Following St. Joseph

STIRLING  They still call him “the quiet one.”

Because Holy Scripture records little that St. Joseph did and nothing that he said, as the earthly father of Jesus, he has become renowned in the Church for his silence. But a Seton Hall University moral theology professor recently encouraged Catholic men of the Diocese to look to St. Joseph’s rather active witness of faith in “partaking in the everyday life of Jesus” — a lesson that teaches men to learn what it takes to be a man by getting to know God.

“Christ fully reveals man to himself. To know what it means to be a Catholic man, look to God,” Justin Anderson, an associate moral theology professor at Seton Hall, South Orange, told members of the new Men of St. Joseph ministry on Dec. 1 — a day before the start of Advent — at the Shrine of St. Joseph here. He gave a 20-minute reflection on “Catholic Manhood in an Age of Crisis.” “Even in his silence [in Scripture], St. Joseph partakes the life of Jesus, maybe going to the market with him or doing homework with him. He becomes a collaborator with Jesus in the vineyard,” he said.

A married father of five, Anderson of St. Vincent de Paul Parish, also in Stirling, gave a practical and challenging talk about how to be a Catholic man in this era of the Church in crisis. He also shared concrete examples of how to be a father, husband and professional through the life and witness of St. Joseph. The event started with Mass at 8 a.m. in the chapel of the Trinitarian-led shrine, which designated 2018 as the “Year of St. Joseph” in preparation for its centennial. Following the liturgy was breakfast and fellowship for the men in St. Joseph’s retreat center, Anderson’s talk and questions and sharing by the audience.

The Scriptures do not tell us much about St. Joseph or even if he had died before Jesus started his public ministry at 30 years old but Catholics can safely conclude that he had the gift of attentiveness. St. Joseph had the grace of being able to be “teachable” in the ways of the Lord. He also bore a sense of “stillness” that enabled him to “take in the multiplicity of reality without bringing a know-it-all attitude,” Anderson said.

In addition, St. Joseph can teach Catholics how to obey the will of God. He accepted the Lord’s command that he marry Mary, who was pregnant with a child that was not his, and agreed to travel with her on a several-day journey by donkey for Nazareth to Bethlehem. Later, St. Joseph and Mary found a young Jesus in a synagogue after several days of searching; Mary admonished him, saying, “Your father and I have been looking for you.” Christ replied, “I’m attentive to my father’s work.” In that moment, St. Joseph demonstrated humility, understanding “the new reality that God is his true father,” said Anderson, the brother of SOLT Father Derek Anderson, pastor of St. Mary Parish, Dover.

“St. Joseph was attentive to God with a stillness of heart, standing with his eyes open to receive something new and leading from that,” said Anderson, who urged members of the Men of St. Joseph to take some quiet time to listen to God.

After his reflection, Anderson posed several questions to the audience, including, “How can we become more attentive to God, during Advent?” “What helps with your prayer life?” and “What do you find inspiring about St. Joseph or other saints?”

One audience member was Allan Wright, principal of Koinonia Academy in Plainfield in the Newark Archdiocese; a parishioner of St. Vincent’s, whose has long been associated with St. Joseph’s; and a co-founder of the Men of St. Joseph. He called St. Joseph a “silent witness,” who “lived for God” and obeyed God’s commands “without hesitation.”

“We are left with the witness of St. Joseph’s actions. He was a witness to Mary, who might have said, ‘He loves, me, loves God and listens to the word of God,’ ” Wright said. “Even with the problems in the Church, we need to be joyful witnesses to tell people why we are Catholic — because we believe in Jesus, that he is present in the Eucharist and in the examples of the saints.”

One man explained his struggle to “go preach the Gospel” within the routines of his daily life. But he ultimately concluded, “Maybe I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing — getting up, getting the kids ready for school, going to work, coming home, taking the kids to basketball and loving my wife.” Another man said that men could look to St. Joseph in “living out our state in life to the best of our abilities as a father, husband, worker or priest” — as God commands.

Anderson’s presentation marked the second event that the Men of St. Joseph has held, during its short existence. The group consists of men, who endeavor, through Christ, to become better Catholics as husbands, fathers and professionals within the day-to-day struggles of their lives. The ministry held its first event for Lent this year for the Feast of St. Joseph with a talk by Wright on what it means to be a man and father in the Church. He helped establish the Men of St. Joseph with Trinitarian Father Dennis Berry, the shrine’s director, and Mike St. Pierre, also of St. Vincent’s and St. Joseph’s, and executive director of the Catholic Campus Minister Association.

“Through this ministry, men can gather together to talk about their lives and their walks with Christ,” Wright told the audience on Dec. 1.

After the latest meeting, Chad DeBolt, also of St. Vincent’s and St. Joseph’s, a Men of St. Joseph member and married father of three with “another on the way,” called the periodic gatherings “a time for peace and reflection and sharing stories of fatherhood, which is not easy — and is a team sport.”