Red for St. Joseph
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Faith on Friday, March 19, 2010 12:00 PM
At Mass this morning a neighbor asked my husband why he wasn’t wearing red for St. Joseph.
(Dennis is a full-blooded Italian and known devotee of St. Joe.)
He’d never heard of that tradition and neither had I, in spite of having lived in Italy for a time.
Here’s one explanation.
We do NOT wear “red” on St. Joseph’s Day…. we DO wear “purple”, i.e. the color reserved to royalty which represents the royal line of David passed to Jesus as the seed of Jesse. Cardinals of our Roman Catholic Church also wear the purple; and it is traditional in portraits to show Jesus himself wearing robes of this once-expensive dye. The color is now more often called scarlet and is considered a shade of red—English is a poor language for expressing Latin ideas. Through baptism, all Christians bear the call to priest, prophet, and king that is the legacy of the Christ. On the feast of St. Joseph, Italians wear royal purple—what we now call red—as a sign of the workings of Christ our King.
Anyone here ever hear of or practice this custom?
In honor of his feast, here’s a prayer the Tetis like and pray nightly. It seems like a great prayer to say for the Holy Father on his name day today.
Most powerful intercessor, St. Joseph, patron of the universal Church, which has always invoked you in anxiety and trouble, cast a loving glance upon the whole Catholic world. Let your fatherly heart be touched at the sight of Christ’s mystical spouse and his vicar overwhelmed with sorrow and persecuted by powerful enemies. By the sorrows and trials you experienced on earth, comfort and defend the Holy Father; intercede for him with the giver of peace and charity, so that in peace and unity, the entire Church may serve God in perfect liberty. Amen.
Happy Feast Day!
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