| Editor : Abbé Georges de Nantes | N° 84 – September 2009 |
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OUR LADY OF FATIMA CAMP 2009
THE STORY OF JOSEPH
FIGURE OF REDEMPTION
Commentary on the Oratorio of Brother Henry of the Cross
By Brother Bruno of Jesus
Drawing of the window by Cahier and Martin (1842).
PROLOGUE
Holy Scripture is « inspired poetics », explains the Abbé de Nantes (CCR n° 106, January 1979). In order to taste this poetry, one has only to set it to music. We are thus going to listen to Brother Henry commenting for us the The History of Joseph, son of Jacob, told in the Book of Genesis (chap. 37-50.)
This is a story of love and of hate. In a certain way, biblical revelation is entirely contained in this episode. The setting is from one of our Father’s last homilies, reprinted in CCR no 325, December 1999, under the title of “The Gospel of the Virgin”.
For the feast of the Immaculate Conception, he considered the Virgin Mary meditating on the Holy Scriptures. We thus see Her on stage, holding them in Her hand, preparing Herself for prayer… as our sisters do when they go to the chapel. Of course, the holy Mother of God must be continually in a state of prayer. For us, however, we who need to begin anew each day, here is our model.
On a sweet and simple melody, Mary rejoices in advance: « How sweet and comforting for the soul that desires You, My God, to find You in meditation on the Holy Scriptures. Deign to fill Me with Your Spirit of love so that I may sing the marvels You have accomplished throughout the centuries! »
At the word marvels, her song intensifies, as She herself exulted in Her magnificat onthe day of Her Visitation to Her cousin Elizabeth, saying: « The Almighty has done great things to Me; Holy is His Name! »
She is delighted with the works of God… of which She is the centre, after all; this is why Her song becomes more filled with emotion, more enthusiastic. Then the music dies down, while She leafs through Her Bible: « All the pages speak to Me of My beloved Son, My Only One. »
Joyous: « Everything in it proclaims His coming », and not only the prophecies… Beginning with the promise of a Saviour, received by Adam and Eve after their sin, all human history rushes toward this awaited event.
More sombre, without being truly sad, but with a pang of compassion: « His sacrifice for the salvation of souls », which is also foretold throughout the Holy Scriptures and not only in Isaiah 53. The sacrifice of Isaac, for example, is a figure of it. One cannot read it without weeping at the thought of Jesus and Mary accomplishing it to the letter (Gn 22).
Energetic, as if She took hold of herself: « For at last He became incarnate; the Word was made flesh in My own flesh… » She speaks these last words with the accent of humility that Saint Bernadette imitated so well when she was recounting how « the Lady » had said Her name: « I am the Immaculate Conception. »
After a contemplative silence: « … but His own did not receive Him. »
Well! The history of Jesus is related to us in advance in that of Joseph, to which She turns as though by chance, in chapter 37 of Genesis:
« This is the story of Joseph », the text says (Gn 37:2).
Jacob had twelve sons, including Joseph:
« Joseph was seventeen years old. As he was still young, he was shepherding the flock with his brothers, with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. Joseph informed their father of the evil spoken about them. »
Jacob’s two official wives were Leah and Rachel, her sister. Leah was fruitful; she gave Jacob six sons and a daughter. Rachel was sterile. Bilhah was Rachel’s servant, and Zilpah, the servant of Leah.
« When Rachel saw that she failed to bear children to Jacob, she became envious of her sister. She said to Jacob: “Give me children or I shall die!” In anger Jacob retorted: “Can I take the place of God, who has denied you the fruit of the womb?” She replied, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Go to her, and let her give birth on my knees, so that I too may have offspring, at least through her. » (Gn 30:1-3)
Already, Sarah, Jacob’s grandmother, had said to Abraham: « Yahweh has kept me from bearing children. Have intercourse, then, with my maid; perhaps I shall have sons through her. » Nevertheless, just as Sarah in the end gave birth miraculously to Isaac, Jacob’s father, « God remembered Rachel; He heard her prayer and made her fruitful. She conceived and bore a son, and she said: “God has removed my disgrace”. So she named him Joseph, saying: “May Yahweh add another son to this one for me! ” »
In fact, she would still give birth to Benjamin.
« Israel (Jacob’s other name) loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age. » Above all, he was the son of Rachel, his favourite.
At this thought, Mary’s Heart leaps into God:
« Jesus is Your beloved Son, O Eternal Father. I can still hear Your Voice proclaiming so during His baptism in the waters of the Jordan. »
She returns to Joseph:
« Joseph was set apart and Jacob had a long-sleeved tunic made for him. » The singing becomes more expansive and lyrical, but suddenly more sombre because « his brothers, who behaved as good-for-nothings, took a violent dislike to him. »
All of this already forms the history of Jesus, in prophetic “images”, thousands of years in advance. This is proof that universal history is directed by God:
« For My Jesus, I, too, made a seamless tunic. He was hated without cause, because His utterly pure life was a reproach for them.
« Thus, Joseph’s brothers hated him even more when, in his ingenuousness, he related his dreams to them. »
In actual fact, Joseph of the Old Testament also depicts in advance the figure of St. Joseph, Mary’s husband, whose genealogy in St. Matthew’s Gospel tells us that he was « the son of Jacob »:
« Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of Her was born Jesus who is called Christ. » (Mt 1:16).
This is why the hymn to St. Joseph, from the vespers of his feast, is sung in the overture by the male voices accompanied by the organ, but also by the piano on which triplet arabesques are executed, while violins and woodwind instruments perform descants. How lovely is this swelling of the music surrounding the Gregorian melody, after the very serious, heroic, so to speak, introduction on the piano and violoncellos! After a series of arpeggios, a majestic choral for instruments emerges. The families of instruments alternate while the piano continues to roll out its arpeggios until the very gentle, warm theme of the dream emerges on woodwinds (flutes, oboe and clarinet). It is almost elegiac. In fact, « Joseph had a dream, which he told to his brothers… » is the object of the first scene.
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SCENE 1
JOSEPH’S DREAMS
They appear at the bottom of the window of Bourges, between two scenes that without a doubt represent the corporation of coopers and that of carpenters, the donors of the window.
Joseph relates his first dream to his brothers on a naïve, childlike melody, sustained by the sweet violin tremolos, which creates a warm and immaterial background of mystery… like a dream. We recognise the theme, which was already heard in the prologue, and which will reappear each time that we see the dream coming true.
« Brothers, listen to the dream I had… »
« There we were, binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly my sheaf rose to an upright position, and your sheaves formed a ring around my sheaf and bowed down to it. »
The brothers are indignant!
« Are you really going to make yourself king over us or impose your rule on us? Just let us see you try it, visionary! »
« They hated him so much that they would not even greet him. »
« Father, your son Joseph wants to make himself king over us! »
– Is it true, son? »
Not only is it true, but he naïvely worsens his case. The music of the dream is heard:
« I had another dream: this time it seemed as though the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me. »
This time, Jacob acts as though he were scolding him: « That’s some dream you had! Can it be that I and your mother and your brothers are to come and bow to the ground before you?” »
Understanding that God has a plan for him, he takes him affectionately by the arm to take him away from the fury of his brothers, who are « jealous of him ».
« His father, however, pondered the matter », and Mary, the Mother of Jesus, will imitate him (Lk 2:19 and 51).
She continues Her reading and meditation « One day, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks at Sichem, he sent him to bring back word about how they were getting along, without knowing that he was sending him to certain death. »
At Sichem, Yahweh had appeared to Abraham. This holy place, however, was the scene of an appalling profanation (Gn 34). This is where Jacob was sending his favourite? The Blessed Virgin immediately sees the parallel with Jesus:
« Yet, You, O heavenly Father, when you sent Your only Son to earth to save mankind, You knew that He was going to His death, as Jesus revealed in the parable of the wicked tenants. He, too, answered as Joseph did: “Yes, Father, I am ready!” »
SCENE 2
JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BROTHERS
In the window’s second medallion from the bottom, we see Jacob seated, sending Joseph to his brothers with a basket of bread and, on the right, a bunch of red grapes, the figure of the Eucharist that our Saviour sent by the Father brings to the good-for-nothings that we are, under the appearances of bread and wine.
The scene begins with a recorder melody, a short “Pastoral” creating an atmosphere of unconcern, which conveys Joseph’s ingenuousness while on his way to his brothers.
« Joseph scoured the valley of Hebron for his brothers ». The “Pastoral” is interrupted by a man who asks him: « What are you looking for? » Joseph cheerfully replies: « I am looking for my brothers. Could you please tell me where they are tending the flocks? » The man answers in a more austere tone, with a change in rhythm: « At Dothan, they said that they were going on to Dothan. »
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The narrator completes the account with its pastoral melody: « So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan. » A “disquieting” musical passage, however, makes us feel the wickedness of the brothers that is aroused by Joseph’s arrival. This effect is achieved by batteries (repeated notes) on the strings that are struck with the wood of the bow, then with the bow hair but in a very bouncy, almost smiting manner, while the violoncellos play the melody.
« His brothers noticed him from a distance », the chorus sings, « and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him. »
Grave and dissonant, not to say lugubrious trumpets join the strings, as well as high-pitched flutes.
« Here comes the man of dreams! »
« Come on, one of Joseph’s brothers sings, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. »
The brothers’ diabolical dialogue is accompanied by the piano, which punctuates each phrase with an ascending arpeggio and ends with a long, rapid “gruppetto”, and a duo:
« We shall see what comes of his dreams! »
What will come of his dreams? Why, they are going to be fulfilled! These good-for-nothings are going to contribute to it. One day they will bow down before him… for their own salvation! For, far from taking revenge, he will save them from the famine… by giving them bread.
The entire chorus repeats and encourages the brothers in their dark deed: « Come on, let us kill him… »
They are interrupted by Reuben, the elder, on a dissonant chord while the chorus’ spirited rhythm is stopped: « We must not take his life! »
Scripture in fact says: « When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying: “Instead of shedding blood, just throw him into that cistern there in the desert; but do not kill him outright." His purpose was to rescue him from their hands and restore him to his father. » (Gn 37:22)
Joseph arrives. Innocent, he greets his brothers with his pastoral melody: « Brothers, our father sent me to find out how you are doing! He would also like to know how the livestock is… » While he sings joyfully, a storm is brewing in the hearts of these good-for-nothings. The strings, especially the double bass, begins to execute tremolos; a high-pitched, dissonant note seems as though lost; then other instruments join in, creating a crescendo with timpani and cymbals. It is a struggle of the world of evil against the world of innocence, to stifle it and extinguish its voice.
Do not commit this crime, brothers! »
The brothers violently drag him off stage in order to throw him into a dried-up well: « Come over here, have we got news for you! » Finally, when Joseph realises what is happening, he begs them, as much for their own sake as for his: « Brothers! What are you doing? Do not commit this crime, brothers!... »
At the height of agitation the music emerges into a male chorus: « Throw him into the cistern. We shall then see what comes of his dreams! » They carry out their dark deed, then come back singing, but in a tone that conveys their bad conscience: « Joseph is in the cistern. » Scripture tells us that « they stripped him of his tunic, the long-sleeved tunic he had on. Then they took him and threw him into the cistern, which was empty and dry. » (Gn 37: 23-24)
The Blessed Virgin thinks of Her Jesus, naked on His Cross, and crying: « I thirst! »
« Let us eat our bread… », these assassins say.
« As long as Joseph is there, Mary says to herself, they have bread to eat. » It is he who brought it to them! One day, they would have to go to him to beg for some, and they will eat in his home, at his table!
« After, we will slaughter a goat, and we will dip the tunic in its blood. Then we will send someone to bring it to our father, with the message: We found this! See whether it is your son’s tunic or not. » Thus, they did not kill Joseph, but substituted for him the goat in the blood of which they dipped his tunic. The brother’s murderous intention turned into a sacrifice for their sin, without their knowing it! For the goat would later on be one of the victims provided for in the Mosaic liturgy to offer sacrifices for sin.
Isaac, Joseph’s grandfather, at the moment when he was to be immolated by the hand of Abraham, had already been mysteriously spared by the substitution of a ram. Here likewise, but with something more. Joseph, like a scapegoat, bears the fault of his brothers. As for them, by sending to their father the blood of the immolated goat, they prefigure our Holy Sacrifices of the Mass in which we offer to our heavenly Father, through the hand of the priest, the Precious Blood of His Divine Son « in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He Himself is offended ».
Then arrives the caravan of the Ishmaelites, that is to say of the Arabs, descendants of Ishmael, the son of Hagar, Isaac’s half-brother… The eleven sons of Jacob, grandsons of Isaac, sell Joseph to these Arabs for twenty pieces of silver.
The Blessed Virgin thinks: « In the same way, o Father, My Son was sold… for thirty pieces of silver. » She remembers the Passion: Jesus arrested on Tuesday evening, thus spending « three nights » in prison. « The beautiful seamless tunic that I had made for Him, was stained with Blood. It was, however, His own Blood, after the horrible torture of the scourging. »
Then the chorus continues:
« Quare ergo rubrum est vestimentum tuum, et vestimenta tua sicut calcantium in torculari? » « Why is your tunic red, and your garments like those of the wine pressers? » This text, taken from the liturgy of the feast of the Precious Blood, goes back to the prophet Isaiah, who presents Yahweh as a winepresser whose clothes are stained with the blood of the enemies of Israel, whom He trampled underfoot in His wrath. It is an extraordinary prophecy, which Jesus fulfilled by shedding His own Blood in the wine press of the Cross, rather than that of His enemies, not to avenge Himself, but to redeem them.
SCENE 3
JOSEPH AND POTIPHAR’S WIFE
An initial, somewhat sad, melancholic account summarises in two sentences how Joseph, mourned by his father, entered into the service of Potiphar, Pharaoh’s eunuch. Suddenly, the music brightens, becomes more joyful, because « Yahweh helped him and brought success to all he did… »
« Joseph was strikingly handsome in countenance and body. » A new change occurs: the music becomes, as it were alluring, almost sensual.
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The Egyptian woman arrives, Potiphar’s wife, whose attempts to seduce Joseph come up against his resolution to remain faithful « to his master Potiphar and to his God ». The sopranos sing with a tone of reprobation: « Then the disappointed love of the woman will turn into spite, then into hatred against Joseph. »
It becomes apparent when Joseph, in an attempt not to yield to the advances of his master’s wife, abandons a garment and flees. Thus we see her close to the door holding Joseph’s garment in her hand, as though disconcerted after the drama, understanding that she would never succeed in seducing him. The music creates an atmosphere of suspense with prolonged chords on the stings. She sings slowly as though thinking to herself about what just happened and what it means. Then she begins a song of lamentation in which she complains to her gods who have nothing to satisfy her, no more than her husband can content her:
« O gods! How can I live in an eternal privation, when he whom I love refuses my embraces? »
The melody is sad, melancholic, more and more heartrending as it rises and as the oboes and flutes lament her pitiful fate!
The ever-merciful Blessed Virgin finds excuses for her: « Poor woman! She was a pagan, attracted by Joseph’s [radiant] virtues », which gave him such a countenance that she was charmed by it. Deprived of what every wife has a right to find in her husband, she sought it in this man radiant with grace and virtues, whom she received from her husband, who administered everything in the house.
It is somewhat like the story of Adam and Eve beginning again: Eve, the mother of the living, committed sin and endeavoured to have her husband, Adam, take part in it; this is a terrible warning for each of us to guard against sin of which the demon is the instrument. The patriarch Joseph proved himself faithful to his God when confronted with a temptation coming from the foreigner, from the idolater. By resisting her, he manifests his faithfulness to his God.
This woman had legitimate reasons to seek him – given her idolatry, everything was allowed to her – because for her, he was God’s life, light and truth. The time, however, had not yet arrived. Jesus, likewise, would drive away men and women pagans who wanted to take advantage of His teaching and miracles, telling them: I have come for My people of Israel. Joseph had a mission, that of saving his people. Thus, by preserving himself from contact with this paganism, obeying God alone, he brushes aside this temptation and is granted that for which he was made: the salvation of his people.
Potiphar’s wife is also the figure of the temptations that Jesus experienced in the desert, those of paganism that stretches out its arms to tempt us to infringe the virginity of Christianity. We must say no to it in our fidelity. Today, even in the Church, everything since the Second Vatican Council impels us to yield to this temptation. Jesus said no to all these temptations of the earth, including that of dominating the world, in order to receive from His God His legitimate spouse, the Church.
Let us apply this to St. Joseph, Mary’s husband, of whom the patriarch of the Old Testament is also the figure: St. Joseph was only able to receive the Blessed Virgin in marriage because, previously, he had fittingly dismissed all the temptations of the world, as his ancestor had. He received the Blessed Virgin and loved Her. Obviously, She was never a temptation for him. For him, She was the gift of God that was promised by the Book of Wisdom: « Flee from foreign love and you will receive your spouse from God. » The Sages never ceased to praise the beauty, the wisdom, the perfection of this spouse. The Virgin Mary is the fulfilment of this promise.
What about this poor woman, this Egyptian who did not receive her due from her husband? Admirable prophecies of Isaiah announce Egypt’s conversion and teach us that we must not reject these pagans but we must be faithful to our missionary vocation if we want one day to save them. This is the message of Fatima.
Thus, we must make St. Joseph our almighty protector, he who gives our hearts a great self-mastery in order that we might attain this divine purity that our Father calls “positive”. It is termed “negative” when it dismisses the wife of Potiphar. By dismissing her, Joseph makes her participate in his sacrifice and saves her: positive purity.
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For the moment, her disappointed love is transformed into a desire for vengeance: « I hate him… I shall take my revenge! » is repeated in a staccato rhythm with broad descending intervals and intermittent vocalising accompanied by drumming on the violins to express the violence of her feelings.
She musters the entire palace to call them to witness against Joseph, accusing him of the crime that she herself wanted to commit as, in the Book of Daniel, the lustful old men mustered the people against Susanna.
The crowd rushes up, repeats the accusations of the woman, as always… He is condemned without appeal and thrown into prison. This is how Jesus would be treated. The Blessed Virgin, however, thinks of St. Joseph, Her chaste and modest husband, the guardian of Her virginity: « My husband, St. Joseph, was like that, a just and chaste man. »
The conclusion is on a new melody, abandoned and confident: everything is providential. It is God who conducts the events.
It seems as though the scene is represented on the window, on the right, the fourth scene from the bottom, where the Egyptian woman can be seen tearing the garment off Joseph as he flees. Then, on the right, she goes to complain to her husband. In fact, the hardest thing will be for the woman who plays the role of Potiphar’s wife to shout with conviction: « I hate him » and: « Come and see », against this holy man Joseph! Much self-abnegation will be required, but that is theatre…
Ah! Let us love St. Joseph!
SCENE 4
JOSEPH IN PRISON
On a short, sad melody, the narrator relates how Joseph became the right-hand man of the chief jailer, and was assigned as the attendant of two high-ranking civil servants who were under arrest due to professional misconduct. They must have been well treated because Joseph is surprised to see them glum that day.
The chief cupbearer replies with modesty and contrition, like the good thief: « It is true that we deserved our punishment, because we are guilty towards our master, the king of Egypt. »
The baker continues and relates how they both had a dream that troubles them; thus the music is somewhat lugubrious, because we do not know which interpretation to choose: favourable or unfavourable?
« It is God who gives the interpretation. » At these words said by Joseph, the music immediately becomes more luminous with the entry of the woodwinds. We feel that we are going to understand thanks to Joseph, who does not rely on his own insights but on « God who gives the interpretation ». The cupbearer sings on a narrative tone. The music is sober; it closely follows the text: « I dreamed that I saw a vine in front of me, and on the vine were three branches. It had barely budded when its blossoms came out. » The music makes us see the branch blossoming… Without hesitating, Joseph announces to the cupbearer his return to favour: « Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head. »
The singing becomes imploring when Joseph asks him to remember him. The woodwinds become more “sensitive”, then the chorus repeats the prayer sustained by the violins: « Remember me when good befalls you, and be so good as to mention me to Pharaoh, so that he will get me out of this prison. »
The chief baker takes fresh heart when he hears this favourable interpretation! He presumptuously, loquaciously begins: « I too, » on the narrative tone, like his colleague, but with less “openness”. The melody tries to find itself; it does not rise. Joseph begins as he did with the other: « This is what it means. Within three days – the tone become severe, even violent – Pharaoh will lift up your head and hang you on a gallows, and the birds will eat the flesh from your body. » In Hebrew, Joseph uses the same expression as for the cupbearer, but he adds mê câleykâ:
« He will raise your head above yourself. » In other words: « He will hang you. » (Gn 40.19)
« This came true », the narrator concludes, apparently without qualms… Then, on a recitative melody in a liturgical style, she relates how it came about to the letter. She does so with a certain emotion before God’s work that is being accomplished, especially when she says: « He restored the chief cupbearer to his office… » to which the violins add their warmth. She has, however, terser endings on the case of the chief baker: « he had him hung » and on the ingratitude of the chief cupbearer to Joseph: « he forgot him ».
We can easily imagine the Blessed Virgin’s meditation: « My husband was also led by dreams », as St. Matthew relates at the beginning of his Gospel, reminding us that for the mystery of Redemption, everything began with St. Joseph’s dreams…
The Good God is very single-minded!
Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer, who was restored to his office after « three days », is Jesus raised from the dead « on the third day », who pours His Precious Blood into the chalice that the Church offers to God, His Father, at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Who does the chief baker represent? Jesus, once again, hung on the Cross, whose flesh we eat at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He Himself is the Bread come down from Heaven. For the time being, Pharaoh’s chief baker is Joseph, as we shall see.
SCENE 5
PHARAOH’S DREAM
In the window of Bourges, it is represented in the fifth row from the bottom of the medallions, on the left: we see Pharaoh, who is sleeping with his crown on his head and, above him, the fat and lean cows.
The somewhat anguished music of the introduction announces the song of Pharaoh, who narrates himself the dream that he had, surrounded by his court composed of sages and soothsayers who « do not know what to make of it… » The music becomes more and more distressed.
Then, the chief cupbearer remembers Joseph, and his indebtedness to him:
« Today, I must confess my negligence. »
His account begins with low-pitched notes and on an unaccented rhythm. Yet, as he explains his case, he gains self-assurance:
He says solemnly: « Pharaoh got angry… »
Gravely, mysteriously: « We had a dream… »
Joyfully: « There was a young Hebrew there… »
« Everything came true as he had said: I was restored to my office and the other was hung. »
Note the contrast between « I was restored », which ascends, and « the other was hung » which descends…
Pharaoh has Joseph summoned. An “arrow” on the first violin, a rapid, ascending stroke, illustrates equally well the eagerness with which Pharaoh is served and his impatience…
Joseph enters modestly. Straight away, Pharaoh relates to him his dream, as a sick person who is eager to be cured would do. Remark the contrast between the music’s triumphal tone when it is a question of the “fat cows”, and the more tormented melody that accompanies the “lean cows”. The same contrast exists between the fat and the shrivelled ears of grain, with modulation and change of instrumentation.
This entire account is simply narrative, without a particular melody other than repeated motifs. Consequently, when Joseph begins to speak, we breathe more easily as it becomes more musical, with a certain grandeur.
« Pharaoh’s dreams are one: God announced to Pharaoh what he is going to accomplish. »
In his explanation, Joseph repeats Pharaoh’s narrative tone with the same contrasts of tones and instruments to mark the contrast of the two parts of each dream: the “lean” part and the “fat” part.
Rapidly and solemnly, he sings: « If Pharaoh had the same dream twice, that means that the matter has been reaffirmed by God and that God will soon bring it about. »
Then with authority and alacrity: « Therefore, let Pharaoh seek out an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. » Joseph does not realise that he has designated himself… Pharaoh, however, gives free rein to his joy and gratitude, as well as his admiration for Joseph’s wisdom: « Could we find another like him, a man so endowed with the spirit of God? »
He sings in a spirited movement, repeated by the chorus. Israel was expecting the conversion of Egypt, as we that of Russia: « Yahweh shall make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know Yahweh in that day; they shall offer sacrifices and oblations, and fulfill the vows they make to Yahweh. Although Yahweh shall smite the Egyptians severely, He shall heal them; they shall turn to Yahweh and He shall be won over and heal them. » (Is 19:21-22)
For the moment, Pharaoh appoints Joseph chamberlain of the Palace: « Herewith, I place you in charge of the whole land of Egypt. » What advancement! There is a sudden flourish of trumpets with timpani while Pharaoh puts his ring on Joseph’s finger and places a chain of precious stones around his neck.
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« Joseph was thirty years old when he appeared before Pharaoh. » This resembles David (2 S 5:4) and Jesus (Lk 3:23). « When the seven years of abundance came to an end, the seven years of famine set in. Then the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians: “Go to Joseph!” » It is sung by the male chorus and repeated over and over again by the mixed chorus, figuring the enthusiasm with which the people obey this order, for they love Joseph and all that he does. « Do whatever he tells you! »
For Jesus as well, these words marked his entry into public life, but it is I who said it, Mary ponders.
SCENE 6
FIRST ENCOUNTER
On the window of Bourges, at the centre of the second lattice just above the scenes of the cistern and the tunic taken back to Jacob, we see Joseph calling his brothers who are preparing sacks of grain; and behind Joseph, barrels. Once again the double figure of the Eucharist that was dear to the Middle Ages: wheat and wine.
The introduction is somewhat ponderous, evoking times of misery, like a song to accompany fatigue duty or a voyage. The narrator explains briefly that everything is happening as Joseph had foreseen. The great famine attracts the famished to Egypt where there is grain for sale. On the stage are merchants with their grain, vegetables, fruits, jars of oil, rolls of fabric. People come from everywhere to buy. Joseph’s steward attends to the transactions and acts as an interpreter. Everything takes place under Joseph’s vigilant eyes.
« It was Joseph, as the man in authority over the country, who sold the grain to all comers. » (Gn 42:6)
Suddenly, he sees his brothers arrive. They, too, are in search of provisions. Truly, the Good God is an incomparable stage director! We hear the “theme of the dream” about to come true! First comes the double bass, then a brief melody of an oriental colour evokes the market, the “suq”. Finally, tremolos on the double bass evoke Joseph’s feelings at the moment when he recognises his brothers: « Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him. » (Gn 42:6) Joseph, however, « did not make himself known to them and spoke harshly to them » (Gn 42:7).
He becomes harsh in order not to reveal himself too soon, for they did not recognise him. He thus put on a suspicious air to call them, question them, and finally to accuse them of being spies who had come to reconnoitre « the country’s weak points ». It is a psychodrama, organised with a view to leading them to repentance, inspired by God as a figure, a prophecy of the mystery of Redemption.
It succeeds! Taken by surprise, they hasten to reply, and in the process, they are brought back to the memory of their crime: « We your servants were twelve brothers. We are all sons of the same man from the land of Canaan; but the youngest one is at present with our father, and the other one is no more. » Their faces display the appropriate expression…
Joseph responds calmly, but with a tone of voice that brooks no reply: « It is as I said, you are spies! » The brothers are thrown into a panic by the threat that suddenly hangs over them. They are punishable by death if they are taken for spies; tension rises until the chorus repeats the mortal accusation.
Joseph takes them into “custody”, and comes to see them after three days of this treatment to tell them what he has decided: he will keep one of them hostage while the others will go to bring the grain that their family needs back to the country. Then they will come back to Egypt with their young brother. Joseph speaks with a joyful serenity, for he is master of the situation: he knows where he is headed; he has his plan.
The music introduces a sort of complaint that shows a beginning of repentance among the brothers: « They said to one another: “Truly we are being called to account for our brother.” » This is the first time that they refer to him in this way. Until then, they said to Jacob: « your son ».
« We saw his misery of soul when he begged our mercy, but we did not listen to him and now this misery has come home to us. Truly… » Reuben breaks in: « Did I nottell you not to wrong the boy? Yet, you did not listen, and now we are brought to account for his blood. Truly we are being called to account… »
They speak among themselves in Hebrew without suspecting that Joseph, who had not forgotten his mother tongue, could understand them and thus learns that he is believed to be dead:
« We are brought to account for his blood… »
So much is this the case that when he will make himself known to them, it will be like a resurrection.
Joseph, moved to tears, withdraws to let them flow freely. Thereafter, a peaceful melody, very serene with a flight, a leap in the melody on the piano, brings us back to the Blessed Virgin who has the appropriate words for the situation: « God’s action is admirable! » Thousands of years in advance, He already has the patriarchs and His chosen people mime the mystery of Redemption that He plans to accomplish on behalf of all men through the Incarnation of His Son and His Sacrifice.
SCENE 7
THE RETURN TO CANAAN
The narrator sings: « A mysterious fatality seems to pursue Joseph’s brothers. » At least, this is what they say to one another. The reader of the Bible, however, knows what to make of it. We read in the Book of Genesis that, once he had got over his emotion, Joseph follows a plan:
« He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes. » Then he « gave orders to have their panniers filled with grain, their money replaced in each one’s sack, and provisions given them for their journey. After this had been done for them, they loaded their donkeys with the rations and departed. At the night encampment, when one of them opened his bag to give his donkey some fodder, he was surprised to see his money in the mouth of his bag. “My money has been returned! Here it is in my bag!”
« At that their hearts sank. Trembling, they looked at one another saying: "What is this that God has done to us?” » (Gn 42:24-29)
This time, there is every reason for them to be taken for thieves! If it was merely kindness on the part of Joseph, the steward of Egypt, he would have informed them.
« What does this mean? What is this that God has done to us? »
They know well enough that they are sufficiently guilty to feel the hand of God, dispenser of justice, in everything that is happening to them. This money burns holes in their pockets: it is as though they had sold Simeon!
Upon their return to Canaan, the brothers relate to their father what happened in Egypt and how, at the stopover for the night, they found their money that Pharaoh’s steward had put back into their bags. They now had to keep their word and bring Benjamin back to him. Jacob pitifully laments. He refuses to let Benjamin leave with his brothers. He remains inconsolable about Joseph’s death:
« You are robbing me of my children; Joseph is no more; Simeon is no more; and now you want to take Benjamin! All this I must bear! »
Reuben intervenes, and stands surety for him: « You may kill my own two sons if I do not return him to you. Put him in my care, and I will bring him back to you. »
What a strange deal! Jacob refuses:
« My son shall not go down with you: his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If any harm came to him on the journey you are to undertake, you would send me down to Sheol with my white head bowed in grief. »
The Blessed Virgin gathers all the fruit from this mystery by answering the question of the brothers:
« What is this that God has done to us? »
She replies: « To bring back the money for the provisions was a way of remaining indebted to Joseph… It is a sublime figure of the mystery of Redemption whereby My beloved Jesus redeemed us – She says us, because She knows that She Herself is the fruit of this mystery: He paid all and we owe Him everything. »
The famine, however, got the better of Jacob’s resistance. Necessity knows no law:
« Because Judah stood surety for the child, Israel let them leave with the money for the grain and, in their baggage, the best products of the land. »
The Bible even specifies what they took: « a little balsam, a little honey, tragacanth, resin, pistachio nuts and almonds. »
Jacob places his hope in “mercy”: « May El Shaddai dispose the man to be merciful toward you, and allow you to bring back your other brother and Benjamin. »
Resigned, he adds: « As for me, if I must be bereaved, bereaved I must be. »
SCENE 8
THE BANQUET
The music evokes the slow progress of the caravan of Joseph’s brothers crossing the Negev Desert to go to Egypt again. When they arrive in the presence of Joseph’s steward, they do not have the time to introduce themselves; one would think they were expected: « Follow me to my master’s house. »
They are expecting the worst, since their consciences are still tormented… One of the brothers, obsequious, wants to take the initiative… The steward, however, reassures them: « Peace to you; do not be afraid! »
« Your God and the God of your father must have put treasures in your bags for you. » It is more and more surprising. This pagan speaks as though he were one of their own! He releases Simeon, who had been held hostage, to them; it may be thought that he was well treated given that he looks well… They embrace one another while light, tender music is heard… An officer announces Joseph: « the Chamberlain of the Palace! » The forceful and majestic music of a fanfare breaks out!
When Joseph enters, we hear a few notes of the Hymn to St. Joseph, then of the theme of the dream, of the dream that is coming true to the letter: Joseph’s brothers bow down… Joseph has them rise and inquires about his beloved father. He recognises Benjamin, and acts as though he is inquiring:
« Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke? » He cannot, however, contain himself any longer and he leaves to conceal his emotion…
Scripture relates that when he saw them arriving with Benjamin he gave orders to his steward: « Take these men to the house. Slaughter a beast and prepare it, for these men are to eat with me at midday. »
He wanted to put them in prison as “spies”, and now he invites them to his table! The steward does not ask questions: « The man did as Joseph had ordered. »
What became of Joseph? After having wept in his room, so much so that he had to bathe his face before coming back to sit down to eat, « he reappeared and, now in control of himself, gave the order: “Serve the meal!” »
« He was served separately; so were they, and so were the Egyptians who ate in his household, for Egyptians cannot take food with Hebrews: they have a horror of it. They were placed opposite him, each according to his rank, from the eldest to the youngest, and the men looked at one another in amazement. » (Gn 43:32-33)
There was good reason for that, after having suspected the worst! Furthermore, how does this Egyptian know their ages, to be able to place them « each according to his rank »?
Not only that, « but he had portions carried to them from his own dish, the portion for Benjamin being five times larger than any of the others. They drank with him and made merry with him. »
The good spirits dispel fear. A tune on the flute adds a musical note to these festivities.
This reminds the Blessed Virgin of the Last Supper:
« For the Last Supper, My Son gathered His Apostles around Him in this way. It was, however, His own Body that He gave them for food and His own Blood as exquisite wine. »
The parallel is all the more eloquent because in both cases and in the same way, the drama metamorphoses to become the same mystery of redemption, with the sacrifice of the Cross figured by the episode of the “cup”.
The motet O Sacrum convivium concludes this Eucharistic scene. After an instrumental introduction, this hymn begins as a sigh of admiration, a very gentle rapture, a sort of prayer that pours forth, beyond time with its long notes held to the end at a high-pitch and on the double basses: « O sacred banquet! » It is like a breath that seems as though it will not stop…
in quo Christus sumitur, « in which Christ is received as food » : the soul regains self-control and sings more vigorously. It is less ecstatic, but nevertheless remains in suspense, breathless before the unbelievable mystery. Little by little, it comes out of this state, regaining life and energy.
recolitur memoria passionis ejus! « in which the memory of His Passion is renewed »… of which the history of Joseph offers us a figure fulfilled, like the sacrifice of Isaac, his grandfather…
mens impletur gratia, « in which the soul is filled with grace »; the melody still tries to find itself on a very gentle cadence, before erupting:
et futuræ gloriæ nobis pignus datur, « and a pledge of future glory given to us! » in a spirited triple-time rhythm, with trumpets and timpani to sing God’s glory, of which the Eucharist is the pledge. The soul breaks out into a triumphal hymn of gratitude that ends with the Alleluia.
SCENE 9
THE CUP
After the festive meal in Joseph’s house, all his brothers leave, content with the happy end of this affair, although they do not grasp very well what has happened to them. They still lack something to allow them to understand, exactly like the Apostles after their Communion in the Upper Room.
First, we hear a slow, somewhat heavy music, figuring the caravan that sets off. Soon, however, the music livens. Joseph’s men catch up to them and arrest them, for they are accused of having stolen Joseph’s “cup”. That is all they needed! They are back where they started!
The spirited music is suddenly interrupted by the steward’s shout: « Stop! »
« Why did you repay good with evil? Why did you steal from my master? »
Surprised, the brothers, sure that there is an error, commit themselves somewhat hastily to having the author of the theft put to death and the others reduced to slavery. The sacks are searched. The slow music of the introduction resumes, until one of the soldiers finds the cup in Benjamin’s sack. He is precisely the one to whom it should not have happened! The scene can be seen at the top of the window of Bourges, on the left. A figure is riding an animal with a long neck, perhaps a camel? Another takes a cup out of a sack – Joseph’s cup!
Commentators make scholarly reflections on the art of divination in Egypt, for which this cup was the instrument. The mystery, however, remains unresolved and will only become clear in our eyes later on when this precious cup will be placed under the eyes of the sinners that we are, as the price of our redemption, by the Precious Blood that will be shed into it at the moment of the Consecration in the chalice. This object summarises in itself, it expresses, the entire mystery of the Holy Sacrifice that earns us salvation. It is a complete divine pedagogy whereby God leads us to repentance. St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort understood it: « The beloved Benjamin received the chalice, and his other brothers only received the wheat. » (To the Friends of the Cross, n° 24)
They are brought back to the palace. It is not difficult to imagine their bewilderment, their fright. This is what the chorus briefly relates. « They tore their clothes » as a sign of penance, a theatrical gesture provided for by seamstresses when making Jewish garments so as not to cause real damage. It was only the exterior sign of the contrition that tears our hearts at the memory of our sins, the cause of the Holy Sacrifice by which Our Lord pays for them, redeeming them by shedding His Precious Blood in the chalice.
SCENE 10
RESURRECTION
The narrator shows us into Joseph’s palace. When all the brothers find themselves in his presence, they fall down before him with their faces to the ground, while the theme of the dream is heard on the woodwinds…
Joseph puts on an incensed expression to background music of violin tremolos, while Judah, who had stood surety for Benjamin, keeps a low profile: « What can we say to my lord to prove our innocence? God Himself has uncovered your servants’ guilt… »
Seeing Heaven unrelentingly set against them, they do not think of defending themselves for, if they are innocent concerning that for which they are blamed, they have on their consciences a crime that weighs much heavier, for which they now understand that God is punishing them.
Joseph, however, drives his brothers even further into a corner. He wants to obtain a purer repentance from them. To Judah, who declares: « Here we are, then, the slaves of my lord, we no less than the one in whose possession the cup was found, » Joseph replies:
« Far be it from me to act thus! Only the one in whose possession the cup was found shall become my slave; the rest of you may return in peace to your father. »
This is impossible! To return home without Benjamin? At that price, there is no « peace »…
Then, Judah pleads, not to be proved innocent, but to take the place of Benjamin, the only innocent one of the band. On a melancholic melody, Judah explains himself, recalls the whole affair, and the love of his father for the only two children that he had from his wife Rachel, the fear of dealing the deathblow to Jacob by returning without Benjamin. Then, Joseph “can no longer contain his emotion”:
« Have everyone withdraw from me! »
When they were alone: ’anî Jôsèph.
« I am Joseph » in Hebrew… Until then they had only communicated through the interpreter. Joseph spoke Egyptian, played and mimed the Egyptian. Not only does he now reveal his identity, but he proves it by speaking their mother tongue! ’anî Jôsèph.
« His brothers, however, could give him no answer, so dumbfounded were they at the sight of him. »
« Dumbfounded »… but not yet out of tenderness! Let us not forget that they had wanted to assassinate him. Obviously that is no longer their intention, but not yet knowing what his is, they imagine it according to their own hearts! Surely, he is going to take revenge, they say to themselves…
« Come closer to me! Touch me, I am indeed alive! » Here, Brother Henry takes the figure of the Resurrection a bit far, undoubtedly under the influence of the Blessed Virgin… The biblical text says: « “Come closer to me!” When they had come closer to him he said: “I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt.” » (Gn 45:4)
There is the rub! We are going to pay dearly for it, they say to themselves. Well, no! They ascribe to Joseph their own feelings. They would take revenge. They ignore the very notion of mercy, the great biblical revelation, which St. Thérèse fully understood:
« She also said to me, Sr. Marie de la Trinité testifies, when I manifested to her my fear that the Good God is angry with me because of my continually recurring imperfections: “He whom you have taken for Bridegroom has, if I dare say, a great disability: that of being blind. He also does not know how to count. If He saw clearly and knew how to count, do you not believe that in the presence of all our sins He would not send us back into oblivion? His love, however, makes Him positively blind. See for yourself: if the greatest sinner on earth, repenting of his offenses at the moment of death, dies in an act of love, immediately, without calculating on the one hand the numerous graces that this unfortunate sinner abused, and on the other all his crimes, He only counts his last prayer and receives him in the arms of His mercy.” » (cf. Piat, Sainte Thérèse de Lisieux, à la découverte de la voie d’enfance, p. 357)
Joseph practices this divine Mercy with regard to his brothers. He only reminds his brothers of their fault in order to make them recognise him, as Jesus would show to Thomas the wounds in His hands and His side:
« I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt. » At these words, they are frozen with fear, which the music conveys by a few notes executed in tremolos on the alto. He, however, immediately reassures them, so abandoned he is to God’s Good Pleasure:
« Now, do not grieve for having sold me, since Godsent me before you to preserve your lives. Do not fear! »
Not only does he forgive them, but he almost congratulates them. « The evil that you had in mind to do to me, God turned to good in order to accomplish today his plan: to save the lives of a numerous people. »
The Jewish people to come, to be born of his brothers, but also all the people who were coming to buy grain in Egypt, in the great universal famine: an extraordinary figure of the mystery of Redemption that Our Lord Jesus Christ would one day accomplish on behalf of all men.
« Return quickly to my father. Tell him about all the glory that I have in Egypt and all that you have seen. Tell him: “Thus says your son Joseph: Come to me without delay. I will provide for you here in this time of famine.” »
The chorus repeats: « Thus says your son », to give more solemnity to Joseph’s words.
« Thereupon he flung himself on the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept. » The scene is portrayed at the very top of the window on the right.
Reading and meditating on this, the Blessed Virgin thinks about the morning of the Resurrection, and She sings, on the melody of the introit “Resurrexi”, of the solemn Mass of Easter Sunday:
« Thus, on Easter morning, My Son came back to life, risen and glorious. »
The chorus concludes with a hymn in plainchant taken from St. John Eudes’ office for The Feast of the Apparition of Our Lord to His Most Holy Mother after His Resurrection: Lætetur orbis machina.
Let the universe rejoice,
Let the hosts of Heaven triumph,
The Son of Mary is alive,
The soul of Mary has come alive again.Rejoice, Mother most holy,
He lives forever,
He for whom, at the height of affliction,
You mourned the death between two villains.Jesus, the joy of Your Father,
And the jubilation of the Heart of Your Mother,
Let our sentiments be fixed
Where the supreme joys are.
SCENE 11
THE SWEET ENCOUNTER
Joseph’s brothers arrive at Jacob’s home to announce to him the great news on the theme of the Resurrection as sung by St. Mary Magdalene in the oratorio on the Glorious Mysteries: « Father! Joseph, your son, is still living! God has turned everything to good! »
They have already forgotten their wickedness, as though they were not guilty of his disappearance. They forget to beat their breasts…
Their enthusiasm is nonetheless cut short and the music as well: « His heart, however, remained stunned, for he did not believe them. »
We can understand it. They had lied so much to him until now! It is really the first time that they have spoken the truth. For this is indeed the double miracle: they speak the truth, first miracle, when they announce the incredible news, second miracle:
« However, when they told him all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to fetch him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. » (Gn 45:27)
Light dawned in Jacob’s mind. As he sings a melody, disjointed because he is breathless, emotion increases and the melody mounts… mounts, continually modulating until when? Each note seems to mark the paroxysm, but no, until « Oh! I must go and see him before I die », at which point the tonality becomes stable to express delirious joy.
The account continues in the same joyful, peaceful, confident tone: « Israel left with all his possessions. » On the way, he is favoured with a theophany at Beersheba, where God had appeared to Isaac (Gn 26:23-25).
The chorus lends its voices to God:
« I am El, the God of your father. »
Elis the common name for God in the East, which is found in the name Allah. God had manifested Himself to Abraham (Gn 12:1) to make him leave Chaldea, present-day Iraq, and seal a Covenant with him by promising to establish him in the land of Canaan.
« Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for I willmake you a great nation there. I myself will go down to Egypt with you. I myself will bring you back again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes." »
God thus renews His Covenant with Abraham’s grandson, with Jacob, with “Israel”, by promising to give him numerous descendants in Egypt, before bringing them back to the Promised Land, which would take place with Moses centuries later.
SCENE 12
JACOB’S BLESSING
After a brief instrumental introduction, the narrator summarises the action that leads up to the sweet encounter:
« Israel sent Judah ahead to Joseph. »
The tone, without being sad, is of a reserved joy, full of expectation, because Jacob has still not seen Joseph. Hope, anxiety? By dint of trials, it becomes a sort of habit…
On the other hand, Joseph is sure to find his dear father: « Joseph rode to meet his father Israel », as though carried by full and complete joy. The music is thus in a major tone, with a modulation that marks the height of emotion at these words of the account: « He flung himself on his neck », with the cadence: « and wept a long time in his arms ».
« My child… » Obviously, the joyful mystery of the “sweet encounter” is omnipresent: we find it here with the sorrowful tonality of the long years of separation that preceded it, marked by the music of the final melody of the Passion according to St. John that is sung at the liturgical offices of the “Mass of the presanctified” on Good Friday:
« My child! Joseph!... At last I can die, now that I have seen your face again, and that you are still alive. My child! Joseph! »
There follows the blessings of Jacob in favour of Joseph (Gn 49:22), which are sung on an exalted tone, sustained by the chorus, with closed mouths, and the dialogue of a few woodwinds:
« In your salvation I hope, O Yahweh! Joseph became a fruitful creeper near the spring,whose tendrils climb over the wall. »
By his marriage, Joseph has become allied to the highest nobility of Egypt. In fact, after having made him the depository of all his power over Egypt, « Pharaoh said to Joseph: “I am Pharaoh, but without your approval no one shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” Pharaoh also bestowed the name of Zaphnath-Paneah on Joseph, and he gave him Asenath the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, for his wife. »
Now, « before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph: Asenath, thedaughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore him these. Joseph named the first-born Manasseh, “because”, he said, “God has made me forget all my suffering and all my father’s household.” He named the second Ephraim, “because”, he said, “God has made me fruitful in the country of my misfortune.” » (Gn 41:50-52)
After the Egyptian names of the family of his wife, follow the Hebrew names of the children that she bore him, with their etymology. The name of Manasseh is explained by nahshani, « he made me forget », that of Ephraim by hiphrâni, « he made me fruitful ».
Thus it is that « Joseph became a fruitful creeper near the spring,whose tendrils climb over the wall ». He was like a vine, the shoots of which climb over the wall that supports the trellis.
These mysterious words apply to the letter to St. Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary is « the spring ». It is She who will give him for Son, Jesus, Son of God, the true vine of the Father whose tendrils will climb over the wall that bears it, Israel, and will invade the world.
« By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,by the name of the Stone of Israel, by the God of your father who assisted you, by El Shaddai who blessed you. »
God revealed Himself to the patriarchs under these names. Joseph, however, who had not been favoured with theophanies, had been filled with the spirit of God and guided by dreams, teaching him the plans of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is because of his fathers that he is the object of the divine blessings of which Jacob is the instrument:
« Blessings of heaven above » whence fall the rain and dew that fertilise the soil,
« Blessings of the deep lying below », where the underground waters that feed springs and rivers are found;
« Blessings of breasts and womb », from which are born « descendants » that Brother Henry modestly substituted for the breasts and womb of the original text.
Jacob appeals for the fecundity of men and animals as well as of plants:
« Blessings of grain and flowers, blessings of ancient mountains; bounty of the eternal hills; may they descend on Joseph’s head, on the brow of the dedicated one (nazir)among his brothers! » Perhaps is it in virtue of these blessings that Jesus, who inherits them through Joseph, « will be called Nazôréen » (Mt 2:23).
The mountains and hills are called « eternal », « ancient », because, since they are created to be the foundation of the earth, they must last as long as it does (Ps 90:2; Pr 8:25). They are appropriately evoked by the sounding of the hunting horn for they seem to echo back its sound…
Joseph has pre-eminence over his brothers. It is, however, Judah who receives the messianic promises: « The sceptre shall not pass from Judah, nor the mace from between his feet, until He come to whom it belongs, to whom the peoples shall render obedience. » (Gn 49:10)
The one does not exclude the other. In the Gospel, we see how these blessings were fulfilled: Jesus is the Child of the Promise; He is the Messiah. He nevertheless leaves the pre-eminence to Joseph, whom He obeys, to whom He gives the name of “Father”.
HYMN TO THE SHEPHERD OF ISRAEL
The triumphal chorus of the blessings of Jacob ends on an echo of flutes in a minor pitch, which leads us to a new tone for the song of the Blessed Virgin. She addresses Herself to God, the “Shepherd of Israel”. The words are taken from Psalm 80, a prayer to Yahweh to ask Him to restore Israel, which is compared to a flock presently fed on the bread of tears, in the first part of the psalm, and to an abandoned, devastated vineyard in the second part.
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who are enthroned on the Cherubim,
shineon Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh;
rouse Your strength,
come to us and save us! »
God always presents Himself in Scripture under the figure of the Shepherd of His people. He is, however, represented in Heaven as enthroned on the Cherubim, the name of the angels who support His throne, pull His chariot (Ez 10:1, sq.), serve as mounts (Ps 18:11), or guard the entrance to His domain with a flaming sword, like the Angel of the Third Secret of Fatima, to forbid sinful man entrance (Gn 3:24).
« Shine » anew, as in the past in the theophanies with which Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been favoured.
« Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh » : in a certain way this is the whole of Israel; Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Mannasseh, will give birth to the two main tribes of the Kingdom of the North, while Benjamin, Joseph’s little brother, belonged to the Kingdom of the South, although some of its cities like Jericho and Gilgal belong to the Kingdom of the North. Perhaps these three tribes are named in preference to the others because they had the beloved Rachel for mother and grandmother.
Be that as it may, « Joseph » and « Israel », are one and the same:
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
rouse Your strength,
come to us and save us! »
How? By converting us and showing us Your Face:
let Your Face shine on us and we shall be saved. »
The prophet Isaiah had promised « a great light » brought by « a [marvellous] Child », son of David, « to the people who walked in darkness » (Is 9:1). Centuries passed in expectation of this King-Messiah and, far from despairing, the Psalmist asks that the promised light be that of the very Face of God (Ps 4:7). This was inconceivable until then, for no one can see the Face of God without dying (Ex 33:20).
We know through the study that we have undertaken that the context of the psalms is that of the return from the Exile when the Jews no longer have either a prophet or a king in Jerusalem, which is occupied by foreigners. There was no restoration of the Davidic monarchy after the return from the Exile. Thus, this is not a « return ». This is the reason for the insistent and repeated prayer:
« God, bring us back. » The prophets Hosea and Jeremiah had promised that the exiles « would return » to the land, on the condition that their hearts « come back », that is to say, convert: « Allow me to return, I will return », the exiled people implore, after having « been chastised » (Jr 31:18).
This is the psalm’s refrain: convert us (hashîbenû). Then perhaps we will have the happiness of seeing Your divine Face illuminated with a smile. This will be the signal for our salvation! We see that it is not triumphal; still today, two thousand years after the coming of the Messiah, we only have the Holy Face with closed eyes imprinted on the Holy Shroud to console us in the misfortune of the times.
The Blessed Virgin, however, speaks to God, the « Shepherd of Israel » in the name of all of us, in a manner that is concurrently solemn and gentle, peaceful and tranquil, because She knows that She is the instrument of our conversion and of the subsequent salvation. She is accompanied by two flutes.
The command that She gives to God: « Shine! » gives opulence and majesty to this text of the Old Testament, by a sudden modulation from F major to D flat, and the entry of the violins.
Another modulation brings back the key of D major, which is also a glorious tone, with the hunting horn. The Blessed Virgin then starts singing the refrain of the psalm that will serve as the finale of this oratorio: « God, bring us back », rather spirited but without agitation, repeated tirelessly in every possible tone, soft – loud, high-pitched – low-pitched, alternating among the chorus, the stings, the woodwinds and the brass, as well as the hunting horn, without forgetting the piccolo, and with the timpani giving rhythm to the whole.
It is the equivalent of our « convert us! » It is nothing to write home about! This finale, despite a certain character of majesty – a finale requires it! – conserves a melancholic hint of supplication, hope, and humility. It is full of confidence, because we are sure to be answered since it is the Blessed Virgin who asks for our salvation…
THE INSPIRED WITNESS GIVEN IN SCRIPTURE
« The inspired witness given us in Scripture is first and foremost the experience of Christ Himself; of all experiences certainly the richest and most precious. The Word became flesh – what does that mean if not that this flesh was Word and all that Jesus did, showed, said and taught us is supremely true, good and beautiful for us? This Gospel obliges us to look upon it as the most important historical reality, as the most profound and only decisive mystery of faith.
« Instead of giving ourselves up to dissecting the human from the divine in the Gospel and to reducing the historical Jesus to the level of any man whatsoever, forgotten, by means of our criticism and higher criticism, whilst we place Christ the Son of God in a mythical heaven where He becomes an object of a faith of pure sentiment, let us look down the length of centuries, which count as no obstacle for us, at Christ-Jesus the revealing reality, in whose presence we feel dazzled. The life He lived, what He knew of Himself and made manifest has been given to us to see, hear and contemplate now as the mystery of God...
« Close to Him stands the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose intimate and incomparable experience is to be the Mother of God, who conceived the Word in spirit before conceiving Him in the flesh, as we read in St. Leo’s famous text. Now, this experience related in the Gospel has become another treasure of the human tradition. In this mystery of Divine Motherhood, Mary is the model of every creature who gives a welcome to the Word of God and who keeps it, who is activated and made fruitful thereby and so at last is impelled to produce the fruit and do the works of the Word. This experience in itself is already a little closer to ours than is that of the Son of God made man and it suggests what our own mystical lives should be no matter how poor or thin they may be when, abandoning ourselves to the Creative Power, we thereby give expression to the Word with all our being, to the Splendour of Glory as much as in us lies.
« Around Jesus and Mary, however, whose very being is or becomes the divine Word, Scripture brings us, before and after them, the witness of the prophets and apostles. The prophets saw and felt the predisposition of all things, in particular of the events which they lived, to the full Revelation of God in Jesus Christ. The apostles were the witnesses of this Revelation and of its impact on the history of men. God was present to both prophets and apostles as an interior Master and the Revelation which He made to them through His Holy Spirit gave them the knowledge of His thought and of His particular will, to them and not to others, but for them this inspiration was elemental to the knowledge and vision of the world and of the history in which they were steeped, and whose centre was Jesus Christ. None of these ever spoke of God in a way that did not relate to the Father’s plan for salvation through His Incarnate Word.
« That is why the Jewish Scriptures belong to Christians and why the Christian Scriptures, the total Revelation, belong to everyone, each of them being a unit or in Greek: holon in a much vaster chain whose general totality, “according to the whole” or in Greek: Catholon expresses the mystery of universal history, otherwise known as Catholicism. (Georges de Nantes, CCR n° 106, January 1979, pp. 19-20)