The Heart of a Father

An excellent article on St Joseph is here.
(Addendum Mar 19, 2009. Should this link not work, I have saved the article now, after much searching for it. Written by Leon J. Suprenant, Jr)


Just part of it:


His heart is always in the right place, and God was able to accomplish great things through this eminently just and faithful man.

St. Joseph's fatherly heart jumps off the page throughout the rich, biblical accounts of Christ's childhood. Let's take a brief look at just one such familiar episode: the Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Lk 2:41-52).

"Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to custom" (verses 41-42).

These verses may seem unremarkable at first blush, though as St. Joseph is carting the Holy Family from place to place in the first century we can be certain these journeys were much more onerous than a leisurely afternoon drive in the air-conditioned minivan. But even in his fidelity to the Jewish practices of his time, St. Joseph gives us a most timely lesson on the value of men being observant Catholics. Too often we find at Sunday Mass mom and the kids, but where's dad? St. Joseph challenges us men to allow our love for the Lord and zeal for our faith to set the tone for the entire family.

Real men go to church.


And more......

It's also significant that Mary refers to Joseph as Jesus' father, which surely reflected the common understanding of the people. As an adoptive father myself, I appreciate the affirmation of a father that transcends biological lineage. As Pope John Paul II commented in his 1989 apostolic exhortation Guardian of the Redeemer:In this family, Joseph is the father: his fatherhood is not one that derives from begetting offspring; but neither is it an "apparent" or merely "substitute" fatherhood. Rather, it is one that fully shares in authentic human fatherhood and the mission of the father in the family.Joseph accepts this fatherhood through the obedience of faith, even though he also knows that this child was conceived "of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 1:20). He exercises this fatherhood in complete docility to God's will and with superabundant love for mother and Child. As the wondrous events unfold around him, it's clear that St. Joseph does not have a complete understanding of what is going to happen next. Yet he always remains faithful in the present moment, and the Lord never fails to reveal to him what he needs to know at any given point in time.

As I've tried to translate this into my own life experience, I've understood this to mean that I must at all times remain attentive to God and available for my family. When things go wrong, it's typically because either I'm not paying attention, or I am serving myself and not my beloved family. Mighty Love and Daily Solicitude

"And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and His mother kept all these things in her heart" (verse 51).

Women with careers often need to be affirmed regarding the beautiful vocation of motherhood, which too often — in subtle and not-so-subtle ways — is devalued in our society. Yet men need to hear a similar message regarding fatherhood, spoken through the humbly eloquent life of St. Joseph.

We might do great things in the world's eyes, but our primary vocation as married men is to be husband and father in the domestic Church.