St. Joseph is a much needed intercessor in a time in which the Church and world needs a true masculine renewal. On December 8th of 2020, with the Apostolic Letter “Patris Corde” (With a Father’s Heart), Pope Francis declared the Year of 2021 the Year of St. Joseph. If you have yet to read this short letter, it is one well worth time and reflection. I’d like to draw from this letter some points on how St. Joseph’s example meets the needs of our current culture, a culture in which the “success” of men often comes at the degradation of women. I don’t think I need much proof to this, it seems quite overt in the daily news feeds.
Pope Francis points out many elements of St. Joseph’s life that are fruitful to meditate on. I want to focus on the one element of self-sacrifice that falls at the heart of living a truly masculine life. Unless we learn what it means to live a truly masculine existence, the imitation of masculinity will continue to dominate and harm women daily.
St. Joseph shows that Manliness Is Sacrifice
My own discovery of this concept began almost a decade and a half ago when working on a Life Teen Core Team at my home parish. Another male leader began to focus on the example of St. Joseph and use this example to encourage the high school boys to grow specifically in the virtue of self-sacrifice, a paramount staple of St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. Appropriately, we would use the image of battle, war, and soldiers; the act of a soldiers courage rightly being viewed as one of the highest acts of self-sacrifice. Our small group named ourselves “St. Joseph’s Army”. In the ensuing years, I watched many of these kids grow to be men, both husbands and priests, living an example of Christian masculinity and fatherhood that continues to encourage me.
The Holy Father illustrates self-sacrifice by quoting Saint Pope Paul VI in stating:
“(B)y making his life a sacrificial service to the mystery of the incarnation and its redemptive purpose. (St. Joseph) employed his legal authority over the Holy Family to devote himself completely to them in his life and work. He turned his human vocation to domestic love into a superhuman oblation of himself, his heart and all his abilities, a love placed at the service of the Messiah who was growing to maturity in his home.”
Pope Paul VI Homily (19 March 1966): Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, IV (1966), 110.
Christ himself said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13 ESV) St. Paul exhorted, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Eph 5:25 ESV). As a man, Jesus Christ first saw this example of the self-sacrifice demanded of a man from his earthly father, St. Joseph. Joseph obediently follows the command of God given to him by the angel without question, in fact not a single spoken word of his is recorded in Sacred Scripture. He commits his life completely to Mary, his wife, and the Christ child. We can see in the Holy Family a perfect illustration of what Ephesians 5 lived out looks like. A far cry from modern patriarchy, this is shown and lived out in a community of complete gift of self.
How Can I Imitate St. Joseph?
Any reform of the Church must begin first with the reform of our own hearts. If we look at the life and work for St. Francis of Assisi, before he calls for the reform of the Church he first lives a life of such sacrifice that it begins to be unmistakably attractive and brings disciples to him and to Jesus.
A more modern example is that of St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa). Media flocked around her. There is something incredibly attractive and evangelizing about the complete gift of self. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, it is what attracted so many to Jesus. It is the very presence of love and “Love is of God” (1 Jn 4:7). Yet, this also means you will be hated. Mother Teresa had not shortage of critics and ill-wishers. Jesus himself, who’s heart was filled with pure love, as he is love itself, was hated.
“Love to be real, it must cost—it must hurt—it must empty us of self. “
St. Teresa of Calcutta
Am I emptying of myself? This question must be discerned daily!
To imitate Joseph as a husband: Am I emptying of myself completely for my wife?
To imitate Joseph as a father: Am I emptying of myself completely for my children?
To imitate Joseph as a single man: Am I emptying of myself completely for others?
To imitate Joseph as a priest: Am I emptying of myself completely for the Church?
To Empty, We Must be Full!
Yet, in an interesting paradox, when I am fully united with Jesus Christ, when completely emptying myself, I am never really empty, I am always full. “My cup overfloweth” (Ps 23:5) This is best illustrated by Joseph’s most beautiful spouse Mary. As her cousin Elizabeth states, Mary is “full of grace” Biblical scholars state of the Greek of the words “full of grace”:
“Grammatically, the word kecharitomene is the feminine present perfect passive voice participle of a verb, specifically, the Greek verb χαριτόω (charitóō). ” (Catholic Online)
This is stating that Mary is both full of grace, yet still being filled. Which can be read with an eye on King David’s words in Psalm 23. By this example, for us to truly overflow love onto others we must first be filled by the Lord ourselves. This is done primarily through the frequent reception of the Sacraments. (Especially, through the Eucharist and Confession) It must also be supported by a frequent and devoted life of prayer.
Joseph was said to be a righteous man, a virtuous man. Yet, this virtue did not exist purely on the natural level. He was a man of prayer. That is why he was so docile and open to the prompting of the angel without question of complaint. He was first filled by God in order that he might empty of himself completely for his wife Mary, and our Savior, his earthly son, Jesus Christ!
Let us imitate St. Joseph and “Go and do likewise” (Jn 10:37)
