Commentary 25/03/18 Saint Joseph is the revolutionary figure our families need

[성기화 요셉]

Our families are too important, and too fragile, to settle for anything less than Joseph's example of sacrificial love

Joseph reminds us that work should serve family, not the other way around. (Photo: UCAN files)

By Dr. John Singarayar

Published: March 18, 2025 12:07 PM GMT

Updated: March 19, 2025 12:43 AM GMT

In our wounded world of family breakdown, what we need is not another self-help program or government initiative — we need Saint Joseph.

As his feast day approaches on March 19, I am convinced that this quiet carpenter from Nazareth offers something our families desperately lack: a model of steadfast courage in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances.

Let us be honest about the state of families today. In India, I have witnessed families torn apart by economic necessity — fathers working construction in distant cities while mothers raise children alone in rural villages. Millions live below the poverty line, where family relationships are sacrificed on the altar of survival.

Consider also the single mothers who flee abusive relationships, working night shifts while raising terrified children. These are not isolated cases but symptoms of a global family breakdown that no policy alone can fix.

The digital age has only accelerated this crisis. Children are raised by screens while parents drown in work demands. Extended families fragment as migration separates generations. And when did we decide that commitment was optional?

The modern message that personal fulfillment trumps family obligation has left a trail of broken homes and wounded children.

This is precisely why Saint Joseph's example is so revolutionary today. Consider his situation: his fiancée is unexpectedly pregnant, not by him. In his cultural context, this was catastrophic — grounds for public shame and even stoning.

Yet Scripture tells us this "righteous man" chose mercy over judgment, deciding to divorce Mary quietly rather than expose her to shame.

But what happens next reveals why Joseph is the hero our families need. When an angel explains God's plan in a dream, Joseph does something radical: he believes. He takes Mary as his wife, embracing a child not biologically his own, accepting public misunderstanding and ridicule.

In a culture obsessed with DNA tests and biological rights, Joseph's example is counter-cultural. He shows us that true fatherhood is not about genetics but about presence and sacrifice.

If more men followed Joseph's example of stepping up rather than stepping away when families face crisis, we would see transformation in our communities. Joseph offers an alternative to the epidemic of absent fathers and wounded homes.

Joseph's protective instinct is another quality our families desperately need to reclaim. When Herod threatens Jesus, Joseph does not form a committee or wait for perfect circumstances — he acts immediately, fleeing to Egypt in the middle of the night.

In our safety-obsessed culture where parents bubble-wrap childhoods but fail to protect against real spiritual and moral dangers, Joseph's vigilance is refreshing.

I have seen too many parents who shield their children from every physical risk while leaving them exposed to digital predators, destructive ideologies, and moral confusion.

True protection requires Joseph's courage to make difficult, counter-cultural decisions — like families who limit screen time and prioritize faith formation despite ridicule from more "progressive" relatives.

I am particularly struck by how Joseph's work ethic challenges our culture's dysfunctional relationship with labor. As a carpenter, Joseph did not have a glamorous career or impressive title. Yet his simple trade supported the Holy Family and taught Jesus a skill.

This stands in stark contrast to our status-obsessed culture where parents work punishing hours for lifestyle upgrades while missing their children's formative years.

Joseph reminds us that work should serve family, not the other way around. His example calls us to examine whether our careers have become idols demanding family sacrifice rather than tools supporting family flourishing.

The small shop owner who refuses to expand his business, because it would cost him evening meals with his children, makes a Josephite decision our workaholic culture desperately needs.

Perhaps most relevant to today's anxious parents is Joseph's role in Jesus's formation. He did not focus narrowly on the equivalent of standardized tests or college admissions — instead, Scripture tells us Jesus "increased in wisdom and stature" under Joseph's guidance.

Our educational obsessions have reduced formation to test scores and grades while neglecting character, wisdom, and spiritual development.

Joseph taught Jesus not just carpentry skills but the Jewish Scriptures, cultural traditions, and moral framework. This challenges our over-specialized, outsourced approach to child development where soccer goes to the coach, math to the tutor, and moral formation to ... well, often nobody.

Joseph's comprehensive approach to formation offers a corrective to our fragmented educational vision.

I am not suggesting a nostalgic return to some idealized past. Rather, Saint Joseph offers a timeless counter-narrative to our culture's failed family experiments. His virtues of courageous protection, dignified work, comprehensive formation, and faithful presence are precisely what our wounded families lack.

The families I have seen flourish despite adversity — whether in India's slums or America's struggling neighborhoods — share these Josephite qualities. They prioritize presence over convenience, protection over popularity, formation over entertainment, and commitment over personal preference.

As Saint Joseph's feast approaches, we face a choice: continue down our current path of family disintegration or embrace Joseph's radical alternative. I believe our families do not need more freedom from commitment but rather the freedom that comes through commitment — the kind Joseph modeled in his quiet, steadfast care for Mary and Jesus.

Our families are too important, and too fragile, to settle for anything less than Joseph's example of sacrificial love. In a culture that celebrates convenience over commitment, Joseph stands as a revolutionary figure — one whose feast day should inspire not just Catholic devotion but a profound rethinking of how we approach family life in our troubled times.

*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.