• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
    • Jeff’s Mom Joins Fundraiser
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Feasts Website
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

St. Joseph Triduum — Installment No. 1

Fr. David Friel · March 15, 2012

The Solemnity of Saint Joseph is for many Catholics (especially Italians) a beloved annual respite from the Great Fast of Lent. I would like to offer three reflections in the coming days as a sort of “triduum” as we approach this feast on March 19th.

How many men named Joseph would you guess are mentioned in the Bible? I was surprised that I was able to find at least twelve different Josephs.

1. Joseph, the husband of Mary (Luke 1:27)
2. Joseph, the son of Jacob (Genesis 37-50)
3. Joseph, the father of Igal (Numbers 13:7)
4. Joseph, son of Asaph, a musician of David (1 Chronicles 5:2, 9)
5. Joseph, a Jew who divorced his Gentile wife after the captivity (Ezra 10:42)
6. Joseph, a chief priest (Nehemiah 12:14)
7. Joseph, son of Mattathias (Luke 3:24)
8. Joseph, father of Judah (Luke 3:30)
9. Joseph of Arimathea, buried Jesus in his personal tomb (John 19:38)
10. Joseph, son of Juda (Luke 3:26)
11. Joseph Barsabas, also called Justus (Acts 1:23-25)
12. Joseph, a Levite of Cyprus (Acts 4:36)

The most obvious Joseph is the foster father of Jesus, but he is certainly not the only one. I propose that we may be able to learn from a closer inspection of two of the other Josephs. Thus, our first reflection will consider the man we shall call Joseph of Egypt, the son of Jacob who becomes a major character in the Book of Genesis. In the second reflection, we shall reflect upon Joseph of Arimathea, the man in whose tomb Jesus was buried. And finally, in the third reflection, we shall focus solely upon Joseph of Nazareth, the foster father of Jesus.

Most people know more about Joseph, the son of Jacob, than they might think. He is the Joseph who wore the “coat of many colors.” He is the Joseph who had wild dreams and could interpret other people’s dreams. He is the Joseph who was one of twelve brothers. So, things started out fairly well for this Joseph. He had a good background.

But things went rapidly downhill. His brothers all turned on him and decided to kill him. Then, rather than actually kill him, they decided to sell him into slavery in Egypt for twenty pieces of silver. While he was in Egypt, a woman named Potiphar tried to seduce him, but, when he resisted, she made a wrongful accusation against him. Then he was thrown into prison unjustly, all the while cut off from his home and family.

What caused everything to fall apart? Genesis 37:3 presents the ironic key to understanding this sudden turn of fate. In that verse, it is written that “Israel [Jacob] loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age.” It is this love, strangely, that becomes the cause of Joseph’s downfall. Because Jacob had shown favoritism to his son Joseph, the other eleven brothers became jealous. They saw the way their father treated him better, and it became the key to his undoing.

Jacob, had he been a wiser father, could have approached his children differently. I have a brother and two sisters, for example, and we used to pester my mom when we were kids, asking her which one of us she loved best. My brother, who is the oldest, would claim to be “the one she loved first.” I, as the youngest, would claim to be “the one she loved most.” But, my mother, in her wisdom, has always given the same reply: “I love each of you equally.”

So, what does the Old Testament story of Joseph of Egypt have to teach us? It tells us something about the love of a father, which needs to be constant & fair & strong. Whereas Jacob made a mistake by favoring one son over his others, God the Father never makes that mistake. God the Father, to be sure, has an intense love for Jesus, His Son. But here is an unfathomable truth: God does not love us any less! All of us who have been baptized are God’s children by adoption—truly beloved sons & daughters. And He loves all of us with the same intensity with which He loves Jesus. What an incredible blessing: God the Father does not love us any less than He loves God the Son.

Saint Joseph was a good Jew who knew his Bible, so he would have known & loved & been inspired by this story of his namesake, Joseph of Egypt. Although Saint Joseph had only one son, not twelve, he is still a father to all of us, inasmuch as he is the “Patron of the Universal Church.” He would have learned from the mistake of Jacob, who “loved Joseph best of all his sons.” Centuries later, this story taught Saint Joseph how to love Jesus with constant, fair, and strong—fatherly—love.

And now, Saint Joseph, just like God the Father, looks upon us and says: “I love each of you equally.”

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
    This coming Sunday, 12 October 2025, is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Its OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (PDF) is gorgeous, and comes from the book of Esther, as did the ENTRANCE CHANT last Sunday. Depending on a variety of factors, various hand-missals (all with Imprimatur) translate this passage differently. For instance, “príncipis” can be rendered: King; Prince; Lion; or Fierce lord. None is “more correct” than another. It depends on what each translator wants to emphasize and which source text is chosen. All these pieces of plainsong are conveniently stored at the blue-ribbon feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF example) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The following question is asked by the Most Reverend Lord Bishop of the Diocese of Chur: May this Diocese’s ancient custom be continued of having the Celebrant in Sung Masses (excepting more solemn Masses) intone the Credo and when he is finished reciting it going on immediately to the offertory and finishing it while the credo is being sung by the choir?” (Dubium of Dec 1909)

— 11 December 1909

Recent Posts

  • Every Diocesan Music Commission Should Do This
  • Exclusive Interview • “Púeri Cantóres” President
  • PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
  • The Real Miracle of Gregorian Chant
  • Why A “Fugue” Here?

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.