Fathers, St. Joseph is Our Model
Now, in order to respond to God with such faith, Joseph must have been a man of deep prayer as well. After the family's return from Egypt, we can well imagine him turning to the Lord Yahweh at home with his family, in his carpenter's shop with Jesus, and at the Nazareth synagogue on the Sabbath with his fellow villagers.
Joseph's example is a powerful reminder of he spiritual role fathers can play in families today. In too many Catholic homes, spiritual leadership is considered the sole responsibility of the mother. That might mean only mom reads the Bible stories and leads night prayers with the small children when they are small. It might mean that only mom and the younger children attend church.
Whatever the situation, St. Joseph calls us as father back to Gods ideal of being men who are committed to a life of faith and prayer in our homes.
A Provider and Protector
In modern society, we fathers place an emphasis on providing a good life materially for our children and protecting them from physical harm. That's all well and good. But do we protect our families from moral and spiritual harm?
Consider the example of Joseph. He did farm more than simply provide materially as a carpenter for his family. Although Scripture is silent on the details of the Holy Family's sojourn in Egypt after fleeing from Herod, we do know that Egypt at the time was a pagan culture that accepted the worship of many gods.
In such an environment, Joseph surely protected his family spiritually. maintaining Jewish prayer and customs in the home must have been a priority for him as a husband and a father during the exile.
Don't we today live in an environment which is often hostile to our faith? Do we Catholic fathers make a point of monitoring the TV programs that our children watch? Do we know what our children have access to online? Do we know what values our children are being exposed to at school?
Joseph was also a faithful provider and protector when his family had to move. Consider that he had to uproot his family twice: at first, when he was fleeing from Herod; yet again, when he returned to Judah several years later after Herod's death. We can imagine how Joseph was a rock for Jesus and Mary during those times of change.
What about us as fathers in our own highly mobile
Latest Articles