Saint Joseph was chosen by God to be the head of the Holy Family.
He was a faithful husband to Mary and a devoted foster father to Jesus Christ. Sacred Scripture portrays him as a pious man who always followed the will of God.
Below are the top three ways in which Saint Joseph serves as the perfect model of Catholic fatherhood:
1) Saint Joseph was righteous.
The Gospel according to Saint Matthew describes Saint Joseph as a “righteous man” (Mt 1:19). In the first century, a righteous man was one who obeyed the laws of God. We know Saint Joseph was obedient because he and Mary took the infant Jesus to the temple for consecration in accordance with the Mosaic law (Lk 2:22-24).
Today, we imitate Saint Joseph by obeying the Divine Law as contained in the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. We also obey the Five Precepts of the Catholic Church.
2) Saint Joseph was chaste.
The Catholic Church teaches that Mary was a perpetual virgin. It follows that Saint Joseph did not have conjugal relations with her. He was chaste throughout his marriage, thus allowing it to serve, in a special way, as a preeminent sign of God’s loving union with humanity.
We follow the example of Saint Joseph when we regulate our sexual desires. For single persons, chastity requires abstinence from any type of sexual activity; for married couples, it includes mutual fidelity between spouses, as well as an openness to the gift of life.
3) Saint Joseph was industrious.
Saint Joseph was a carpenter by trade (Mt 13:55). As such, he knew the value of a hard day’s work. He also understood the challenges of providing for a family.
His industriousness inspires us to greater diligence in our professions. Regardless of our respective career paths, we should always strive to imitate Saint Joseph and put forth our very best efforts. Christ promises to repay us for the conscientious performance of our duties (Col. 3:23-24).