How would the elevated and respectful relationship between St. Joseph and Our Lady have been? How often did the Holy Patriarch see the Queen of the Universe inclining herself before him to serve him, and accept her services! As if that were not enough, his immaculate Spouse took counsel with him, exchanged opinions and followed his orders. Let us also think of him in the moments when he carried the Child Jesus in his virginal arms, watched Him performing the most ordinary activities in the house of Nazareth, or even contemplated Him immersed in conversation with the Eternal Father… How many blessings!
The loving and respectful conviviality between St. Joseph and Our Lady is the model for all human relationships. But how can it be achieved?
There is a German expression that characterizes a type of rapport in human relationships and which, by analogy, could well define the conviviality described above: zusammen sein. This “being together”, this mutual affection of the Holy Couple on earth, should be the model of agreeable and supernatural harmony for those longing for happiness. But how do we find it?
Well, the Saints show us the way. Let us consider, for example, the path of a specially chosen man…
A heavenly relationship, begun in childhood
It is 12th century Cologne. In this attractive German city there was a monastery known as St. Mary’s on High, later called St. Mary’s in the Capital. It was in the church of this religious house that a significant encounter took place between two boys: one was called Hermann, the other Jesus. The innocence of the first attracted him to the second, Incarnate Innocence itself, the Son of God made Man.
Hermann was seven years old when he started school. His docile and intelligent nature made learning easy for him, and served as a support for the virtues he had practised from his early childhood. However, unlike the boys his age, he did not like to amuse himself with the games that usually entertained the others and thus he shunned the diversions of his schoolmates so as to spend his time in the monastery church instead.
Coming before a statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus in her arms, he would kneel down and, eager to communicate with the two, he would say everything he had in his puerile heart, looking sometimes at the Divine Infant and sometimes at Mary Most Holy. However, to his disappointment, the images gave him no answer… The pious child left the church and the next day the scene would repeat itself.
Wishing to offer something to the Lady, Hermann gave her all he had: an apple, which was a symbol of his complete self-giving in the future
On one occasion, he took a different approach. Wanting to give a present to his beloved Lady, he brought Her an apple, as it was all he had. When he arrived in front of the statue, he knelt, raised his arms and amiably said to Her: “My Lady, You already know that I am poor and that I have nothing better or tastier to offer You. If this gift is disproportionate for You, take it at least for the Child, because You know well that there is no one I love more, with whom I can share the little I have.”1
To his joy, the statue of the Virgin miraculously moved and with indescribable kindness She extended her hand to receive the simple gift. Hermann spoke to Mary with the tenderness of a child, and She expressed her maternal affection to him.
Friend of the Child God
Another day, while walking inside the church, he beheld an enchanting scene: two children were playing at the feet of a beautiful Lady. When She saw him, She immediately invited Hermann to join the children. The virginal beauty of that Lady attracted him, but with childlike simplicity Hermann replied that he could not come any closer because of the grating that separated them.
However, it was the Blessed Virgin herself who was manifesting herself through the pious image, and was calling him to play with her Divine Son and St. John the Baptist, who were at her feet.
Teaching him to scale the grating, Our Lady helped little Hermann to overcome this “obstacle”, pointing out the places where he should put his feet to climb over. He stayed there for a while, enjoying the company of the holy children.
When the innocent entertainment was over, he had to do the return “climb”. With the Virgin’s help, he started out again, but before he had reached the ground on the other side, he was caught on nail in the wall and ended up injuring himself near the heart. This wound later became a sore, which remained until the day he died.
However, this did not stop him from making his way back to the same church repeatedly; on the contrary, his love for Our Lady, strengthened by this ordeal, only increased. His affection was selfless, the opposite of the selfish and sentimental love whose effects we can see in the frenetic and ephemeral joys of today…
Entering religious life
It is said that family acquaintances, amazed at Hermann’s precocious interior life, encouraged him to join the Premonstratensian Order, the spiritual sons of St. Norbert. Thus, as was common in the Middle Ages, the doors of the Steinfeld monastery were opened to receive this illustrious vocation when he was only twelve years old.
Without difficulty, the novice acquired the habits and customs proper to monastic life, which only increased his dependence on Our Lady, who, for her part, in the most varied circumstances, clearly showed the trust She placed in him.
In fact, the Premonstratensian Order discerned the virtues of Mary’s spouse shining in a special way in this religious, to such an extent that the habit of calling him Hermann Joseph took hold in the monastery. Although, out of humility, he expressed some opposition to the honourable title, it would not be long before approval from Heaven arrived…
The reward for consecrated virginity
One day, while in choir, he had a vision. Two Angels were talking about the virtues of a man, and Our Lady, resplendent with beauty, was with the heavenly spirits. Hermann listened attentively as he contemplated his beloved Lady:
“To whom shall we give the hand of this Sovereign Princess and most pure Virgin?” asked one of the Angels.
“Who could be more to your liking than this religious?” replied the other.
“Come, then,” continued the first, addressing Hermann, “draw near and you will receive the greatest of favours that Heaven has reserved for you in reward for your devotion and virginal purity.”
As soon as he, impelled by obedience, approached the Queen of Virgins, one of the Angels said to him:
“It is fitting that it should be so, Joseph, because the Most High has commanded you to be espoused to this most chaste Maiden.”
Disconcerted, the humble monk did not want to accept the name of Mary’s chaste spouse, believing himself unworthy of so honourable a title. Then one of the heavenly ambassadors came forward and, taking Hermann’s hand, joined it to Our Lady’s, performing the sublime espousal with these words:
“Behold, I give you this Sovereign Maiden, so that you may have and recognize her as your Spouse, just as She was once given and betrothed to St. Joseph. And as a precious gift of this heavenly Bride, from now on Joseph will also be your name.”
The espousal of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph gave rise to other spiritual unions, such as that pledged between Our Lady and Hermann
It could be said that the virginal espousal of Mary and Joseph gave rise to other spiritual unions over the centuries, with the Holy Family as their archetype. And it would not be difficult to conjecture the possibility of Hermann taking part in this series of mystical graces of a spousal nature, as a religious.
His chastity elevated him to a special degree of union with Our Lady, reserved for few throughout history. For he was a soul who seemed to be more in Heaven than on earth, in whom divine grace had found the channel it needed to establish among men a new relationship with the Blessed Virgin.2
Thus, from that day on, his consecrated virginity received the blessings of the holy nuptials: Mary officially became the Guardian of his heart, accompanying him day and night in the monastery.
Extremes of affection in a unique friendship
On one occasion, while walking through the cloister, Hermann tripped over a stone and fell to the ground. The monks who were nearby rushed to his aid and noticed that blood was dripping from his lips. However, he remained calm and serene, controlling himself so as not to externalize the terrible pain he was feeling.
Then the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and asked:
“Tell me, my dear spouse, what has happened to you?”
“My Lady, in a fall I lost two teeth and I am suffering great pain,” Hermann replied with utmost simplicity.
At that very moment, to alleviate her beloved’s suffering, Our Lady restored his lost teeth.
Model religious
It should be noted that in religious life, love for God is seen in love for one’s neighbour and in the good works done; otherwise, selfishness and pride reign.
This Saint’s evangelical charity, which would later be further reinforced by his priestly anointing, was one of the most outstanding effects of his relationship with the Blessed Virgin, and it naturally extended to his brothers in the community. It is said that his heart was like a “general hospital”, a refuge to which his confreres, the afflicted and all those who sought a sure welcome could go, in the certainty that they would find it in the religious’ fraternal support.
But his good example was to be found above all in suffering. Hermann’s life was marked by uninterrupted bodily mortification, fasting and abstinence. He spent hours in night vigils, praying or meditating, and was constantly attacked by temptations and illnesses.
In addition, he suffered from severe migraine headaches, an ailment that he endured until the end of his life with true resignation and a spirit of sacrifice. God tested him with this malady both before and during the celebration of the Eucharist. Sometimes, without any physical explanation, the headache would stop the moment he climbed the steps of the altar; at other times, however, when certain solemnities of the Church approached, his migraines would increase. Ignoring the pain, Hermann did not cut his time short, but remained in the presbytery, or in the chanting of the Office, until the end of the liturgical act, without ever showing any sign of his malaise.
Mystical raptures at the altar
Hermann’s Masses seemed to accompany the glories of eternity… For years, mystical raptures and ecstasies stopped him during the celebration: he would remain still for hours, without moving his lips or blinking. Some people, impressed by the scene, would approach to analyse his physiognomy, which on these occasions manifested an angelic purity! But the proximity of others did not interfere with the phenomenon, and he remained motionless. When he “woke up”, he continued the Mass exactly where he had left off, without any difficulty.
However, some nuns were bothered by the long duration of these Masses and told the Saint that they did not have the resources to obtain more candles, as they were running out faster than planned. In order to help them solve their “problem”, which was more spiritual than material, Hermann worked a miracle for them: the candle wax was not consumed while the Holy Sacrifice was being renewed!
During his time as sacristan of the monastery, he showed particular zeal for the cleanliness of everything involved in the worship of the Blessed Sacrament, such as the corporal, albs and surplices, and for the orderliness of liturgical objects, as recommended by the Premonstratensian rule.
When he administered the Sacraments, a young sacristan made a point of helping him, especially at Mass. In awe of the Saint’s recollection during and after the celebration, he was attracted by a heavenly fragrance that permeated the place, which he attributed to Hermann’s chastity.
The end of an angelic existence
At the end of his earthly life, Hermann Joseph was rewarded with the plenitude of union with the Most Holy Virgin for all eternity
In 1241, his life of suffering, trials and miracles came to an end. More than ninety years old, Hermann gave his soul to God in the Cistercian monastery of Hoven.
History tells that seven weeks after his death his body was still incorrupt. During the transfer to the Steinfeld monastery, people flocked to the coffin to ask for graces and cures; many were converted by the sweet scent emanating from his virginal body, just as had happened during his lifetime.
Even today, in the midst of the horrors of all kinds that surround us, the life of this blessed man attracts us to the practice of angelic virtue. As one of his biographers described him, he was “a virgin of the heart, a virgin of the eyes, a virgin of the ears, a virgin of smell, a virgin of the palate, a virgin of the touch, so that he breathed fragrances of virginal purity through all his senses and in every member of his body.”3
In short, St. Hermann Joseph knew how to find true happiness on this earth in his relationship with Mary Most Holy, the Vas spirituale where the Saints preserve their chastity! ◊
Notes
1 NORIEGA, Joseph Estevan de. El segundo esposo de María. Vida maravillosa del Beato Joseph Hermanno. Madrid: Miguel de Rezola, 1730, p.9.
2 In his homilies on the Song of Songs, St. Gregory of Nyssa takes human marriage as a starting point for understanding spiritual marriage, which consists of the union of the soul with God. This union is expressed in the mystery of the Incarnation and has as its archetype the union of Christ with the Church (cf. ST. GREGORY OF NYSSA. In Cantica Canticorum. Homilia 1; 4: PG 44, 770-771; 835-838).
3 NORIEGA, op. cit., p.157.
