Father Evan Koop of The St. Paul Seminary recalls visiting a cathedral during a pilgrimage to Spain. There was a painting on a wall which, until recently, people thought showed only Mary and Jesus.
But when dirt and grime were removed, Joseph was discovered in the background, in the shadows, “kind of adoring Jesus and at the service of Mary,” Father Koop said. “I just thought that was the perfect image of who Joseph is and spoke so much about Joseph.”
Father Evan Koop
Father Koop told that story during an interview with Patrick Conley, host of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show, which will air at 9 p.m. April 30 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, and centers on Father Koop’s upcoming Cuppa Joe talk about St. Joseph as the young husband for Mary.
Set for May 4 at St. Joseph in Maple Grove, Father Koop’s talk will be the third of 10 presentations addressing 10 different aspects of St. Joseph from 10 locations across the archdiocese.
A seminary faculty member, Father Koop also is completing his doctoral dissertation, which focuses on the Blessed Mother. He plans to teach dogmatic theology this fall and assist with formation work with the seminarians.
Father Koop said some people might be surprised to hear about Joseph as a young man, because they often see him in art as older.
But imagining Joseph as a young man betrothed to Mary can help people see Joseph in his full vital powers, Father Koop said. “His youth, his energy and that, all of that, he gives to God by giving himself to Mary, by taking on her virginity as his own. So, I think it tells us about what is true virginity for the sake of the kingdom.”
It’s not a diminishment of love, he said. It’s the power to love in the right way, with one’s whole person as a gift of self. “And that it’s not just for the old,” he said. “I think it tells us that about Joseph first and foremost.”
Father Koop recalled St. Thomas Aquinas’ response to the question of whether Mary and Joseph were truly married if they were never intimate. “And the answer is absolutely yes,” he said. “Because St. Thomas said, ‘what is the essence of marriage?’ It’s the union of souls. It’s a spiritual union. And everything else in the married life is meant to serve that union, which God brings about on the day of the wedding, and a spiritual bond Joseph and Mary have that absolutely, on a deep level, and especially what united them spiritually, was their common love for Jesus.”
During the interview, Conley asked Father Koop for suggestions on how people can grow in their relationship with and devotion to St. Joseph. To hear his response, tune in to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show, which also airs at 1 p.m. April 24 and 2 p.m. April 25.
Father Koop’s Cuppa Joe remarks will be available on the archdiocese‘s Facebook and Instagram pages, and its YouTube channel. For more information on the Cuppa Joe series, visit archspm.org/cuppajoe.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest “Practicing Catholic” show also includes interviews with Liz Kelly, author and columnist for The Catholic Spirit, who describes her new book, “Love Like a Saint: Cultivating Virtue With Holy Women,” and Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who discusses justice and forgiveness in the wake of the Derek Chauvin trial.
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