‘Model of Discipleship’

MADISON  Perhaps St. Joseph envisioned a quieter life for his later years. It’s safe to presume that the saint’s “bucket list” of life goals to accomplish wouldn’t have included the unlikely plans that God dreamt up for him: being married to a young woman, pregnant with a child that’s not his, and helping raise that child, a son, who would grow up to become the Savior of the world.

That salvation history took place in part, because Mary said “yes” to God’s plan for her to give birth to the Christ Child, but also because Joseph had the humility to surrender to God’s will — a decision that ultimately led to enriching all of humanity beyond his wildest dreams, said Father Jared Brogan, director of the Diocese’s Office of Worship. He explored Joseph’s humility as one of four qualities he possessed for Christians to emulate — along with being compassionate, righteous, and just; being a builder; and being a dreamer — during “Joseph: Model of Discipleship,” a presentation he gave at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangeli­zation here.

“We don’t have a lot of information about Joseph — only the little that’s written in Scripture, along with Catholic tradition and insights from theologians. Yet, his example shows us that people can find true peace by discerning God’s will and then acting on it,” said Father Brogan, who conducted the two-hour talk through videoconference. It was part of “Catholicism from Scratch,” St. Paul’s long-running formation series to give Catholics a refresher on the basics of their faith. “Using these four qualities, we can bring discipleship to our families, our parishes and ultimately the world,” he said.

Father Brogan’s talk was among numerous activities planned for the Church of Paterson on the diocesan, parish, and individual levels to observe the Year of St. Joseph, part of celebrations of the saint that are taking place throughout the Universal Church by decree of Pope Francis through Dec. 8. These activities will give local Catholics numerous opportunities to honor and be inspired by the faithful example of St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, for the observance, which began last year on Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. For a list of activities in the Diocese, click here.

In his talk in January, Father Brogan explored St. Joseph’s quality of humility, saying that he demonstrated “emotional and spiritual maturity” in accepting that God’s plan for him later in life was different from his plan.

“Joseph didn’t have a full explanation of the Lord’s plan but had a belief that God’s hand is in everything and that things may not always work out the way I want, but it will be OK,” said Father Brogan, who quoted Scripture, theologians and popes, including Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter, Patris Corde (With a Father’s Heart), issued to open the Year of St. Joseph. “Often in life, things happen whose meaning we do not understand. Our first reaction is frequently one of disappointment and rebellion. Joseph set aside his own ideas in order to accept the course of events and, mysterious as they seemed, to embrace them, take responsibility for them and make them part of his own history. Only as a result of this acceptance, this reconciliation, can we begin to glimpse a broader history, a deeper meaning,” said Father Brogan, quoting Pope Francis.

After examining each of St. Joseph’s qualities, Father Brogan posed a series of questions to audience members to deepen their faith and inspire them to greater discipleship. For humility, he asked questions, such as “How am I courageously proactive?”, “Do I lead or do I follow?”, and “How does my humility allow or prevent me to minister in my parish?”

St. Joseph demonstrated another quality — being compassionate, righteous, and just — while betrothed to the Blessed Virgin Mary. By Jewish law, they were married but not living together. Because she was pregnant, Mary would have been considered an adulterer in the eyes of the law and then would have been stoned to death. So Joseph remained married to her, “unwilling to expose her to the law.” He respected the law but was not bound by it, the priest said.

“Joseph chose the path of compassion,” Father Brogan said. “This probably affected Jesus, who acted with compassion towards people, such as the Woman at the Well, Mary Magdalene and the Good Samaritan,” he said.

Also, Joseph possessed the quality of being a builder, having given himself totally and faithfully in building a “family, home and a domestic Church, where Jesus was raised in the faith,” said Father Brogan.

“For us to build up the Church here and now requires us giving the gift of self and service. Joseph did that over and over as a gifted giver to Jesus, Mary, and others, building up the faith and sanctifying himself and others,” Father Brogan said. The saint, he said, worked in an “aura of silence,” according to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

As a dreamer, another important quality, Joseph had the ability to discern God’s will through visits by an angel in four dreams he envisioned. Then he acted on it in taking Mary as his wife, fleeing to Egypt, returning to Bethlehem and going to Nazareth, Father Brogan said.

“We must be able to discern God’s message and what it demands of us — where the hand of God is pushing us in our big decisions, such as vocations and jobs, and in our small ones,” Father Brogan said.

That comment prompted one participant, Jane Devlin of St. Paul’s, to interject that we must aspire to “travel in a virtue of hope — to hear the divine message and then carry it out.”

Afterward, Father Paul Manning, St. Paul’s executive director who introduced Father Brogan before the talk, called his presentation “an engaging and thoughtful beginning to our Year of St. Joseph observances focused on the foster father of Jesus.”

“I especially liked the way Father Jared applied aspects of Joseph’s profile and character to our own spiritual life,” said Father Manning, who also serves as diocesan vicar for evangelization and is part of the committee coordinating the Year of St. Joseph activities for the Diocese.