St. Joseph, Guardian of Jesus—March 19

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit…When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25

Over the last several weeks I’ve read a number of articles in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal that talked about the current economic downturn and what this means especially for men.

One article, “For Women, Redefining Marriage Material” talked about the impact that an income differential tilted toward women had on the selection of a husband.
Another article, “The New Math on Campus” talked about the cultural and societal consequences when 57% of enrollment on college campuses is women.

And in another article, “The Lean Years”, David Brooks brought all this data together and wondered aloud what the future of marriage and family and the culture at large would be like when at age 22 there were 185 college graduates among women compared to only 100 for men.

Each of these articles recognized that there is a profound shift coming for the most basic unit of human society: the family. And at the center of that change is the status and role of men. But each of these articles only addressed this shift from an economic perspective.

Economic uncertainty is particularly frightening to men because it cuts to the very heart of how we define ourselves: by what we do and what we earn. But for the man of God this changing economic and cultural landscape should be an opportunity to rediscover what is truly valuable and worthwhile in our lives as men—to re-commit to first things.

Joseph shows us the way. He was a just man. This means that he was right in God’s sight through faith in the Messiah and that this faith was evident in his life. He was known for being a godly man. He was obedient to God. He listened to the voice of God and followed his leading. Joseph was not a wealthy man or a powerful man but God entrusted his own Son into his fatherly care.

May God grant that we would always follow his example and be the kind of men who are faithful and righteous and obedient and worthy of God’s trust!

Let us pray:
Almighty God, from the house of Your servant David You raised up Joseph to be the guardian of Your incarnate Son and the husband of His mother, Mary. Grant us grace to follow the example of this faithful workman in heeding Your counsel and obeying Your commands; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.