Ite ad Joseph
Te, Joseph, celebrent agmina cœlitum,
Te cuncti resonent christiadum chori,
Qui clarus meritis, junctus es inclytæ
Casto fœdere Virgini.Almo cum tumidam germine conjugem
Admirans, dubio tangeris anxius,
Afflatu superi Flamini Angelus
Conceptum puerum docet.Tu natum Dominum stringis, ad exteras
Ægypti profugum tu sequeris plagas;
Amissum Solymis quæris, et invenis,
Miscens gaudia fletibus.Post mortem reliquos mors pia consecrat,
Palmamque emeritos gloria suscipit:
Tu vivens, Superis par, frueris Deo,
Mira sorte beatior.Nobis, summa Trias, parce precantibus,
Da Joseph meritis sidera scandere:
Ut tandem liceat nos tibi perpetim
Gratum promere canticum.
“I took for my patron the glorious St. Joseph and recommended myself earnestly to him.”
A happy feast of St Joseph to all! in which Holy Mother Church bids us rejoice. Oh terror of demons, oh patron of the universal church: pray for us!
For this great feast, let us look at the hymn prescribed for Vespers of this feast, the magnificent Te Joseph Celebrent:
In terms of Gregorian hymn tunes, this is one of the more involved, with a medieval melody that predates the text. The music rises to a climax at the start of the third line before descending in a familiar melody on the truncated fourth line. The text itself is from thought to be the work of a 17th century Spanish Carmelite called Juan de la Concepción. Indeed it was the Carmelites that were responsible for spreading the devotion to St. Joseph in medieval Europe. The hymn tells of Joseph’s deeds and asks the hosts of heaven and all of Christendom to sing his praise. Tell of his wondrous fame it begs, and raise a peeling hymn!
And raise a hymn it does! It tells of his visits from the angel, the joy of holding the God-child, the flight into Egypt, and recovery in the temple. Truly, Joseph was blessed in this life in a way in which we shall only be after death, as the fourth verse points out. Oh Joseph of Nazareth, thou art the man, chosen singularly to foster the child of God! What wonders then, can you not obtain for us?
There are other versions of the tune in Dominican and Roman chant books, and indeed it makes for beautiful variations when paired with polyphonic settings. The ever-lovely Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles recorded this beautiful version that melds chant and polyphony and is actually the one that lives in my brain:
Let us turn then, to our glorious father Joseph, in our necessity. I was struck by the Collect whilst praying Vespers last evening, which reads:
Sanctíssimæ Genetrícis tuæ spónsi, quǽsumus, Dómine, méritis adiuvémur; ut quod possibílitas nostra non óbtinet, eius nobis intercessióne donétur.
Help us, we beseech thee, O Lord, for the sake of the Husband of thy most holy Mother, that what we cannot for ourselves obtain, Thou mayest grant us at his petition.
That which we cannot ourselves do, let St. Joseph do it. It reminded me of this quote from Our Mother among the saints, Teresa of Avila: “Would that I could persuade all men to be devout to this glorious saint, for I know by long experience what blessings he can obtain for us from God. It is now very many years since I began asking him for something on his feast, and I always received it. If the petition was in any way amiss, he rectified it for my greater good.”
Sante Joseph, ora pro nobis!
Sancta Caecilia, ora pro nobis!
Ps: There are other wonderful tracks to St. Joseph on this record from the same sisters.
Happy listening!