SAINT JOSEPH
Shadow of the Father

Allusions, prefigurations and prophecies concerning the role of St. Joseph in the plan of God the Father, form the backdrop to this book which charts the growth of devotion to Joseph from the first centuries of the Church up to the present. Using biblical reflections, pastoral experience and the personal prayers and thoughts of such great devotees of Joseph as Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Bernadette of Lourdes and Thérèse of Lisieux, the author portrays a vivid picture of the man chosen to be the foster father of Jesus. Reflecting rabbinical, Alexandrian and Carmelite influences we are introduced to him who was, for Jesus, “the face of the eternal Father.” At one with Mary, his wife, Joseph “embodies this loving shadow [of the Father] to perfection, a shadow possessing an invincible power in its apparent weakness and unequalled tenderness.”

About the Author: Andrew Doze, a Roman Catholic priest, taught theology for several years in the Seminary of de Bayonne, France and is presently a chaplain at the shrine of Lourdes.