Romans 8:12-17
Brothers and sisters, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry "Abba, Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
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The deep spiritual closeness arising from marital union and the interpersonal contact between man and woman have their definitive origin in the Spirit, the Giver of Life. Joseph, in obedience to the Spirit, found in the Spirit the source of love, the conjugal love which he experienced as a man. And this love proved to be greater than this "just man" could ever have expected within the limits of his human heart.
-Pope St. John Paul II
Redemptoris Custos,
Were (the artists who depicted St. Joseph as a very old man) what Pope St. John Paul II called "masters of suspicion" in his Theology of the Body (people whose hearts cannot see purity and projects impurity onto others)?
. . . St. Joseph was a man who possessed natural desires toward what is true, good, and beautiful . . . Day in and day out, Joseph was surrounded by perfect femininity. But more than that, he loved and was loved by perfect femininity! As a true man, St. Joseph lived (maybe more than any other man) perfect self-mastery. Daily, he ordered his passions, his attractions toward Our Lady toward love.
. . . Self-mastery needs attraction and passion to order. The real St. Joseph had these qualities, and he had them for Our Lady, as her husband, as a man would. It was in this experience of authentic masculinity that the true power of his self-mastery was opened to the world.
An Integrated Look at the Holy Family
(pp. 45-46)
Bottaro and Settle
CCC 1804: The virtuous man is he who freely practices the good.
How freely do you practice the good of self-mastery?
In as much as I reject the pull of my own will for passing things of this world, I know I can practice self-mastery.
What keeps you from freely living a life of virtue?
There are many distracting consumerist messages around me embedded in addictive social media platforms and psychologically manipulative app algorithms that lead me out of self-mastery.
On a deeper level, I still carry the mom- and dad-wounds from my childhood that block me from true healing. Healing comes with it a sense of equanimity, that others' words or behaviors won't compel me to hide myself from God and other people or forget the Way to life and union with God that my spiritual guides and the Church have taught me.
What are areas of your life that are in need of ordering?
- Vocational discernment
- The steadfast toil of work
- My impenetrable identity as a child of God the Father
How has your understanding of the lived experience of St. Joseph, man and husband, changed?
I have greater awe for the great example of self-mastery and love that St. Joseph showed to his spouse Jesus. I admire the fidelity with which he lived in taking on the responsibilities entrusted to him by God the Father. I take joy in the special closeness he found living so close to the Holy Spirit, Who was and is united to Mary.
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