Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 8.djvu/576

 JOSEPH

504

JOSEPH

he advanced in learning and in virtue. At the age of twenty-four (1604) he entered the Basilian mon- astery of the Trinity at Vilna. The fame of Iiis virtues rapidly spread, and distinguished peojile began to visit him. After a notable life as a lay- man, Rutski also joined the order, bringing with him a wide erudition. \\'hen Josaphat reached the diaconate, regular services and labour for the salva- tion of souls had been already begim; the number of novices steadily increased, and under Rutski — who had meanwhile been ordained priest — there began the regeneration of religious life among the Ru- thenians. In 1609, after private study under the Jesuit Fabricius, Josaphat was ordained priest. He subsequently became superior in several monasteries, and on 12 November, 1617, was reluctantly conse- crated Bishop of Vitebsk, w-ith right of succession to the Archbishopric of Polotsk. He became arch- bishop in 1618. While each succeeding year saw fresh evidence of his fruitful labours, it also wit- nessed the steady growth of the hatred of the schis- matic party. Finally on 12 November, 1623, an axe-stroke and a bullet lirought Josaphat his mar- tyr's crown. After numerous miracles had occurred, a commission was appointed by Urban VIII in 1628 to inquire into the cause of Josaphat, and examined on oath 116 witnesses. Although five years had elapsed since Josaphat's death, his body was still in- corrupt. In 16.37 a second commission investigated the life of the martyr, and in 1643 — twenty years after his death — Josaphat was beatified. His can- onization took place in 1867.

Great were the virtues of the saint. As a boy he shunned the usual games of childhood, prayed much, and lost no opportunity of assisting at the Divine services. Children especially regarded him with the greatest affection, and found in him a worthy model. As an apprentice, he devoted every leisure hour to

Erayer and study. At first Popovy6 viewed this be- aviour with displeasure, but Josaphat gradually won such a position in his esteem, that Popo\'y6 offered him his entire fortune and his daughter's hand. But Josaphat's love for the religious life never wavered. At first without a human guide along the paths of virtue, he received all spiritual direction immediately from the Holy Ghost. His favourite pious exercise was to make a poktony (i. e. a reverence, in which the head touches the ground) with the ejaculation: "Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a poor sinner." Never eating meat, he fasted much, wore a hair-shirt and an angular chain, slept on the bare floor, and chastised his body until the blood flowed. The Jesuits frequently urged him to set some bounds to his austerities. From his zealous study of the liturgical books he drew many proofs of Catholic truth, using his knowledge in the composition of several works — "On the Baptism of St. Vofodymyr"; "On the Falsification of the Slavic Books by the Enemies of the MetropoHtan"; "On Monks and their Vows". As deacon, priest, and bishop, he was distinguished by his extraordinary zeal in the service of souls. Not alone in the church did he preach and hear confessions, but likewise in the fields, hospitals, prisons, and even on his jour- neys. Even where his words of instruction might by themselves have failed, his entreaties and tears ensured him success. This zeal, united with liis kindness and extraordinary love for the poor, won numbers to the Catholic Faith. Among his converts were included many important personages such as Ignatius, Patriarch of Mo.scow, and Emmanuel Can- tacuzenus, who belonged to the fiiinily of the Greek P^mperor Paheologus. As archbishop he restored the churches; issued a catechism to the clergy with instructions that it should be learned by heart ; com- posed rules for the priestly life, entr\isting to the deacons the task of superintending their observance;

assembled synods in various towns in the dioceses, and firmly opposed the Imperial Chancellor Sapieha, when he wished to make many concessions in favour of the schismatics. Throughout all his strivings and all his occupations, he continued his exemplary life as a religious, and never abated his zeal for self- mortification and prayer. He awaited death with a certain yearning, refusing to avail himself of the op- portunity of flight afforded him. After his death his influence was still greater: conversions were numer- ous, and veneration for him continued to extend. His feast is kept on the first Sunday after 12 No- vember, according to the Julian Calendar,

GUEPIN, Un Ap6lre de VUnion des Eglises au XVII' siicle (2 vols., Paris, 1898); Contieri, Vita di S. Giosafat, Arcivescovo e Martire Ruteno dell' Ordine di S. Basilio il Grande (Rome, 1867); SuszA, CuTsus vita et certamen martyrii B. Josaphat Kuncewicz (Rome, 1665), ed. Maktinov (Paris. 1865); SnszA, Saulus et Paulus Huthence Unionis sanguine B. Josaphat trajisfortnattis (Rome, 1666); GufepiN and Kalinka, Zywot S. Jdzafata Kuncewicza, mfczennika, arcybiskupa potockiego (Lemberg, 1885); Koz>nevt6, Zytje si). SvjaSlenomuieni/ka Josafata Kunceryla (Zovkva, 1902); Urban, Swiety Jdzafal Kuncewia, linkup i mfczennik (Krackow, 1906) — the two last-mentioned are popular works.

JoS.\PHAT J. MaRKEVtC.

Joseph, Saint, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster-father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 'The cliief sources of information on the life of St. Joseph are the first chapters of our first and third Gospels; they are practically also the only reliable sources, for, whilst, on the holy patriarch's life, as on many other points connected with the Sa\'iour's liistory which were left untouched by the canonical writings, the apocryphal literature is full of details, the non-admittance of these works into theCanonof the Sacred Books castsa strong suspicion upon their contents; and, even granted that some of the facts recorded by them may be founded on trustworthy traditions, it is in most instances next to impossible to discern and sift these particles of true liistory from the fancies with which they are as- sociated. Among these apocryphal productions tleal- ing more or less extensively with some episodes of St. Joseph's life may be noted the so-called "Gospel of James", the "Pseudo-Matthew", the "Gospel of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary", the "Story of Joseph the Carpenter" (in Tischendorf, " Evangelia Apoc- rypha", Leipzig, 1876), and the "Life of the Virgin and Death of Joseph" (in Robinson, "Coptic Apoc- ryphal Gospels", Cambridge, 1S96). St. JIatthew (i, 16) calls St. Joseph the son of Jacob; according to St. Luke (iii, 23), Heli was his father. This is not the place to recite the many and most various endeavours to solve the vexing questions arising from the diver- gences between both genealogies; nor is it necessary to point out the explanation which meets best all the requirements of the problem (see Genealogy of Christ) ; suffice it to remind the reader that, contrary to what was once advocatetl, most modern writers readily admit that in both documents we possess the genealogy of Joseph, and that it is quite possible to reconcile their data. At any rate, Bethlehem, the city of David and his descendants, appears to have been the birth-place of Joseph. When, however, the Gospel history opens, namely, a few months before the Annunciation, Joseph was settled at Nazareth. Why and when he forsook his home-place to betake himself to Galilee is not ascertained; some suppose — and the supposition is by no means improbable — that the then moderate circumstances of the family and the necessity of earning a living may have brought about the change. St. Joseph, indeed, was a t^ktuv, as we learn from Matt., xiii, 5.5, and Mark, vi, .3. The word means both mechanic in general and carpenter in par- ticular; St. .lustin vouches for the latter sense (Dial, cum Try|)h., Ixxxviii, in P. (1., VI, 6SS), and tradition has accepted tills interpretation, which is followcil in the I'^nglish Bible. It is probably iit Nazareth that Jose|)li betrothed and married her who was to become