St. Joseph: A Model of Christian Manhood
There is a lot that can be said on the nature of masculinity, both in a broader spiritual or moral sense, as well as in light of some of the more contemporary debates surrounding the nature of gender. But, considering that yesterday was the Feast of St. Joseph, I believe that it is good to spend a brief period meditating upon how St. Joseph exemplifies certain elements of the traditional Christian view on manhood.
Jesus, through Joseph, was of the line of David. I think it is therefore apt to use one of the best-known verses relating to King David with reference to Joseph: the Prophet Samuel said, when God chose David to be the next King of Israel, “The LORD has chosen a man after His own Heart.” (1 Samuel 13:14) Looking at this verse in light of later Catholic soteriology, what we can deduce is that we are chosen by God because we are close to His Heart. We are close to the Heart of God not because we deserve it, but because of the pure, gratuitous love and mercy of God. This is exactly how St. Thomas Aquinas defines grace: the term “grace” has a twofold meaning, referring firstly to the love, kindness, or favor of God, and secondly, to the spiritual gifts that God gives us as a result of this love.
We are all sinners; none of us are worthy of being close to the heart of God. But God, in His gracious, that is, undeserved, mercy, brings us close to His Heart. And those Who are close to the Heart of God, God gives His spiritual gifts, whereby we strive towards salvation.
As one destined by God to care for Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph not only was close to the Heart of God, but was blessed by God in a special way to fulfill his mission, and thus, by extension, serve as an explicit role model of authentic Christian manhood. St. Joseph exemplified the mindset of a man close to the heart of God by exhibiting the following qualities:
An unwavering trust in God: In spite of the, what from a human perspective at least, odd circumstances surrounding Our Lady conceiving Jesus Christ, and in spite of events like the Massacre of the Holy Innocents and the Flight into Egypt, St. Joseph trusted in God. Neither Mary nor Joseph, at the time they were raising Jesus, fully comprehended what Christ’s Messianic mission entailed, but did as God commanded them, not because they saw the big picture, but because they knew that God was all-good and therefore would never lead them astray. True, authentic Christian masculinity begins with the realization that God is perfectly Good, and therefore would never lead us astray. No one sees the big picture of God’s Plan for them; it is therefore impossible to proceed in fulfilling our mission without this prior sense of trust in God.
Obedience to the Divine Will: Because St. Joseph trusted in God, he was enabled to do the Will of God. When we have been overcome with the conviction that God is All-Good and is the Source or Foundation of our hope, we know that all attempts to obey the Will of God are not in vain. This realization, combined with the realization that there is no greater good than God, the Source of all goodness, leads to a willingness, even readiness or enthusiasm, to live our lives in accordance with the Will of God at all times, no matter where it leads us.
Strength: It appears that, in the last few decades, men have been fed the narrative that the ideal man is passive, unimposing, willing to bow out and let others take center stage (especially women, who have oppressed by men for most of Western history). In response, in recent years, certain male “influencers” have felt that the only solution is to over-correct: a man is strong, but strength is seen in terms of raw physical strength, unwavering ambition (in the sense of a borderline obsessive commitment to achieving materially lofty goals), and commanding respect (which often means being loud or imposing enough to get others to do what you want). In a word, you being strong means others being submissive. If we follow this model of masculinity, how does a man differ from a brute? A true man is strong, but strength is best exemplified by St. Joseph: namely, a sense of boldness in pursuing what is right. St. Joseph did not rely on brute strength; rather, because he trusted in God, he did what he ought, he acted in accordance with the will of God, with a sense of courage. Not to say he never felt fear, but true manhood is defined by courage (as is authentic femininity), and courage means not letting fear overcome us, prevent us from doing what we ought. This is connected with a broader truth: while obedience to God includes submission to the Will of God, obedience to God is not generic passivity or submissiveness; it is the result of an encounter with the Divine Goodness that leads us to comprehend that the Divine Goodness is so vast, and is the only Source of meaning in our lives, that we feel this strong urge within us to do the will of God, something we feel called on to do in spite of fears or difficulties.
St. Joseph, ora pro nobis.