Messages given by Saint Joseph to Clemente Domínguez y Gómez, today Pope Saint Gregory XVII, the Very Great
10th of December 1969
(Outside the Apparitions property in El Palmar de Troya, Utrera, Seville, Spain. The opening into the Apparitions property, by name ‘La Alcaparrosa’, had been closed up by order of the civil authorities. The seer Clemente Domínguez y Gómez, accompanied by Manuel Alonso Corral and other followers of the Apparitions, were praying outside the property close to the opening. The seer entered into ecstasy at the apparition of Patriarch Saint Joseph in the Sacred Place of the Lentisco, which is inside the property. Saint Joseph moved from the Lentisco down to the roadside wall, outside the property. Clemente Domínguez had a vision of his future Priesthood; for, attired with sacred priestly vestments, he made ready to celebrate Mass, reciting part of it, just as Saint Joseph indicated to him. The seer, in ecstasy, gave the blessing. Saint Joseph blessed everyone.
19th of March 1970
(Sacred Place of the Lentisco in El Palmar de Troya. Saint Joseph appeared to Clemente Domínguez and gave him the following Message:)
Saint Joseph with the Child Jesus
“My children: I come as messenger of Jesus and of Mary, and as Father of the Church. Son, write for my seminarians: Let them consecrate themselves wholly to God, without holding back anything, chiefly celibacy, the way to true sanctity. Let them be faithful to tradition, for which so many martyrs gave their lives. Let them remain faithful devotees of my Virginal Spouse the Immaculate Mary. Let them consecrate themselves to Her in all purity and they will come to be great Priests for spreading the Gospel worthily. Jesus and Mary are suffering deeply because of seminarians who do not consecrate themselves wholeheartedly. How can they hope for great fruits if they don’t give themselves without reserve? As Father of the Church that I am, I call my children not to forget the Universal Mediation of the Mother of God, my August Spouse.
I ask my sons, the Priests, to remember the vows that they swore to put into practice. I am deeply pained at the new priests who are partisans of abolishing Sacrosanct Celibacy. I want chaste Priests, who openly commit themselves to Jesus and Mary.
I ask my children, the faithful, to pray ceaselessly to Mary so that the Church may have many holy Priests to save the world. I am sickened at the faithful who spend their time censuring the Ministers of the Lord, but do not bother to raise petitions to God supplicating for them, their saviours. I bless you.”
25th of October 1970
(Sacred Place of the Lentisco in El Palmar de Troya. Apparitions and Messages to Clemente Domínguez:)
Saint Joseph
“We all take part in Christ’s royalty. The Mount of Christ the King is here; always proclaim it: El Palmar is the Mount of Christ the King. Here indeed does Jesus reign; by your prayers you have contributed so that Jesus reign and Mary, my sweet Spouse and Jesus’ Virginal Mother, reign.”
1st of April 1973
(Sacred Place of the Lentisco in El Palmar de Troya. The Holy Sacrifice of Mass was celebrated by a Philippine Priest; he had arrived in Seville on the 31st of March 1973, in response to the calling from the Most Holy Virgin Mary for Holy Week in El Palmar de Troya. After Holy Mass, Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph appeared to Clemente Domínguez and gave him the following Message:)
Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph
(First addressing the Priest, he said:)“My son, I, Joseph, spouse of Mary, thank you for your visit to this Sacred Place, and I thank you for the great deal you do to exalt me for the good of the whole Church. As Father I am of the Church, I am with you at every moment. Dear son: thank you for this Holy Sacrifice of Mass which you have offered to the August Trinity, full of praise, honour and glory. It has pleased the Heavenly Father. I bless you and bless everyone.”
(Then, addressing all present as well, he ordered them to kneel down to receive his blessing, delivering this Message:)
“… with humility and thanksgiving for divine gifts, acknowledging the greatness of God and the nothingness of man. Sadly, in these days, with so many innovations in the Church, many faithful do not kneel when they receive the Priest’s blessing, forgetting that the Priest blesses in the Name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, that is, in the Name of God. It is a shame that all these things are being forgotten. Hence, in this Place, Heaven is recalling the teachings of Mother Church, today so undervalued, so mutilated and altered. Yet the Truth never changes. It is men who change. All of you, from infancy, have received instruction in the Truth.” (Saint Joseph exhorts the faithful to recall the teachings the Church always had, and to return to Holy Tradition. He goes on to say:) “How is it that they are no longer valid? O little children! Jesus and Mary are so sad, since in these times due attention is not given to the teachings of Holy Tradition, which did so much good to the Church, and in those teachings so many Saints were formed. My little children: do not stray from the right path. Continue steadfast in the teachings you have received from Tradition and keep away from progressivism and disorder. My dear children: you, those who have read the lives of the Saints, learn from them and keep away from false doctors, false prophets and false mystics, and conserve Holy Tradition entire. Try all to resort to those places where sound doctrine is integrally conserved and stay away from those places where false doctrine is taught, whether in church, or in the classroom or in places called of Apparitions. Keep away from everything that departs from truth. I, as Father of the Church, bless you all. Those who can, on their knees. Make sure to come to the solemnity of Holy Week in this Sacred Place and propagate it everywhere; especially for the Feast of Resurrection, the night from Saturday to Sunday, and that same Sunday. However, if possible, come on the other days as well.”
1st of August 1973
(Barcelona. Sanctuary of Saint Joseph of the Mountain. At about 6 in the evening, there gathered a good number of faithful devotees of El Palmar belonging to the Prayer Groups in the capital and neighbouring towns. After all had prayed the Holy Penitential Rosary before the revered Imagen of Saint Joseph, led by Clemente Domínguez, at about 6.45, Patriarch Saint Joseph appeared to Clemente and gave him the following Message:)
Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph
“My dear children: I come as Father of the Church and of you all. Dear flock of Barcelona, Catalonia. Thanks for your visit to this Sacred Place. I communicate to you all that, by desire of the Ever-Virgin Mary, I am declared Special Protector of Barcelona and of all Catalonia, by the August Trinity, above all for the days of great obscurity approaching. Dear children: you can count on this Kind Father of yours as Protector in all your dangers; especially in dangers of plagues, deaths, epidemics and other chastisements. I will be the special Protector for that hour. Invoke me frequently so that I come to your help at every moment.
Onwards, my dear children of Catalonia! Re-establish the worship owed to this Father of yours; who, by the designs of Providence, constantly intercedes at the Throne of the Immaculate and the Throne of the Saviour. You have a powerful Protector. I assure you that my standard will shine out in all Spain as Guardian of the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Faith.
Days are coming when the infernal dragon will riddle and sift on every side, at every moment and place. But turn to Me as your advocate and Satan will surely lose strength. Pray especially for chastity, purity. O my little children: Cleanse the world by your testimony! Soon, very soon, I will be seen in the skies of Spain as Guardian, Protector, Angel of the Faith and Great Warrior. Increase your prayers and penances. Above all pray the Holy Penitential Rosary of the Our Fathers with devotion; and that is in the power of all the Cenacles, both in Catalonia and in all Spain, and beyond the frontier. Look, look: Satan will now attack the Penitential Rosary; and observe that the Wrath of the Eternal Father has been abating, because so many times a day you recite: Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come…
Whoever cries out to the Eternal Father so many times cannot fall into confusion and error. Why is there such confusion now in the Prayer Groups? Because they have been suppressing the Penitential Rosary. And by not praying it, they cannot avail themselves of the promises for those who do pray it; and one of them is to understand the mysteries. O My little children: keep away from novelties and continue with penitential prayer! I promise you solemnly, as Father of the Church and of you all, that in those homes where the Holy Rosary of the Our Fathers is prayed every day, they will feel my sensible presence on more than one occasion, and they will be protected by me in a special way. My blessing to you all, to the Prayer Groups, to Spain and to all nations.” (The Message over, Patriarch Saint Joseph went on to say, referring to Clemente Domínguez and to those who accompanied him on the journey:)
“By desire of My August Spouse, your mission has ended here, in this Sacred Place. Nothing else is left to you other than to make headway towards Italy. My fatherly blessing to you for this coming apostolate. And on this journey, I will also be with you; and do not worry about seating because I fit into any place.”
10th of December 1969
(Outside the Apparitions property in El Palmar de Troya, Utrera, Seville, Spain. The opening into the Apparitions property, by name ‘La Alcaparrosa’, had been closed up by order of the civil authorities. The seer Clemente Domínguez y Gómez, accompanied by Manuel Alonso Corral and other followers of the Apparitions, were praying outside the property close to the opening. The seer entered into ecstasy at the apparition of Patriarch Saint Joseph in the Sacred Place of the Lentisco, which is inside the property. Saint Joseph moved from the Lentisco down to the roadside wall, outside the property. Clemente Domínguez had a vision of his future Priesthood; for, attired with sacred priestly vestments, he made ready to celebrate Mass, reciting part of it, just as Saint Joseph indicated to him. The seer, in ecstasy, gave the blessing. Saint Joseph blessed everyone.
19th of March 1970
(Sacred Place of the Lentisco in El Palmar de Troya. Saint Joseph appeared to Clemente Domínguez and gave him the following Message:)
Saint Joseph with the Child Jesus
“My children: I come as messenger of Jesus and of Mary, and as Father of the Church. Son, write for my seminarians: Let them consecrate themselves wholly to God, without holding back anything, chiefly celibacy, the way to true sanctity. Let them be faithful to tradition, for which so many martyrs gave their lives. Let them remain faithful devotees of my Virginal Spouse the Immaculate Mary. Let them consecrate themselves to Her in all purity and they will come to be great Priests for spreading the Gospel worthily. Jesus and Mary are suffering deeply because of seminarians who do not consecrate themselves wholeheartedly. How can they hope for great fruits if they don’t give themselves without reserve? As Father of the Church that I am, I call my children not to forget the Universal Mediation of the Mother of God, my August Spouse.
I ask my sons, the Priests, to remember the vows that they swore to put into practice. I am deeply pained at the new priests who are partisans of abolishing Sacrosanct Celibacy. I want chaste Priests, who openly commit themselves to Jesus and Mary.
I ask my children, the faithful, to pray ceaselessly to Mary so that the Church may have many holy Priests to save the world. I am sickened at the faithful who spend their time censuring the Ministers of the Lord, but do not bother to raise petitions to God supplicating for them, their saviours. I bless you.”
25th of October 1970
(Sacred Place of the Lentisco in El Palmar de Troya. Apparitions and Messages to Clemente Domínguez:)
Saint Joseph
“We all take part in Christ’s royalty. The Mount of Christ the King is here; always proclaim it: El Palmar is the Mount of Christ the King. Here indeed does Jesus reign; by your prayers you have contributed so that Jesus reign and Mary, my sweet Spouse and Jesus’ Virginal Mother, reign.”
1st of April 1973
(Sacred Place of the Lentisco in El Palmar de Troya. The Holy Sacrifice of Mass was celebrated by a Philippine Priest; he had arrived in Seville on the 31st of March 1973, in response to the calling from the Most Holy Virgin Mary for Holy Week in El Palmar de Troya. After Holy Mass, Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph appeared to Clemente Domínguez and gave him the following Message:)
Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph
(First addressing the Priest, he said:)“My son, I, Joseph, spouse of Mary, thank you for your visit to this Sacred Place, and I thank you for the great deal you do to exalt me for the good of the whole Church. As Father I am of the Church, I am with you at every moment. Dear son: thank you for this Holy Sacrifice of Mass which you have offered to the August Trinity, full of praise, honour and glory. It has pleased the Heavenly Father. I bless you and bless everyone.”
(Then, addressing all present as well, he ordered them to kneel down to receive his blessing, delivering this Message:)
“… with humility and thanksgiving for divine gifts, acknowledging the greatness of God and the nothingness of man. Sadly, in these days, with so many innovations in the Church, many faithful do not kneel when they receive the Priest’s blessing, forgetting that the Priest blesses in the Name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, that is, in the Name of God. It is a shame that all these things are being forgotten. Hence, in this Place, Heaven is recalling the teachings of Mother Church, today so undervalued, so mutilated and altered. Yet the Truth never changes. It is men who change. All of you, from infancy, have received instruction in the Truth.” (Saint Joseph exhorts the faithful to recall the teachings the Church always had, and to return to Holy Tradition. He goes on to say:) “How is it that they are no longer valid? O little children! Jesus and Mary are so sad, since in these times due attention is not given to the teachings of Holy Tradition, which did so much good to the Church, and in those teachings so many Saints were formed. My little children: do not stray from the right path. Continue steadfast in the teachings you have received from Tradition and keep away from progressivism and disorder. My dear children: you, those who have read the lives of the Saints, learn from them and keep away from false doctors, false prophets and false mystics, and conserve Holy Tradition entire. Try all to resort to those places where sound doctrine is integrally conserved and stay away from those places where false doctrine is taught, whether in church, or in the classroom or in places called of Apparitions. Keep away from everything that departs from truth. I, as Father of the Church, bless you all. Those who can, on their knees. Make sure to come to the solemnity of Holy Week in this Sacred Place and propagate it everywhere; especially for the Feast of Resurrection, the night from Saturday to Sunday, and that same Sunday. However, if possible, come on the other days as well.”
1st of August 1973
(Barcelona. Sanctuary of Saint Joseph of the Mountain. At about 6 in the evening, there gathered a good number of faithful devotees of El Palmar belonging to the Prayer Groups in the capital and neighbouring towns. After all had prayed the Holy Penitential Rosary before the revered Imagen of Saint Joseph, led by Clemente Domínguez, at about 6.45, Patriarch Saint Joseph appeared to Clemente and gave him the following Message:)
Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph
“My dear children: I come as Father of the Church and of you all. Dear flock of Barcelona, Catalonia. Thanks for your visit to this Sacred Place. I communicate to you all that, by desire of the Ever-Virgin Mary, I am declared Special Protector of Barcelona and of all Catalonia, by the August Trinity, above all for the days of great obscurity approaching. Dear children: you can count on this Kind Father of yours as Protector in all your dangers; especially in dangers of plagues, deaths, epidemics and other chastisements. I will be the special Protector for that hour. Invoke me frequently so that I come to your help at every moment.
Onwards, my dear children of Catalonia! Re-establish the worship owed to this Father of yours; who, by the designs of Providence, constantly intercedes at the Throne of the Immaculate and the Throne of the Saviour. You have a powerful Protector. I assure you that my standard will shine out in all Spain as Guardian of the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Faith.
Days are coming when the infernal dragon will riddle and sift on every side, at every moment and place. But turn to Me as your advocate and Satan will surely lose strength. Pray especially for chastity, purity. O my little children: Cleanse the world by your testimony! Soon, very soon, I will be seen in the skies of Spain as Guardian, Protector, Angel of the Faith and Great Warrior. Increase your prayers and penances. Above all pray the Holy Penitential Rosary of the Our Fathers with devotion; and that is in the power of all the Cenacles, both in Catalonia and in all Spain, and beyond the frontier. Look, look: Satan will now attack the Penitential Rosary; and observe that the Wrath of the Eternal Father has been abating, because so many times a day you recite: Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come…
Whoever cries out to the Eternal Father so many times cannot fall into confusion and error. Why is there such confusion now in the Prayer Groups? Because they have been suppressing the Penitential Rosary. And by not praying it, they cannot avail themselves of the promises for those who do pray it; and one of them is to understand the mysteries. O My little children: keep away from novelties and continue with penitential prayer! I promise you solemnly, as Father of the Church and of you all, that in those homes where the Holy Rosary of the Our Fathers is prayed every day, they will feel my sensible presence on more than one occasion, and they will be protected by me in a special way. My blessing to you all, to the Prayer Groups, to Spain and to all nations.” (The Message over, Patriarch Saint Joseph went on to say, referring to Clemente Domínguez and to those who accompanied him on the journey:)
“By desire of My August Spouse, your mission has ended here, in this Sacred Place. Nothing else is left to you other than to make headway towards Italy. My fatherly blessing to you for this coming apostolate. And on this journey, I will also be with you; and do not worry about seating because I fit into any place.”
Biography of Most Holy Crowned Saint Joseph of Palmar, Viceroy of Carmel and Universal Co-Patron
19th Of March
Joseph Most Holy was predestined from all eternity in the Divine Mind to the most high dignity of Virginal Father of Jesus and Virginal Spouse of Mary, and consequently to be Head of the Sacred Family. Saint Joseph’s parents were Jacob and Rachel, both from the tribe of Judah and direct descendants of King David. On the 18th of October in the year 5171, the Most Divine Soul of Christ accompanied by the Divine Soul of Mary appeared to them both, and revealed to them that they would have a son whom they were to name Joseph, for the Most High would crown him with the dignity of Father, Spouse and King. The conception of Joseph Most Holy took place on the 20th of October in the year 5171. By a most singular privilege, he was conceived with the grace of imperfect justice, by virtue of which at no moment did he inherit the mortal sin of Adam nor the indwelling of Satan this implies, Saint Joseph being Irredeemed in this respect. Notwithstanding, Joseph Most Holy was indeed partly subject to the divine decree of Redemption in that he did inherit in his soul, on being conceived, the stain of original sin, which is the lack of the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In this respect Saint Joseph had to be redeemed.
On the 20th of January in the year 5172, three months after his conception, Most Holy Joseph was presanctified in his mother’s womb by the Most Divine Soul of Christ by means of the Sacrament of the Triple Benediction, and the stain of original sin was erased from his soul on receiving the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Child Joseph, at the very instant of his presanctification, made a vow to God of Perpetual Virginity, was espoused with the Souls of Christ and Mary, became full of grace and enjoyed the use of reason, infused knowledge and other loftiest gifts, such as the beatific vision, which he possessed throughout his whole life from the moment he was presanctified. In his presanctification the Child Joseph was filled with all virtues and graces in a degree of excellence so great that, after the Divine Mary, he surpasses all the Angels and Saints together. These gifts continually increased as his most perfect love of God intensified, united to his sufferings. At presanctification, Saint Joseph’s accidental body attained full perfection and an indescribable beauty which, after Mary, surpasses all mankind. By virtue of the grace of impeccancy which the Most Glorious Patriarch received at the moment of his Presanctification, Saint Joseph was unable ever to sin, either mortally or venially, and was free from every kind of imperfection in both soul and body.
Saint Joseph was born in Bethlehem on the 20th of July in the year 5172. He was the only child of his parents Jacob and Rachel. On the eighth day of his birth, his Parents complied with the legal rite of circumcision, giving him the name Joseph. On the fortieth day of his birth, in the Temple of Jerusalem, took place the legal rite of the Presentation of the Most Holy Child Joseph by his parents, and that of the purification of his mother Rachel. Saint Joseph spent the greater part of his life in Nazareth. When Saint Joseph was eighteen years of age, his mother died, and shortly afterwards his father. Now an orphan, in order to live in voluntary poverty, he distributed his goods among the needy, giving part of his inheritance to the Temple of Jerusalem, beside which he then worked as a carpenter, living there as a member of the Carmelite Third Order; though from his inheritance he kept the house he had in Nazareth. When Saint Joseph arrived at the Temple, the Most Holy Virgin Mary had already been residing there as a Carmelite Religiosa for six years. Neither saw the other in person until the very day of their Espousal. The Divine Mary knew that Joseph Most Holy was the one chosen by God to be Her Spouse, predestined for Her from all eternity, and that he too was bound by a vow of perpetual virginity.
Saint Joseph likewise knew that the Divine Mary was the one chosen by God to be his Spouse, predestined for him from all eternity, and that She too was bound by a vow of perpetual virginity. Mary and Joseph, knowing that the hour had come for the Incarnation of the Divine Word by the action and grace of the Holy Spirit without detriment to their respective virginities, fully accepted Heaven’s disposition, submissively obeying the agèd Simeon with indescribable self-abandonment and immolation of their own wills and, at the same time, with complete assurance that they would remain ever Virgins even in marriage, as was their desire. 
With vehement and heroic generosity the Divine Mary renounced Her ardent desire to remain forever in the religious life. The marriage of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, seventeen years of age, to Saint Joseph, twenty-six years of age, was held in the Temple of Jerusalem on the 23rd of January in the year 5199, in the presence of Levitical High Priest Simeon. Days later the newly-wed Spouses travelled to Nazareth.
On the 25th of March in the year 5199, the Incarnation of the Divine Word took place in the Most Pure Womb of the Divine Mary by the action and grace of the Holy Spirit. On the 30th of March in the year 5199, Most Holy Joseph accompanied the Most Holy Virgin Mary in the visit She made to her cousin Saint Elizabeth. Days after the birth of Saint John the Baptist on the 24th of June that same year, the Most Holy Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph returned to Nazareth.
In those days, Emperor Augustus Caesar commanded that a census be taken of all the subjects of the Roman Empire. And those from the land of Israel went to be enrolled, each to the town of his forefathers. Saint Joseph, then, being of the House and family of David, went up from Nazareth with the Divine Mary to the city of Bethlehem, close by Jerusalem. In Bethlehem, at midnight beginning Sunday the 25th of December in the year 5199 of Creation, the Divine Mary gave birth to Her Son Jesus in a cave, as they found no room at any house. On the eighth day of His Birth, Saint Joseph circumcised his Divine Son in the Cave of Bethlehem and gave Him the Name of Jesus. On the fortieth day of the Child Jesus’ Birth, the Sacred Family made Their way from Bethlehem to the Jerusalem Temple, to fulfil the obligation of the Mother’s purification and the Child Jesus’ presentation to God, as Moses’ Law commanded.
Owing to persecution by godless King Herod the Great, Saint Joseph, warned in sleep by Archangel Saint Gabriel, on the 17th of February in the year 1, set out for Egypt with the Child Jesus and His Mother, and stayed there for over seven years. Following the death of King Herod, on the 30th of March in the year 8 Saint Joseph, warned in sleep by Archangel Saint Gabriel, together with the Child Jesus and His Mother, left for the land of Israel, and went to live in the town of Nazareth in Galilee. In Nazareth, Jesus helped His Father Saint Joseph at his carpentry work. On the 19th of March in the year 5228 in the city of Jerusalem, Most Holy Joseph, at the age of fifty-five years, died of love in the arms of Jesus and Mary, and was buried in the sepulchre in the Valley of Josaphat where the sleeping Body of the Divine Mary would be laid years later. Saint Joseph’s death was solely that of his accidental body, that is, clinical death, he being furthermore exempt from particular judgement. His essential body, being essentially glorious, could not die. 
Accordingly, following the death of Saint Joseph’s accidental body, his essential body became immersed in gentle dormition; and thus, united to his Soul, remained asleep and insensible to the Soul’s beatific joy and to any other joy in the Limbo of the Just until Christ expired, participating from then on and for evermore in the beatific joy of the soul. One instant after Our Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection, Saint Joseph’s accidental body rose on becoming united to his soul and essential body, participating in the beatific joy of the soul until the Lord’s Ascension; for on that day, 5th of May in the year 34 of the Christian Era, following a Gentle Dormition, Saint Joseph was assumed into Heaven in soul and bodies. Saint Joseph’s accidental body remained asleep in Heaven without participating in beatific joy, until the moment when the Most Holy Virgin Mary was assumed into Heaven in Body and Soul on the 15th of August in the year 57 of the Christian Era.
Joseph Most Holy was predestined from all eternity in the Divine Mind to the most high dignity of Virginal Father of Jesus and Virginal Spouse of Mary, and consequently to be Head of the Sacred Family. Saint Joseph’s parents were Jacob and Rachel, both from the tribe of Judah and direct descendants of King David. On the 18th of October in the year 5171, the Most Divine Soul of Christ accompanied by the Divine Soul of Mary appeared to them both, and revealed to them that they would have a son whom they were to name Joseph, for the Most High would crown him with the dignity of Father, Spouse and King. The conception of Joseph Most Holy took place on the 20th of October in the year 5171. By a most singular privilege, he was conceived with the grace of imperfect justice, by virtue of which at no moment did he inherit the mortal sin of Adam nor the indwelling of Satan this implies, Saint Joseph being Irredeemed in this respect. Notwithstanding, Joseph Most Holy was indeed partly subject to the divine decree of Redemption in that he did inherit in his soul, on being conceived, the stain of original sin, which is the lack of the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In this respect Saint Joseph had to be redeemed.
On the 20th of January in the year 5172, three months after his conception, Most Holy Joseph was presanctified in his mother’s womb by the Most Divine Soul of Christ by means of the Sacrament of the Triple Benediction, and the stain of original sin was erased from his soul on receiving the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Child Joseph, at the very instant of his presanctification, made a vow to God of Perpetual Virginity, was espoused with the Souls of Christ and Mary, became full of grace and enjoyed the use of reason, infused knowledge and other loftiest gifts, such as the beatific vision, which he possessed throughout his whole life from the moment he was presanctified. In his presanctification the Child Joseph was filled with all virtues and graces in a degree of excellence so great that, after the Divine Mary, he surpasses all the Angels and Saints together. These gifts continually increased as his most perfect love of God intensified, united to his sufferings. At presanctification, Saint Joseph’s accidental body attained full perfection and an indescribable beauty which, after Mary, surpasses all mankind. By virtue of the grace of impeccancy which the Most Glorious Patriarch received at the moment of his Presanctification, Saint Joseph was unable ever to sin, either mortally or venially, and was free from every kind of imperfection in both soul and body.
Saint Joseph was born in Bethlehem on the 20th of July in the year 5172. He was the only child of his parents Jacob and Rachel. On the eighth day of his birth, his Parents complied with the legal rite of circumcision, giving him the name Joseph. On the fortieth day of his birth, in the Temple of Jerusalem, took place the legal rite of the Presentation of the Most Holy Child Joseph by his parents, and that of the purification of his mother Rachel. Saint Joseph spent the greater part of his life in Nazareth. When Saint Joseph was eighteen years of age, his mother died, and shortly afterwards his father. Now an orphan, in order to live in voluntary poverty, he distributed his goods among the needy, giving part of his inheritance to the Temple of Jerusalem, beside which he then worked as a carpenter, living there as a member of the Carmelite Third Order; though from his inheritance he kept the house he had in Nazareth. When Saint Joseph arrived at the Temple, the Most Holy Virgin Mary had already been residing there as a Carmelite Religiosa for six years. Neither saw the other in person until the very day of their Espousal. The Divine Mary knew that Joseph Most Holy was the one chosen by God to be Her Spouse, predestined for Her from all eternity, and that he too was bound by a vow of perpetual virginity.
Saint Joseph likewise knew that the Divine Mary was the one chosen by God to be his Spouse, predestined for him from all eternity, and that She too was bound by a vow of perpetual virginity. Mary and Joseph, knowing that the hour had come for the Incarnation of the Divine Word by the action and grace of the Holy Spirit without detriment to their respective virginities, fully accepted Heaven’s disposition, submissively obeying the agèd Simeon with indescribable self-abandonment and immolation of their own wills and, at the same time, with complete assurance that they would remain ever Virgins even in marriage, as was their desire.
With vehement and heroic generosity the Divine Mary renounced Her ardent desire to remain forever in the religious life. The marriage of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, seventeen years of age, to Saint Joseph, twenty-six years of age, was held in the Temple of Jerusalem on the 23rd of January in the year 5199, in the presence of Levitical High Priest Simeon. Days later the newly-wed Spouses travelled to Nazareth.
On the 25th of March in the year 5199, the Incarnation of the Divine Word took place in the Most Pure Womb of the Divine Mary by the action and grace of the Holy Spirit. On the 30th of March in the year 5199, Most Holy Joseph accompanied the Most Holy Virgin Mary in the visit She made to her cousin Saint Elizabeth. Days after the birth of Saint John the Baptist on the 24th of June that same year, the Most Holy Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph returned to Nazareth.
In those days, Emperor Augustus Caesar commanded that a census be taken of all the subjects of the Roman Empire. And those from the land of Israel went to be enrolled, each to the town of his forefathers. Saint Joseph, then, being of the House and family of David, went up from Nazareth with the Divine Mary to the city of Bethlehem, close by Jerusalem. In Bethlehem, at midnight beginning Sunday the 25th of December in the year 5199 of Creation, the Divine Mary gave birth to Her Son Jesus in a cave, as they found no room at any house. On the eighth day of His Birth, Saint Joseph circumcised his Divine Son in the Cave of Bethlehem and gave Him the Name of Jesus. On the fortieth day of the Child Jesus’ Birth, the Sacred Family made Their way from Bethlehem to the Jerusalem Temple, to fulfil the obligation of the Mother’s purification and the Child Jesus’ presentation to God, as Moses’ Law commanded.
Owing to persecution by godless King Herod the Great, Saint Joseph, warned in sleep by Archangel Saint Gabriel, on the 17th of February in the year 1, set out for Egypt with the Child Jesus and His Mother, and stayed there for over seven years. Following the death of King Herod, on the 30th of March in the year 8 Saint Joseph, warned in sleep by Archangel Saint Gabriel, together with the Child Jesus and His Mother, left for the land of Israel, and went to live in the town of Nazareth in Galilee. In Nazareth, Jesus helped His Father Saint Joseph at his carpentry work. On the 19th of March in the year 5228 in the city of Jerusalem, Most Holy Joseph, at the age of fifty-five years, died of love in the arms of Jesus and Mary, and was buried in the sepulchre in the Valley of Josaphat where the sleeping Body of the Divine Mary would be laid years later. Saint Joseph’s death was solely that of his accidental body, that is, clinical death, he being furthermore exempt from particular judgement. His essential body, being essentially glorious, could not die.
Accordingly, following the death of Saint Joseph’s accidental body, his essential body became immersed in gentle dormition; and thus, united to his Soul, remained asleep and insensible to the Soul’s beatific joy and to any other joy in the Limbo of the Just until Christ expired, participating from then on and for evermore in the beatific joy of the soul. One instant after Our Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection, Saint Joseph’s accidental body rose on becoming united to his soul and essential body, participating in the beatific joy of the soul until the Lord’s Ascension; for on that day, 5th of May in the year 34 of the Christian Era, following a Gentle Dormition, Saint Joseph was assumed into Heaven in soul and bodies. Saint Joseph’s accidental body remained asleep in Heaven without participating in beatific joy, until the moment when the Most Holy Virgin Mary was assumed into Heaven in Body and Soul on the 15th of August in the year 57 of the Christian Era.