Understanding a father’s role is the challenge of our time, said Deborah Savage, a professor of philosophy and pastoral ministry at The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.
Savage joined “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley for the March 26 show to discuss St. Joseph as the faithful’s spiritual father — a peek at the talk that will launch online April 6 as part of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ “Cuppa Joe” series. The 10-part series focuses on the wonders of St. Joseph, as described in a book about the saint by Father Don Calloway.
Deborah Savage
Men are under attack in today’s culture in many ways, Savage said. Traditional masculinity, from opening doors for women to lifting heavy objects to going to war and saving people from floods — are called forms of ‘toxic masculinity,’ she said. “It’s such a dangerous movement or thought, ideology, because the truth is that if it weren’t for men, we’d still be living in caves,” she said. “The male of the species is responsible for the fact that civilizations were preserved and advanced, and that the families were protected and flourished.”
Savage said St. Joseph will do precisely what a regular father does, except on a spiritual level. “He protects, he leads the family,” she said. “He provides, he shares his wisdom. He models certain types of behavior, he models manliness for Jesus, and just as a father would for his sons.”
She added that a spiritual father is someone who cares about a person’s spiritual well-being, about the soul, and is attracted to that and wants more spiritual well-being for each person. It’s a matter of prayer, of course, she said, “but if you listen carefully and you pray to St. Joseph, you can feel his protective mantle descend on you. You can feel his hope for you. He’s your spiritual father.”
St. Joseph “wasn’t some random guy” that Mary wanted for her child’s father, Savage said. “It was really an encounter of the most profound kind.” Mary is without sin, she sees Joseph and says yes to him. “You can be sure that Joseph had similar qualities,” Savage said. “Like recognizes like, you know, so he doesn’t have the same power or place in the Incarnation, but he has a place.”
Savage said St. John Paul II was fascinated by two features of St. Joseph. To learn what they are, tune in to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show. It airs 9 p.m. March 26, 1 p.m. March 27 and 2 p.m. March 28 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. For more information on the “Cuppa Joe” series, visit archspm.org/cuppajoe.
“Practicing Catholic” is produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Other guests interviewed on the March 26 show are Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who describes how a belief in Jesus can overcome a fear of death, and Johan van Parys, who discusses the Stations of the Cross.
Listen to their interviews after they have aired:
soundcloud.com/practicingcatholic
Practicing Catholic on Spotify
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