Strong, Silent Type

Following the example of St. Joseph

03/20/2023

Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

Have you ever heard the expression “strong silent type”? It means that a certain person does not talk much, they are often silent, but they possess an inner strength of character that does not require words. That is, their actions speak louder than their words. Now, this character-type can be very frustrating to women, who wish men would open their mouths and be the “strong talking type” instead. Women ask: “Why don’t you tell me how you feel???” Sorry, ladies, you cannot have everything in one man.

Well, no man in history has epitomized the strong silent type character better than St. Joseph, whose solemnity we celebrate every March 19. This year, however, March 19 fell on a Sunday of Lent, which takes liturgical precedence. So, St. Joseph’s feast was moved to Monday, March 20. Why? Well, because St. Joseph is too huge a star in the constellation of Christ’s saints that we cannot omit his feast day. Even though some women are frustrated by men who are the strong silent type, the Church holds one such man up as a model for the whole Church to emulate, and never misses his feast day, or a chance to learn something from this unsung saint.

Now, the reason I say he is the proto-typical strong silent type is because St. Joseph never utters one word in the whole Bible. Now that should surprise us because he plays a critical role in the entrance of Jesus the Messiah onto the stage of salvation history. But even more than saving the Baby Jesus from the clutches of King Herod (like the Mandalorian saved Baby Yoda), St. Joseph raises Jesus in Nazareth, and teaches him the trade of carpentry.

We can only speculate on how St. Joseph passed on his carpentry skills to Jesus. Those years are entirely omitted from the Bible. But if I had to guess, St. Joseph did it more by actions than words. In other words, St. Joseph had the exact opposite philosophy of lesser examples of manhood, where men tell their children, “Do what I say, not what I do.” That is, don’t follow my poor example. St. Joseph was not armchair quarterback. He led by example, first and foremost.

And furthermore, I cannot help but wonder if in those long hours of quiet contemplation of carpentry, slowly working the wood with loving and nimble fingers to take the form of tables and chairs and plows, there was ample time for prayer. And here we touch on the taproot of St. Joseph’s real strength as the strong silent type. It wasn’t that he had bulging muscles, although he must have been physically fit and strong, more like a triathlete than a body builder. His muscles were for action, not for admiration.

As a result, while his body was at work, his mind and heart were absorbed in prayer. When you close your mouth, you open your mind and heart. And so it should not surprise us when we read in Luke 6:12, “In those days, Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.” We can ask the natural question, “Where did Jesus learn to pray like that?”

And even though he was fully God, he was also fully human, and like all human beings we learn to pray by watching our mothers and fathers pray. So too our Lord. Just like St. Joseph, Jesus had discovered that true strength comes from sustained and frequent prayer. And he had learned that lesson of contemplative prayer from the example of his foster-father, St. Joseph, the strong silent type. When your mouth is closed your mind and heart are open, and speak to God in profound prayer.

My friends, does is surprise you, then, that St. Joseph is the patron saint of the whole universal Church? Just like he guarded and protected May and Jesus 2000 years ago, so today he guards and protects the Church, the Body of Christ through his intercessory prayers. What he once did with the Head (Jesus), he now does with the Body (the Church).

He is also the patron saint of workers, those who earn their living by honest labor, and offer the fruit of their labors as their sacrifice to God by improving the human community. St. Joseph the Worker’s feast day is celebrated on May 1. And today’s feast on March 19 is called "St. Joseph, the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary." So, we hope all the ladies will understand when we men are quiet and don’t say too much. We are just following the example of our patron, St. Joseph, the strong, silent type.

Praised be Jesus Christ!