IN HONOR OF ST. PATRICK, HERE IS POST ON ST. JOSEPH AND A COMPLETELY UNRELATED ST. PATRICK DAY MEME

If you want to get Fr. Orndorff going (and it really doesn’t take much,) show him a picture of St. Joseph as an elderly man with grizzly beard and wrinkled face.  “That is not St. Joseph!” he is wont to declare in precise and slightly elevated tones.  Being the pastor of St. Joseph Parish I am inclined to give him some deference in the matter.  

Father does have some backing for his claim that St. Joseph was not an old man.  The earliest depictions of St. Joseph show him to be a strong, young man of about 25 years of age, what you might picture if you thought of a man in his youthful prime, ready for marriage, and who worked at a very physical job.  In fact, the first three centuries of the life of the Church depicted him this way.  Then, all of a sudden, in the fourth century, he became an octogenarian.  (The painting to the right hangs at this parish and was a very generous donation.)

Did he enter a time machine and seem only gone for a moment but returned having lived a full and happy life in another time?  No.  There was a heresy afoot at the time that attacked the perpetual virginity of Mary, which made the claim that Joseph was the physical father of Jesus.  Having tamped down that heresy, artists (blessed artists! - thank you for all that you do for the Church) started depicting St. Joseph as an 80 year old man suggesting that man of such advanced years would not become a Dad.

There are two problems with this.  The first that I hear confessions and I know that being 80 does not necessarily have anything to do with a decreased desire or ability to do certain things that one did when he was twenty-five.  Secondly, it is a greater story, a more touching story, a more extraordinary inspiration, a more fitting idea (especially to this celibate) that St. Joseph was a man like any other man, in his prime, and having the same strong desires that any other man in that position would have.  Why?  Because it is a far greater thing to overcome your temptations that to have them simply taken away.  And now more than ever, that is the example we need with this great saint.

After all, what makes us great men and women is not that God would take away our free will and therefor out temptations.  What merit is there in that?  Would be becoming comatose for the rest of our lives be more virtuous than moving about and possibly sinning?  No.  What makes us great is, like St. Joseph, we become stronger than our temptations.

SON, IT'S TIME FOR "THAT" TALK

Father Ozimek once told us (when we got older) not to pick up girls in bars because then you will end up marrying the type of girls who go to bars to pick up men. Why that stuck in my mind in particular I do not know.

It is sad to deal with so many families that are in turmoil. It is especially interesting when it comes to wedding rehearsals. “This is Mom number one with her husband who is walking me down the isle because he is more of a dad to me than my Dad was. My biological Dad and his new girlfriend cannot be seated next to them because they do not get along though his second ex-wife with whom I am close is Okay wherever she sits.” Thank goodness for the dads that stick around to teach their children how to love and how to stay in a relationship to which they gave a serious commitment. Perhaps that is why the saying is a popular one that, “The best gift a father can give to his children is to love their mother.”

That being said I found an interesting prayer card in the back of a drawer as I was moving entitled, “A Young Man’s Prayer.” The back gives six rules for a “Happy and Successful Friendship and Courtship”

1. “Receive our Lord in Holy Communion every Sunday for strength to be and act like a Christlike man.” Worthy advice if the Eucharist is to be the source and summit of our being.

2. “Pray to the Blessed Mother every day for grace to respect and protect her daughters.” It is said that if you want to know how a man will treat his wife, look to see how he treats his mother. And that could be extended to the Blessed Mother as well.

3. “Imitate Christ the Gentleman Who was so unselfish at home and abroad.” There is yet another saying that goes, “He who is nice to you but rude to waiter is not a nice man.” “A gentleman is solid mahogany, the fashionable man merely veneer.” Be a gentleman through and through as was Christ.

4. “Be rich in masculine interests and grow in the art of conversation and of being interesting.” Being masculine does not mean to set yourself apart but to bring masculinity to the table, to compliment and balance the relationship. And to cultivate being interesting mean not to focus on yourself, but to become interesting by being interested in others.

5. “Learn to make decisions for yourself. Learn to save and to be a pleasant companion.” There is an art to making decisions so that one is neither a authoritarian micro manger nor so open that his brains fall out trying to please everyone.

6. “Strive for an esteem of the Sacrament of Marriage and of your Godgiven calling as husband and father in building a Catholic marriage and a Catholic home.” What you cultivate is what you will reap. Something that is fun now may not be sustainable for a lifetime.

The card ends with this prayer: “O St. Joseph, model of justice and therefore of husbands, I beseech you to direct me in my choice of a future wife. Grant me especially wisdom and deliberation in this choice. Make both my friendship and courtship especially chaste, unselfish, prudent, thrifty, and cheerful. Be my companion in single as well as in wedded life. Amen.”