The Marriage that changed the world - The Espousal of Our Lady and St. Joseph of Mandurriao, Iloilo

-
The Espousal of Our Lady and St. Joseph of Mandurriao, Iloilo 
Weddings, one of the most important events of most individuals since the ancient times where two individuals exchange their vows to live together and build a family. Our Lord Jesus himself sanctified marriage as a sacrament and through marriage, Our Lord sanctified this union so that the parents would teach their children the basics of our faith and will lead them closer to God.

One of the most important marriages in history is the marriage of Our Lady and St. Joseph. Our Lord planned the marriage of these holy couple as a fulfillment of his plan for the Salvation of Mankind from the clutches of sin.

The account of the Marriage of Our Lady and St. Joseph

The Scriptures don't record exactly when Mary and Joseph were married, but the first chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel describes the circumstances. Verse 18 speaks of them being "betrothed ... before they came together." Joseph, on learning that she is pregnant with the child Jesus considers what he ought to do in verses 19-20, the situation is explained to him by an angel in verses 20-23, and in verse 24 we are told that he "did as the angel commanded him, and took unto him his wife." Presumably, this took place in Nazareth, as he would not have brought her to Bethlehem if she was still a member of her father's household. It (obviously) has to have followed the Annunciation (Luke i: 26-38), and very likely followed the three months Mary spent with Elizabeth. No mention is made of Joseph in the narrative of the Visitation (Luke i: 39-56), which has Mary leaving Nazareth "in haste into the hill country, to a town of Judea (Ain Karim)," and concludes about three months later with Mary "returned to her own house." That would put the events of the Gospel of Matthew at roughly the fourth month of Mary's pregnancy; a reasonable guess in that neither account has them immediately hurrying off to Bethlehem, and in that they are likely to have married before Mary publicly appeared to be pregnant.

In Jewish law, marriage consists of two separate acts, called erusin (or kiddushin, meaning sanctification), which is the betrothal ceremony, and nissu'in or chupah, the actual ceremony for the marriage. Erusin changes the couple's interpersonal status, while nissu'in brings about the legal consequences of the change of status. In Talmudic times, these two ceremonies usually took place up to a year apart; the bride lived with her parents until the actual marriage ceremony (nissuin), which would take place in a room or tent that the groom had set up for her. Since the Middle Ages the two ceremonies have taken place as a combined ceremony performed in public.

According to the Talmud, erusin involves the groom handing an object to the bride - either an object of value such as a ring, or a document stating that she is being betrothed to him. In order to be valid, this must be done in the presence of two unrelated male witnesses. After erusin, the laws of adultery apply, and the marriage cannot be dissolved without a religious divorce. After nisuin, the couple may live together.

The Wedding vestments of Our Lady and St. Joseph as seen in the
visions of Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich
The Espousal of Our Lady and St. Joseph from the Visions of Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich

In the writings of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, she gave a vivid description on how their espousal took place:

"Hereupon I saw the Blessed Virgin supplicating God with great fervor in her praying cell and that she there heard a voice and received a revelation which comforted her and gave her strength to consent to her marriage. I saw, too, that a very aged priest, who could no longer walk (it was doubtless the high priest), was carried on a chair by others before the Holy of Holies, and that while the incense-offering was being kindled, he read prayers from a parchment scroll lying on a stand in front of him. I saw that he was in a spiritual ecstasy and saw a vision, and that the forefinger of his hand was laid upon the passage of Isaiah in the scroll: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse; and a flower shall rise up out of his root." [ Is. 11.1.] When the old priest came to himself again, he read this passage and apprehended something from it.

Then I saw that messengers were sent throughout the land and all unmarried men of the line of David summoned to the Temple. When these were assembled in large numbers at the Temple in festal garments, the Blessed Virgin was presented to them. Among them I saw a very devout youth from the region of Bethlehem; he had always prayed with great fervor for the fulfillment of the Promise, and I discerned in his heart an ardent longing to become Mary’s husband. She, however, withdrew again into her cell in tears, unable to bear the thought that she should not remain a virgin.

The altar image
I now saw that the high priest, in accordance with the inner instruction he had received, handed a branch to each of the men present, and commanded each to inscribe his branch with his name and to hold it in his hands during the prayer and sacrifice.

I then saw the priests in the Temple making a fresh search in the ancestral tables to see whether there was any descendant of David’s who had been overlooked. As they found that of six brothers registered at Bethlehem one was missing and unknown, they made search for his dwelling-place, and found Joseph not far from Samaria in a place beside a little stream, where he lived alone by the water and worked for another master. On the command of the high priest, Joseph now came, dressed in his best, to the Temple at Jerusalem. He, too, had to hold a branch in his hand during the prayer and sacrifice, and as he was about to lay this on the altar before the Holy of Holies, a white flower like a lily blossomed out of the top of it, and I saw over him an appearance of like the holy ghost.Joseph was now recognized as appointed by God to be the bridegroom of the Blessed Virgin, and was presented to her by the priests in the presence of her mother. Mary, submissive to the Will of God, accepted him meekly as her bridegroom, for she knew that all things were possible with God, who had accepted her vow to belong to Him alone, body and soul.

The first definite knowledge of a feast in honor of the espousals of Mary dates from August 29, 1517, when with nine other Masses in honour of Mary, it was granted by Leo X to the Nuns of the Annunciation, founded by Saint Jeanne de Valois. In certain particular churches the espousals of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph are honoured with an office on January 23. Gaspar Bertoni, founder of the Stigmatines, chose Mary and Joseph, in the context of their espousals, as patrons of the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata
The Espousal of Our Lady Parish
The Shrine in the Philippines

In the country, there were at least two Parishes dedicated to the Espousal of Our Lady and St. Joseph, both located in Iloilo. One of these shrines is located in Mandurriao, Iloilo City were a beautiful image was enshrined in the parish. The Espousal of Our Lady Parish was established in 1921. A beautiful church made of white marble and stone, the church sets an atmosphere where one can meditate more on the Eucharist and the sanctity of marriage.

The Feast of the Espousal of Our Lady and St. Joseph is celebrated every January 23 with a novena preceding the fiesta and a solemn procession of the image of the holy espousal - a quite unique image that can only be found in Iloilo.

The devotion 

The processional image
The Church celebrates the espousal of Mary and Joseph on January 23 in the Traditional Roman Calendar until the it was removed due to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. However, this feast is still observed in local calendars, most specifically in Perugia, Italy (where it is believed that the Virgin's wedding ring is kept and venerated) and in Iloilo, the Philippines.

In the commentaries of Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, he stressed that "The espousals between Joseph and Mary are an episode of great importance. Joseph was of the royal line of David and, in virtue of his marriage to Mary, would confer on the Son of the Virgin - on God's Son - the legal tile of "Son of David," thus fulfilling the prophecies. The espousals of Joseph and Mary are, because of this, a human event, but determinant in the history of humanity's salvation, in the realization of the promises of God; because of this, it also has a supernatural connotation, which the two protagonists accept with humility and trust.

As we end this blogpost dedicated to the Marriage of Our Lady and St. Joseph, here is an invocation traditionally recited by the spiritual sons of St. Gaspar Bertoni at the novena and the feast of the Espousals of the Most Holy Virgin Mary with St. Joseph:

"Most Holy Virgin, for that virginal espousal who celebrated with your most chaste spouse St. Joseph, make my soul be spiritually espoused with your Son and my Lord Jesus Christ."


References:

"The Traditional Jewish Marriage" Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/marriage.html on January 12, 2018.
Emmerich, Anna Catherina (1820), "The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary", Retrieved from http://www.ccel.org/ccel/emmerich/lifemary.xi.html on January 10, 2018.
"Espousal of Our Lady Parish History" (2010), Retrieved from http://www.iloiloilove.com on January 20, 2018.
"The Betrothal of Virgin Mary and St. Joseph" (2013), Retrieved from http://paucaverba.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-betrothal-of-virgin-mary-and-saint.html on January 21, 2018.


Images of the Espousal of Our Lady and St. Joseph courtesy of Mr. Art Ryan Postolero of the Espousal of Our Lady Parish of Mandurriao, Iloilo City

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Nuestra Señora de Barangay - The Mother and Protectress of the Barangay

-
Image
Nuestra Señora de Barangay Of all Marian images venerated in the country, there is a simple yet beautiful image of Our Lady that is very unique in our consciousness, the very Filipina image of the Virgin of the Barangay. The image of the "Virgen sang Barangay" gained much attention since its first public appearance in the 1950's as the Patroness of the Barangay sang Birhen Organization and began touring the nation for some years and numerous replicas of this image, whether it is a painting or a three-dimensional statue, this particular Venerada clearly shows how the Blessed Virgin became became our own Mother of the Filipino Nation and became a unifying force for centuries and still enjoys much love and veneration as time passed by.  The image The icon of the Virgin of the Baranggay depicts the Virgin presenting her Son to the barangay. The Virgin wears the traditional balintawak and wearing a red and yellow tapis on her waist while the Child is covered with
Read more

Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario, La Naval de Manila - The Queen and Protectress of the Philippines

-
Image
Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario –  La Naval de Manila Within the busy streets of Quezon Avenue, Quezon City, a towering shrine is seen along its road. Inside that massive shrine of Santo Domingo Church, it houses the silent witness to the turbulent yet triumphant history of the Philippines – the beautiful and grand image of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario, La Naval de Manila. The Virgin of the Rosary of La Naval is not only a silent witness, she is the anchor of hope of the Filipinos through the centuries of its turbulent and challenging history, better yet, the Great Protectress of the islands, the La Gran Senora de Filipinas. The Image of Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario, La Naval de Manila (colloquially known as the Santo Rosario or Our Lady of La Naval de Manila), is one of the most miraculous and the most important in the country. As with the Battle of Lepanto of 1571, Filipinos credit her intercession for successfully repulsing Dutch invasion during the Battles of L
Read more

Sisters in Blood, Sisters in Christ - The Talangpaz Sisters

-
Image
Servants of God Dionisia and Cecilia Rosa Talangpaz During the Spanish period,, there were few women who pioneered for a change in the early years of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, then controlled by the Spanish Clergy from the likes of Venerable Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, foundress of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, Servant of God Francisca del Espiritu Santo, foundress of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena and the two sisters who founded the Second Congregation for Filipino women, the Augustinian Recollect Sisters of Manila - the Talangpaz sisters of Calumpit, Bulacan. The Talangpaz sisters heeded the call to serve the Lord and later founded a Congregation for Filipinas who wanted to live a contemplative life within the cloisters of a convent which was then denied by the Spanish colonial clergy at that time until the foundation of these Congregations. Despite the Controversies and hardships they faced, the sisters, backed up with their unwavering faith
Read more

Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Angeles: The Regal Patroness of Angeles, Pampanga

-
Image
Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Angeles inside the Holy Rosary Parish's famed sunburst altar Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Angeles In the previous blogpost, we discovered the history of the image and the surrounding devotion to Santo Angel Custodio , the titular Patron of Angeles City, Pampanga where the progressive city was named after, aside from its founder Don Ángel Pantaleón de Miranda. On this blogpost, we are going to present the history of the devotion to Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Angeles - the Queen and Patroness of Angeles City, Pampanga. The image The venerable image of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Angeles is a de vestir image of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary somehow patterned to that of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Manila where the image is also vested in regal robes with bombas (conical enhancements), wears a set of metal accessories and jewels
Read more

Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Manila - La Fuerza y Alegria de Manila

-
Image
Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Manila (Courtesy of Mr. Christopher Palabay) In the busy streets of Modern Quiapo - Santa Cruz areas, commercial establishments from ever present shopping malls down to the bangketas that sells almost everything from clothing, food, jewelry, that covered the area is always a common scene. With that modern yet looming atmosphere of that district, it is easy to forget that the same district was once one of the most aristocratic and arrogant arrabal (Spanish for district) during the glorious days of Old Manila. The district that several novou riche families and aristocrats used to stay in that neighborhood and where commerce thrives in.  The link between the Glory days of Old Manila and its present atmosphere is located in a dominant Parish Church of Sta. Cruz, the centuries old miraculous image of Nuestra Señora del Pilar. The beautiful sliver gilded image of the "La Pilarica" is the silent witness to the colorful history of the district. As
Read more