The speeches of Jacques Bénigne Bossuet
by Bruno Capparoni
The 17th century saw the progressive dominance of France in Europe in many areas of civilization and also in devotion to Saint Joseph. However, it must immediately be specified that the reference to the holy Patriarch was introduced among the French by the Spaniards, those who brought the Carmelite reform of Saint Teresa to that country. She is always the teacher of devotion to Saint Joseph.
In the second half of the century the French Church was enlightened by a figure of the first magnitude by the name of Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704).
Among the many important influences he developed around him, there was also the spread of devotion to our Saint.
Bossuet was bishop of Meaux, an unimportant diocese, but close to Paris, where he often went because the affairs of the Church of France called him there. He was active in all the religious events of his time and determined them positively with the weight of his culture and also with the authenticity of his faith. In 1671 he was responsible for the education of Louis XIV's eldest son, Louis of Bourbon-France (1661-1711), the great Dauphin. This position gave him extraordinary prestige in French society. He took part in all the issues that agitated the Church in France and of which we remember here only the name: the anti-Protestant polemics, quietism, Jansenism, Gallicanism... These terms mean little to us today, but at the time they were much debated issues.
Bossuet was a great orator and his speeches, heard and then read, were widely read. He left us two dedicated to Saint Joseph, memorable for their content and also for the circumstances in which they were pronounced. Both took place in the chapel of the Carmelite nuns in Paris and both were held in the presence of Queen Anne of Austria (1601-1666), widow of Louis XIII and mother of Louis XIV, the Sun King. It is easy to imagine the resonance this had in the French company.
In the first speech, dated 19 March 1659, Bossuet starts from the biblical words Depositum custodians (Guard the deposit, 1 Tim 6, 20) to describe the mission of Saint Joseph. Here is a passage from him: «To safeguard Mary's virginity under the veil of marriage, what virtue was necessary for Saint Joseph? An angelic purity, which could correspond in some way to the purity of his chaste wife. To protect the Savior Jesus in the midst of many persecutions that attacked him since childhood, what virtue will we ask for? An inviolable loyalty that cannot be shaken by any danger. Finally, to guard the secret that was entrusted to him, what virtue could he have used if not that admirable humility which does not attract the eyes of men, which does not want to show itself to the world but which wants to hide with Jesus Christ? Depositum custodians: O Saint Joseph, guard the deposit, guard the virginity of Mary and, to guard it in marriage, add your purity. Guard that precious life on which the salvation of men depends and make the most of the faithfulness of your care in the midst of difficulties. Guard the secret of the eternal Father: he wants his Son to be hidden from the world; keep him under a sacred veil and wrap yourself with him in the darkness that covers him, for the sake of the hidden life."
In the second speech, given on 19 March 1661, starting from the verse of Kings 13, 14 Quaesivit sibi Dominus virum iuxta cor suum (He sought a man after his own heart), Bossuet in the last part, not reported here, praised the young King Louis XIV for having asked all the bishops of France to establish the feast of St. Joseph as a feast of obligation. In the passage reported here it is clear that the audience was made up mainly of contemplative nuns: «Wonderful mystery, my sisters! Joseph has in his house that which can attract the eyes of all the earth, but the world does not know it; he possesses the God-Man and does not say a word; he witnesses such a great mystery and enjoys it in secret without divulging it! The wise men and shepherds come to adore Jesus Christ; Simeon and Anna proclaim his greatness; no one else could bear better testimony to the mystery of Jesus Christ than he who was its custodian, who knew the miracle of his birth, who the angel had so clearly instructed concerning the dignity of that son and the reason for his coming. What father would not have spoken of such a lovable son? Not even the ardor of so many holy souls, who appear before him with such zeal to celebrate the praises of Jesus Christ, was able to open Joseph's mouth to reveal the secret that was entrusted to him by God. Erant mirantes... says the evangelist: Mary and Joseph were amazed, yet it seemed that they knew nothing about it; they listened to everyone else who was talking, and they kept the silence carefully, so much so that in their city, after thirty years, it was still said. “Isn't he the son of Joseph?”, without having known anything, for many years, about the mystery of his virginal conception. The fact is that both knew that, to truly enjoy God, one must surround oneself with solitude, that one must recall within oneself many desires that wander here and there and many thoughts that get lost, that it is necessary to retreat with God and be satisfied with the sight of him."