There are many old paintings and other works of art which portray St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary standing before a Jewish priest. Some of these are said to be depictions of their betrothal ceremony, while others are of the actual wedding. There are generally few differences in the depictions of the two ceremonies, and most of these works' titles (or, at least the English translations of their titles) indicate that they are of the wedding. For this reason, we will treat this window as a portrayal of the wedding ceremony. 

Joseph and the Virgin Mary stand in the Temple before the high priest, whose most important duty occurs each year on the Day of Atonement, when he offers blood from animal sacrifices to atone for the sins of his people {see Leviticus 16:15-19}. This priest does not know it, but within the womb of the young woman whom he is wedding to Joseph is Jesus, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" {John 1:29} by offering His own Blood as a Sacrifice. 

The staff St. Joseph holds comes from an apocryphal tale. According to The Golden Legend, several men besides Joseph wanted Mary's hand in marriage. Each suitor, the story goes, was instructed by the high priest to place a staff on an altar. The staff that Joseph brought miraculously burst into leaf, a sign that he was God's choice to be Mary's husband {compare this story with the account of Aaron's rod blossoming in Numbers 17:16-23}. In artistic representations of the scene, the unsuccessful suitors are usually portrayed breaking their staffs across their knees, while Joseph holds his leafy staff. These other suitors from the legend are not seen in this window (again, probably due to size constraints), but the foster-father of our Lord is shown holding his staff, the leaves and flowers of which can be clearly seen. 

Joseph's marriage robe is adorned with fleur de lis, symbolic lilies usually associated with the Virgin Mary. In this instance, they represent Joseph's purity; he is often portrayed holding a lily, as in the statue above the south side altar at the front of this church. Mary wears a garland of white roses, as she did in the Presentation window. She and Joseph hold hands as their marriage is blessed by the priest. 

A kneeling attendant holds a tall candle (from the Latin candeo - "to burn"). In actuality, oil lamps were used in the Temple, rather than wax candles. Candles, like incense, were once used in pagan rites, but were adopted by the early Church to beautify her solemn ceremonies. The taper seen in this window is probably meant to be a symbol of Christ, and it calls to mind the Paschal Candle used in Catholic churches during the Easter season. The Paschal Candle is also lit during Baptism ceremonies, and thus stands near the Baptismal font. Candles used by the Church are traditionally made of beeswax. Pure wax extracted from flowers by bees symbolizes the pure flesh that Jesus received from His Virgin Mother. The wick is said to represent the Soul of Christ, while the flame signifies His Divinity. The candle burning its life out is symbolic of prayer and sacrifice, and the light it emits represents Christ, the true light. 

For Joseph, this wedding is more than just the taking of a wife: it is an act of protection for Mary and her unborn Child. According to the Mosaic Law {see Deuter- onomy 22:23-24}, Mary may have faced death by stoning if authorities found out that she was pregnant with a Child that did not belong to Joseph, the man to whom she was betrothed (legally engaged). Mary had conceived this Child in obedience to God after receiving the message of an angel. Now, at the behest of another of God's angels, Joseph obediently weds Mary, his first act of protection for her and our Lord. 

Within several months of the wedding portrayed here, Jesus will be born (see the Nativity window). Forty days after that holy event, Joseph will return to Jerusalem's great Temple with Mary, where she will undergo the purification rite and her Divine Child will be presented to the Lord in accordance with Jewish law. On that day, the prophetess Anna will give thanks that she has seen the fulfillment of God's promise of a deliverer. Simeon will give his prophecy that Jesus "is destined to be the downfall and the rise of many in Israel, a sign that will be opposed..." {Luke 2:34}, and he will tell Mary, "you yourself shall be pierced with a sword" {2:35}. (The Feast of the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Jesus is celebrated on February 2, forty days after Christmas; traditionally on this day, the candles which will be used in the church for the following year are blessed at a Mass, and thus the day became known as "Candlemas") Shortly after the Presentation, the Holy Family will flee to Egypt as Joseph again protects Jesus, this time from Herod's Slaughter of the Innocents. 

The only event of Christ's "hidden years" which is recorded in the Gospels occurred in the Temple. When Jesus was 12, the Holy Family went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, as was their custom. As Joseph and Mary made their way back to Nazareth, they discovered that Jesus was not among their traveling party. They returned to Jerusalem and searched for Him. After three days, "they came upon Him in the Temple sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. All who heard Him were amazed at His intelligence and His answers" {Luke 2:46-47}. When Joseph and Mary asked the young Christ why He had stayed behind and caused them to worry and sorrow, He replied, "Why did you search for Me? Did you not know I had to be in My Father's house?" {2:49}. 

This marks the last time St. Joseph appears in the Gospels. When Jesus began His public ministry, Mary was with Him, but Joseph was not. The foster-father of our Lord had apparently died by this time. Tradition holds that Jesus and Mary were with him when he died, and thus he is invoked as the patron of a happy death. In our final moments, we too can have Jesus (through the Viaticum) and Mary (through her prayers) with us as we leave this world. 

Just as Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is honored by Catholics as the Mother of the Church, so St. Joseph, the Guardian of Jesus, is honored as the Church's Protector. His feast is celebrated March 19. An optional memorial honors this carpenter as "St. Joseph the Worker" on May 1. 

- Bishop Casartelli