Month of St. Joseph: St. Joseph, the Protector of Mary’s Virginity

It is virginity that gives men wings to fly towards Heaven; and as it is the sacred bond of familiarity between man and God, it unites through its intermediary things that are by their nature so distant from each other.

Do you not thus see both the dignity of Mary and that of Joseph her faithful spouse? You see the dignity of Mary in that her blessed virginity was chosen from all eternity to give Jesus Christ to the world; and you see the dignity of Joseph in that this purity of Mary was entrusted to his care and it was he who guarded so necessary a treasure for the world.

O Joseph, guard dearly this sacred treasure of Mary’s purity. Since it has pleased the Eternal Father to guard Mary’s virginity under the veil of marriage, it can no longer be preserved without you; and your purity has in a way become necessary for the world, through this glorious charge entrusted to it of preserving that of Mary. 

- Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, First Panegyric of St. Joseph