Catholic Dads

Pope John Paul II and Guardian of the Redeemer #1

February 9th, 2011

Father to Father is a weekly feature, appearing each Wednesday, examining what the Church, through the office of the Pope, is saying to us fathers. You can subscribe to the newsfeed here.

==========

We are often reminded that St. Joseph is a model for fatherhood. He is, of course, the foster father of Jesus. But how much time have we spent studying his example?

In 1989, on the 100th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s Encyclical Quamquam Pluries (On Devotion to St. Joseph), Pope John Paul II released an Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos (Guardian of the Redeemer).

Over the next few weeks — and leading up to St. Joseph’s March 19th Feast Day — we will examine the Pope’s insights into a man whom we should seek to imitate in love, devotion, and service.

As you might expect, you don’t need to read much into the document before you’re presented with the “mission statement” of St. Joseph. In the first paragraph, we read:

“Inspired by the Gospel, the Fathers of the Church from the earliest centuries stressed…St. Joseph took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ’s upbringing”

He took care of his wife.

He dedicated himself to raising his child.

That, in a nutshell, is the mission statement and what we are called to imitate.

Special care, I think, should be given to both the order of the words and to the adjectives in that phrase.

First, St. Joseph took care of Mary. It would not have been possible for him to dedicate himself properly to Christ’s upbringing without first ensuring that his wife received the care she is owed in justice.

Second, he took “loving” care of his wife and “gladly” dedicated himself to Jesus. Each act required more than habitual actions dictated from some societal/self-imposed duty. Each required the supernatural: charity and cheerfulness.

My goal this week: to see how closely I can live the “mission statement” of St. Joseph.

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Save to Browser Favorites / Bookmarks