Today the Universal Church honors St Joseph…..A man of silence, obedience and humility……In a world where everyone seems to have “something to say” on social media, St Joseph is a contradiction…..In the entire New Testament there is not one single word recorded from the mouth of St Joseph…Yet the Universal Church honors him as one of the greatest saints…..Our world today needs more men like St Joseph…..He spoke by his example…..And ultimately the only lasting statement anyone ever makes, is their example…..Words are easily said but forgotten quickly…..However, the lasting power of a good example is what makes the deepest imprint on those around us….But how are we able to give such an example?….The only way is to be rooted in daily prayer, fasting and Sacramental grace……Our human condition is so easily distracted….And we are all susceptible to temptations and sin….The answer to human weakness is divine grace and Joseph opened himself up to that grace….Joseph emptied himself and God in turn filled him with the Holy Spirit….Our world today is so convinced that we can make a lasting impact grounded upon words, accomplishments and achievements…St Joseph took an opposite approach….Joseph lived out his vocation as a married man and father…He did not regard himself to be important but made others the center of importance….And God honored him and two thousand years later so do we as Catholics…..Instead of focusing in on the “big things” - Maybe we all should concentrate on the “little things”….Like the virtues of obedience, humility and silence……We will never be able to do the “big things” if we do not first master the “little things”
“He believed, hoping against hope, that he would become the father of many nations, according to what was said, Thus shall your descendants be. That is why it was credited to him as righteousness”
Being a good father boils down to be consistent….Taking out the garbage every night - Going to work every day - Helping the kids with their homework - Mowing the lawn and shoveling snow - Helping your wife with shopping…..To name a few of the tasks of a father…These tasks seem of little value to the world but if they are not done, family life does not run properly…..I am a father of five children and I had a father who gave me a good example, so for me, being a father comes fairly naturally…But so many today in our world have no idea what it means to be a father…To some degree, its not their fault because they were not given a good example to follow….I recently heard a statement made that stuck with me deeply…”If we fix the man, we fix society”…This I believe is at the root of so many of our problems today in America….Men do not know how to be men….We have forgotten that mastering the “little things”, lead to us mastering “big things”…..St Joseph teaches us this and for the many men in America that did not have a good example to follow, St Joseph must be that example…..Our world today is hyper-focused on “achievements”…Building a solid resume - Getting a great education - Accumulating wealth…..But the purpose of manhood has little to do with those things….A man is born to be a husband and a father…To love his wife and children, dying to himself and in turn growing closer to God each day….All the other “stuff” is forgotten as quickly as the dirt is placed over our coffins…The impact of a good husband and a father - Not a perfect one but simply a good and consistent one - Such a witness lasts for generations!…..Our society has lost its focus in all the “noise”…..And only a father’s example, not a father’s words, but his example can be “heard” above all the “noise”…..When America “fixes the man” we will “fix” the nation
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home”
The Universal Church in her wisdom honors St Joseph…..There was a time when family life thrived in America….Marriage was viewed traditionally…Mom’s stayed home and Dad’s worked….Families had many chidlren…..Sunday’s were special….Holiday’s were even more special……All this and more has been lost - Americans may “have more stuff” and are more educated but we lost something much more valuable….I was born to simple people…My father was a barber in a one man barber shop….He was the son of Italian immigrants….My family lived simply and both my parents sacrificed deeply for me and my brother….They did not have to talk about their sacrifices…We saw them and as a result to this day, I remember everything they did for us…..Americans must return to this “simpler time”….The answer to many of our problems today is because we know longer know how to live well….There is an “art to living” and that “art” is not taught to us in college…Its taught in the home….St Joseph teaches us that “art”….There is nothing more extraordinary then the witness of a simple man and a simple woman who raise many ordinary children against all odds…Such a witness challenges the world’s false ideologies in a way no words ever could or can……”The Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you……….Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt”……St Joseph’s witness two thousand years later is the path forward for America and the world…..Obedience, Humility and Silence…….Only a man of prayer can do what St Joseph did….But before we do the “big things” we must first master the “little things”….Grace builds upon grace….When we “fix” the man - We will “fix” society………….JMJ
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