary, "seized with emotion," cried out: "My child, why have you done this to us? Your father and I were looking for you in anguish" (Lk 2:48), she obviously expressed the deep pain and fear she and Joseph had both experienced.

But according to the Scriptures and Church tradition, through all these hardships Joseph remained "a just man" who protected the three treasures he had been given to guard–the French theologian Bossuet called them the three "deposits"—entrusted to Joseph, allowing him to practice three essential virtues:

- The first deposit was the Holy Virginity of Mary: to keep Mary's virginity under the externals of marriage, Joseph acquired angelic purity, expressed by his continence, somewhat in proportion to the purity of his chaste wife.

- The second and most precious deposit was the person of Jesus Christ, whom the heavenly Father placed in his care, asking him to serve as father to the holy Child. The virtue necessary to live up to this precious responsibility was fidelity, and his proved to be inviolable and unshakable.

- The third deposit was the admirable secret of the Incarnation of the Son of God. For it was God’s will not to reveal Jesus Christ to the world until the appointed time. The third virtue that accompanies this deposit is humility, accompanied by prudence

Excerpt from: Joseph Modèle de vie pour notre temps, (Joseph, Model of Life for Our Times) - Editions Marie de Nazareth, Paris, 2020. (Not yet available in English or Spanish.)