Authentic Leadership of St. Joseph

As Catholics we know very little about the man that raised Jesus, the man we call Joseph.

Joseph was the man who was betrothed to Mary when she came home one night, pregnant. Many men would have left her that moment knowing the child was not his. You see there was little confusion on this point,at least as far as Joseph knew, Mary was a virgin.

Instead of running for the hills, with a little prompting from an angel, Joseph chose to stand by Mary. Initially he was going to take her away from peering eyes and divorce her quietly. Back then, if it was found that Mary was pregnant out of wedlock, she would have been stoned to death. Saving her life and reputation, Joseph fled with his new found family in tow.

Several years passed before returning to the public eye, therefore allowing the scrutiny to surpass. Joseph, with a bit more prompting that did not include paternity tests or child support orders, stayed. He raised Jesus as his own child and kept Mary as his wife.

Growing up as the son of a carpenter, Jesus learned at an early age the skills of hard work. Joseph guided Jesus as he would his own son. Little did Joseph know that it was more than the wood that he carved that he was shaping.

We know very little from scripture about Joseph, in fact, he was not even mentioned in several gospels. It was not until the gospels of Matthew and Luke that he was mentioned. Even there it is only in passing and Joseph is not mentioned again in Jesus' life, except for a minor reference in the story of Jesus in the temple with “both his parents."

 Although being the stepfather of our Lord and Savior, Joseph was not garnered the title of saint through canonization until.He has since become the patriarchal saint of the Church. Even so, he was still overlooked until 2013 to be included in the prayers during Mass.

Although overlooked for so many years, Joseph yielded many leadership lessons bestowed upon the Church. He showed through his actions the lessons of fidelity by remaining true to his family even when times were tough. He exemplifies the charitable heart, where he gave of himself for the good of others.

Joseph is an example of authentic male leadership that the Church and community needs. He was the one that protected his family from harm. He was faithful to God's calling even when he did not understand its meaning. He provided for his family through hard work and stout character which in turn set the example for his son. Joseph accepted the role as husband and father through the love of Christ and in doing so set the expectation of generations to come.

Joseph was "a just man". This praise bestowed by the Holy Ghost, and the privilege of having been chosen by God to be the foster-father of Jesus and the spouse of the Virgin Mother, are the foundations of the honor paid to St. Joseph by the Church. We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker.

With clarity of thought Joseph, created the foundation for the future, willing to pay the price to save his wife and child. As Catholics, we can learn from the many great men in the Bible. There are those that we learn from every Sunday through the scriptures. Then there are those that lead silently and are celebrated a couple times a year. If as men we follow the path of Joseph and lead our families in Christ, we too can be the example for our own legacies.