Meditations on St. Joseph

Joseph—A man who protects his family

Joseph models for men a protective instinct. Our children, like Jesus was, are exposed to many dangers. Our American scene does not feature many physical dangers, but moral dangers surely abound. Fathers, what are your children watching on TV? What are their Internet habits? Who are their friends? What do your children think about important moral issues? Are you preparing them to face the moral challenges and temptations of life? Are you teaching them the faith along with your wife? Are you a passive father, not very involved in the raising of your children? A man protects his children from harm, physical, moral, and spiritual. Saint Joseph models this for every father!

A man whose vocation is more important than his career

The Gospel of Matthew relates that St. Joseph is warned by an angel in a dream: Get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him (2:13). Joseph may well have had much to lose in this flight. He had a business. Fleeing to a distant land might mean the loss of his business. But Joesph was a father and husband before he was a businessman. His child was threatened and fir first obligation was to Jesus and Mary. Vocation outweighed career. Joseph displas a different priority. Joseph points the way for parents: vocation has priority over career. For fathers especially, Joespeh shows that a man is a husband and father before he is a businessman.

Edited from Msgr. Charles Pope's Blog, "St. Joseph: Model Husband and Father ," on Community in Mission.