Forget Patrick—St. Joseph Has his Day and It’s Delicious

The Feast of St. Joseph, or the Festa Di San Giuseppe in Italy where it is a very big deal, is celebrated in honor of Joseph the Carpenter, husband to Mary and human father of Jesus.

St. Joseph’s Day is celebrated annually on March 19.  Joseph, the husband of Mary—does that make him Jesus’s stepfather?—is the Patron Saint of Poland, of carpenters, workers of all kinds, and of assorted other things.  In many Latin countries it is also the occasion to celebrate fathers.

A San Guuseppe street procession in Sicily.

Joseph is particularly revered in Sicily where he is credited with bringing an end to a drought and famine in the Middle Ages.  Devotion to him spread through southern Italy and was brought to the United States by immigrants.  Sicilians, who arrived in New Orleans in the late 19th Century promoted wide-spread celebrations in that city.  On the East Coast, particularly in Providence, Rhode Island, there are major parades featuring the wearing o’ the red—St. Joseph’s color—as more than a subtle tweak of the Irish, who attracted a lot of attention with their little festival two days earlier.  These parades actually were shows of political clout as the Italians muscled the Irish out of control of city governments. 

St. Joseph's Day is not just for Italians and Poles.  Here is an ethnic Czech parade in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Politics aside, the main feature of the celebration is St. Joseph’s Table, a feast set out in thanks for the miracle of saving Sicily.  Usually laid out buffet style and decorated with the good Saint’s statue, lily blossoms, and votive candles.  Food includes elaborate meatless offerings—it is Lent after all—including stuffed artichokes, pasta and fish, as well as breads, cookies, pastries, cakes and other delicacies.  Fava beans, the food St. Joseph provided to relieve the famine, are prominently featured. 

A St. Joseph's Day Table laid  out in front of a side alter at a Catholic church.

What makes the St. Joseph Table different from other feasts is that it is supposed to be laid out for the poor, homeless, and oppressed.  No one is turned away.  You don’t have to go to mass or even be Catholic.  You can smell like Richard’s Wild Irish Rose and stale piss, be covered in tattoos with nails piercing your face.  Who knows?  You can even be Gay or have had an abortion.  Come! Eat!  Share with us!

What a great holiday! 

Move Over Patrick—St. Joseph Has his Day and It’s Delicious

The Feast of St. Joseph, or the Festa Di San Giuseppe in Italy where it is a very big deal, is celebrated in honor of Joseph the Carpenter, husband to Mary and human father of Jesus.

St. Joseph’s Day is celebrated annually on March 19.  Joseph, the husband of Mary—does that make him Jesus’s stepfather?—is the Patron Saint of Poland, of carpenters, workers of all kinds, and of assorted other things.  In many Latin countries it is also the occasion to celebrate fathers.

A San Guuseppe street procession in Sicily.

Joseph is particularly revered in Sicily where he is credited with bringing an end to a drought and famine in the Middle Ages.  Devotion to him spread through southern Italy and was brought to the United States by immigrants.  Sicilians, who arrived in New Orleans in the late 19th Century promoted wide-spread celebrations in that city.  On the East Coast, particularly in Providence, Rhode Island, there are major parades featuring the wearing o’ the red—St. Joseph’s color—as more than a subtle tweak of the Irish, who attracted a lot of attention with their little festival two days earlier.  These parades actually were shows of political clout as the Italians muscled the Irish out of control of city governments. 

St. Joseph's Day is not just for Italians and Poles.  Here is an ethnic Czech parade in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Politics aside, the main feature of the celebration is St. Joseph’s Table, a feast set out in thanks for the miracle of saving Sicily.  Usually laid out buffet style and decorated with the good Saint’s statue, lily blossoms, and votive candles.  Food includes elaborate meatless offerings—it is Lent after all—including stuffed artichokes, pasta and fish, as well as breads, cookies, pastries, cakes and other delicacies.  Fava beans, the food St. Joseph provided to relieve the famine, are prominently featured. 

A St. Joseph's Day Table laid  out in front of a side alter at a Catholic church.

What makes the St. Joseph Table different from other feasts is that it is supposed to be laid out for the poor, homeless, and oppressed.  No one is turned away.  You don’t have to go to mass or even be Catholic.  You can smell like Richard’s Wild Irish Rose and stale piss, be covered in tattoos with nails piercing your face.  Who knows?  You can even be Gay or have had an abortion.  Come. Eat.  Share with us.

After two years when most St. Joseph's Table events had to be canceled due to the Coronavirus epidemic and when the hungry and homeless were fed with boxed meals sent to shelters, food pantries, and nursing homes, a priest explains a table to parochial school students.

What a great holiday! 

St. Joseph Table Where All Who Are Hungry are Guests Curtailed by Coronavirus.

The Feast of St. Joseph, or the Festa Di San Giuseppe in Italy where it is a very big deal, is celebrated in honor of Joseph the Carpenter, husband to Mary and human father of Jesus.

Note:  Much sadder than closing saloons to St. Patrick’s Day puke parties, is the curtailment of St. Joseph’s Day Table feasts, the wonderful tradition of sharing food with all who are hungry, for the second year in a row.  In some areas Catholic churches are able to offer the traditional feasts or find other ways to share, but many are unable to do so again.  Perhaps this year those who are young, healthy, and mobile can carry the tradition to the doors of those in need.

This is how many meals from St. Joseph's Table will be shared this year--packaged for home delivery to those isolated by the Coronavirus emergency.  You don't have to be Catholic to share food and bring joy and comfort.

St. Joseph’s Day is celebrated annually on March 19.  Joseph, the husband of Mary—does that make him Jesus’s stepfather?—is the Patron Saint of Poland, of carpenters, workers of all kinds, and of assorted other things.  In many Latin countries it is also the occasion to celebrate fathers.

Joseph is particularly revered in Sicily where he is credited with bringing an end to a drought and famine in the Middle Ages.  Devotion to him spread through southern Italy and was brought to the United States by emigrants.  Sicilians, who arrived in New Orleans in the late 19th Century promoted wide spread celebrations in that city.  On the East Coast, particularly in Providence, Rhode Island, there are sometimes major parades featuring the wearing o’ the red—St. Joseph’s color—as more than a subtle tweak of the Irish, who attracted a lot of attention with their little festival two days earlier.  These parades actually were shows of political clout as the Italians muscled the Irish out of control of city governments. 

St. Joseph's Day is not just for Italians and Poles.  Here is an ethnic Czeck parade in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Politics aside, the main feature of the celebration is St. Joseph’s Table, a feast set out in thanks for the miracle of saving Sicily.  Usually laid out buffet style and decorated with the good Saint’s statue, lily blossoms, and votive candles.  Food includes elaborate meatless offerings—it is Lent after all—including stuffed artichokes, pasta and fish, as well as breads, cookies, pastries, cakes and other delicacies.  Fava beans, the food St. Joseph provided to relieve the famine, are prominently featured. 

A St. Joseph's Day Table laid  out in front of a side alter at a Catholic church.

What makes the St. Joseph Table different from other feasts is that it is supposed to be laid out for the poor, homeless, and oppressed.  None are turned away.  You don’t have to go to mass or even be Catholic.  You can smell like Richard’s Wild Irish Rose and stale piss, be covered in tattoos with nails piercing your face.  Who knows?  You can even be Gay or have had an abortion.  Come. Eat.  Share with us.

What a great holiday!  

 

At St. Joseph’s Table All Who Are Hungry are Guests

The Feast of St. Joseph, or the Festa Di San Giuseppe in Italy where it is a very big deal, is celebrated in honor of Joseph the Carpenter, husband to Mary and human father of Jesus.

Note:  Much sadder than closing saloons to St. Patrick’s Day puke parties, is the necessary cancelation of St. Joseph’s Day Table feasts, the wonderful tradition of sharing food with all who are hungry.  Perhaps this year those who are young, healthy, and mobile can carry the tradition to the doors of those in need.

This is how many meals from St. Joseph's Table will be shared this year--packaged for home delivery to those isolated by the Coronavirus emergency.  You don't have to be Catholic to share food and bring joy and comfort.

St. Joseph’s Day is celebrated annually on March 19.  Joseph, the husband of Mary—does that make him Jesus’s stepfather?—is the Patron Saint of Poland, of carpenters, workers of all kinds, and of assorted other things.  In many Latin countries it is also the occasion to celebrate fathers.

Joseph is particularly revered in Sicily where he is credited with bringing an end to a drought and famine in the Middle Ages.  Devotion to him spread through southern Italy and was brought to the United States by emigrants.  Sicilians, who arrived in New Orleans in the late 19th Century promoted wide spread celebrations in that city.  On the East Coast, particularly in Providence, Rhode Island, there are sometimes major parades featuring the wearing o’ the red—St. Joseph’s color—as more than a subtle tweak of the Irish, who attracted a lot of attention with their little festival two days earlier.  These parades actually were shows of political clout as the Italians muscled the Irish out of control of city governments.  

A St. Joseph's Day Table laid  out in front of a side alter at a Catholic church.

Politics aside, the main feature of the celebration is St. Joseph’s Table, a feast set out in thanks for the miracle of saving Sicily.  Usually laid out buffet style and decorated with the good Saint’s statue, lily blossoms, and votive candles.  Food includes elaborate meatless offerings—it is Lent after all—including stuffed artichokes, pasta and fish, as well as breads, cookies, pastries, cakes and other delicacies.  Fava beans, the food St. Joseph provided to relieve the famine, are prominently featured.  

St. Joseph's Day is not just for Italians and Poles.  Here is an ethnic Czeck parade in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

What makes the St. Joseph Table different from other feasts is that it is supposed to be laid out for the poor, homeless, and oppressed.  No one is turned away.  You don’t have to go to mass or even be Catholic.  You can smell like Richard’s Wild Irish Rose and stale piss, be covered in tattoos with nails piercing your face.  Who knows?  You can even be Gay or have had an abortion.  Come. Eat.  Share with us.

What a great holiday! 

2019 Murfin Winter Holidays Music Festival—Celestial Music of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Celestial Music reported to have been coded in the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas, Patroness of the Americas, and most recently Patroness of the Unborn.  An image of her preserved on cloth in a Mexico City Basilica is the object of almost universal adoration in Mexico and among the large Mexican diaspora in the United States.  She has been called the “rubber band which binds this disparate nation into a whole.”  Mexican literary icons have attested to her importance.  Carlos Fuentes said that “you cannot truly be considered a Mexican unless you believe in the Virgin of Guadalupe” and Nobel Literature laureate Octavio Paz that “the Mexican people, after more than two centuries of experiments, have faith only in the Virgin of Guadalupe and the National Lottery.”

The origin story goes like this.

On December 9, 1531, just ten years after the conquest of Mexico by Hernando Cortez, Juan Diego, an Indian peasant and particularly pious convert to Catholicism, was walking by the Hill of Tepeyac then outside of the capital city.  A temple to Tonantzin, the Aztec goddess of love and fertility, had surmounted the hill but been razed in the Church’s campaign to obliterate traditional worship.  When he glanced up the hill he beheld a maiden who bade him in his native Nahuatl language to build a church on the site in her name.  He surmised that she must be that she must be the Virgin Mary although she did not identify herself.

A reproduction of Our Lady of Guadalupe as she appears today.

Juan Diego hurried to Fray Juan de Zumárraga, the Archbishop of Mexico with his tale.  The Franciscan was impressed with his piety but skeptical of the story.  He instructed Juan Diego to return to the hill and ask the apparition for proof of her identity. The peon returned three more times to the hill over the next two days and the Virgin spoke to him each time. 

He first asked for a miraculous sign.  When he returned home he found that his uncle, who had been dying, was healed.  

The Indio peon Juan Diego presents his tilma with the image of the Virgin to Fray Juan de Zumarraga, Archbishop of Mexico.

On his final trip to the Hill the virgin commanded him to gather flowers at the summit.  These were not native flower, but red Castilian roses blooming out of season.  Juan Diego gathered them in his tilma or cloak and took the bundle to the Archbishop Zumárraga.  When he opened his cloak December 12, the flowers fell to the floor, and on the fabric was the image of the Virgin.

This was enough to convince Archbishop who ordered a chapel be built at the base of the hill where the cloak would be displayed.  Juan Diego, his wife, and his uncle were given leave to build a hovel next to the hermitage of Franciscan fathers sent to attend the shrine and to act as their servant.  He reportedly died there in 1548. 

The revered image has been altered over the years, although not the central image of the Virgin on the tilma.  The figure of a dark skinned virgin is four foot eight inches high.  Her gown is a tawny rose tinted color said to recall the Mexican landscape. She is girded by a thin black sash which is taken as a sign of pregnancy. She wears a blue mantle traditionally associated with Mary.  Sharp beams radiate from her suggesting that she is “brighter than the Sun.”  One foot rests on the Moon and the other on a snake’s head.  This has been interpreted as her victory over darkness and triumph over the pagan Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl and/or the serpent of temptation from the Garden of Eden.

She may have originally had a crown on her head or that might have been added later.  Still later the crown was decorated with gold which deteriorated over the years.  In 1899 the crown was erased either because of the deterioration or to bring the image more into line with the republican sentiments of the people.  The tilma was reframed with the top being brought down just above the Virgin’s head to disguise damage in the process of the erasure.  Other additions over time included stars painted on the inside of her mantle representing the constellations of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, a supporting angel below her, and silver decoration which has also deteriorated.  Despite being centuries old on an unstable medium, however that central image remains remarkably bright.

The peasant army called to arms by Father Miguel Hidalgo and El Grito de Delores marched behind this banner depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Aside from its singular religious significance the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has become a rallying point for the national aspirations of the Mexican people, particularly for the Indios and mestizos.   The peon army of Father Miguel Hidalgo after El Grito de Delores marched behind a banner painted with a representation of Our Lady and many soldiers of the Mexican War of Independence in 1810 fought with printed cards of her image stuck in their sombreros.

Although anti-clericism ran deep among many in the 20th Century Mexican Revolution, Emilio Zapata’s army of southern presents and Indians entered Mexico City in triumph behind a Guadeloupian banner.  More recently, the contemporary Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) also in the south named their mobile city Guadalupe Tepeyac in honor of the Virgin.

In the United States banners of Our Lady appeared in the marches and during the strikes of the United Farm Workers, whose leader Cesar Chavez was deeply religious.  More recently it has been carried in demonstrations in support of immigration reform. 

Veneration at the National Shine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Illinois.

As I type these final sentences in the wee small hours of the morning an all-night vigil continues in Des Plaines at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  More than 200,000 are expected to visit the Shrine over two days for the largest such veneration in the U. S.  

Transcribed notation of the "Celestial Music" said to be encoded on the tilma.

Today’s selection is from the reportedly celestial music found coded in the tilma forming musical notes with the stars and flowers of her dress reputedly discovered by researcher Fernando Ojeda who interpreted the positions through comparisons  using geography, geometry, astronomy.  Using his discoveries “musical experts” were able to reconstruct the music in standard notation.  Needless to say these claims are highly controversial but are treasured and spread by traditionalist devotees.

. 

Murfin Winter Holidays Music Festival—Song to the Lady of Guadalupe

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas, Patroness of the Americas, and most recently Patroness of the Unborn.  An image of her preserved on cloth in a Mexico City Basilica is the object of almost universal adoration in Mexico and among the large Mexican diaspora in the United States.  She has been called the “rubber band which binds this disparate nation into a whole.”  Mexican literary icons have attested to her importance.  Carlos Fuentes said that “you cannot truly be considered a Mexican unless you believe in the Virgin of Guadalupe” and Nobel Literature laureate Octavio Paz that “the Mexican people, after more than two centuries of experiments, have faith only in the Virgin of Guadalupe and the National Lottery.”

 

The origin story goes like this.

On December 9, 1531, just ten years after the conquest of Mexico by Hernando Cortez, Juan Diego, an Indian peasant and particularly pious convert to Catholicism, was walking by the Hill of Tepeyac then outside of the capital city.  A temple to Tonantzin, the Aztec goddess of love and fertility, had surmounted the hill but been razed in the Church’s campaign to obliterate traditional worship.  When he glanced up the hill he beheld a maiden who bade him in his native Nahuatl language to build a church on the site in her name.  He surmised that she must be that she must be the Virgin Mary although she did not identify herself.

The Indio peon Juan Diego presents his tilma with the image of the Virgin to Fray Juan de Zumarraga, Archbishop of Mexico.

 

Juan Diego hurried to Fray Juan de Zumárraga, the Archbishop of Mexico with his tale.  The Franciscan was impressed with his piety but skeptical of the story.  He instructed Juan Diego to return to the hill and ask the apparition for proof of her identity. The peon returned three more times to the hill over the next two days and the Virgin spoke to him each time. 

He first asked for a miraculous sign.  When he returned home he found that his uncle, who had been dying, was healed. 

On his final trip to the Hill the virgin commanded him to gather flowers at the summit.  These were not native flower, but red Castilian roses blooming out of season.  Juan Diego gathered them in his tilma or cloak and took the bundle to the Archbishop Zumárraga.  When he opened his cloak December 12, the flowers fell to the floor, and on the fabric was the image of the Virgin.

This was enough to convince Archbishop who ordered a chapel be built at the base of the hill where the cloak would be displayed.  Juan Diego, his wife, and his uncle were given leave to build a hovel next to the hermitage of Franciscan fathers sent to attend the shrine and to act as their servant.  He reportedly died there in 1548.

The revered image has been altered over the years, although not the central image of the Virgin on the tilma.  The figure of a dark skinned virgin is four foot eight inches high.  Her gown is a tawny rose tinted color said to recall the Mexican landscape. She is girded by a thin black sash which is taken as a sign of pregnancy. She wears a blue mantle traditionally associated with Mary.  Sharp beams radiate from her suggesting that she is “brighter than the Sun.”  One foot rests on the Moon and the other on a snake’s head.  This has been interpreted as her victory over darkness and triumph over the pagan Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl and/or the serpent of temptation from the Garden of Eden.

She may have originally had a crown on her head or that might have been added later.  Still later the crown was decorated with gold which deteriorated over the years.  In 1899 the crown was erased either because of the deterioration or to bring the image more into line with the republican sentiments of the people.  The tilma was reframed with the top being brought down just above the Virgin’s head to disguise damage in the process of the erasure.  Other additions over time included stars painted on the inside of her mantle representing the constellations of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, a supporting angel below her, and silver decoration which has also deteriorated.  Despite being centuries old on an unstable medium, however that central image remains remarkably bright.

The peasant army called to arms by Father Miguel Hidalgo and El Grito de Delores marched behind this banner depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe.

 Aside from its singular religious significance the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has become a rallying point for the national aspirations of the Mexican people, particularly for the Indios and mestizos.   The peon army of Father Miguel Hidalgo after El Grito de Delores marched behind a banner painted with a representation of Our Lady and many soldiers of the Mexican War of Independence in 1810 fought with printed cards of her image stuck in their sombreros.

Although anti-clericism ran deep among many in the 20th Century Mexican Revolution, Emilio Zapata’s army of southern presents and Indians entered Mexico City in triumph behind a Guadeloupian banner.  More recently, the contemporary Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) also in the south named their mobile city Guadalupe Tepeyac in honor of the Virgin.

In the United States banners of Our Lady appeared in the marches and during the strikes of the United Farm Workers, whose leader Cesar Chavez was deeply religious.  More recently it has been carried in demonstrations in support of immigration reform. 

Veneration at the National Shine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Illinois.

 As I type these final sentences in the wee small hours of the morning an all-night vigil continues in Des Plaines at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  More than 200,000 are expected to visit the Shrine over two days for the largest such veneration in the U. S. 

Today we celebrate with the Song to Our Lady of Guadalupe performed in English by Marilyn Bouvier.