Being a Man

What comes to your mind when you hear “living freely?” Living freely does not mean living without pain or suffering, but it does mean embracing them. We may have a tendency to want to hide those pains and sufferings because we are taught that we ought to be ashamed of them and that any appearance of pain is a sure sign of weakness. Hiding your pain and suffering is weakness. Embracing them and owning them is strength and freedom. Jesus did not hide His pain. He cried. He wept. He grimaced. Jesus embraced His suffering because He knew somehow that the Father was going to bring about great good from it. So, how can we label as shameful or an embarrassment something through which God can bring great good?

We must not fear our weaknesses or our past. God knows them well and He will use them for good. The best example a father can give to his children is to show them that a real man loves and allows himself to be loved, and by doing so experiences pain and is not afraid to show it.  This Father’s Day may we turn to St. Joseph, who took care of Jesus and raised Him, and ask him to intercede for us, he who is the “terror of demons.”  Jesus will surely not deny anything St. Joseph asks of Him for it was he who taught Jesus what it means to be a man.

St. Joseph, pray for us!