St. Joseph's example should be model for Catholic men, bishop teaches

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mar 23, 2011 / 11:54 am

Bishop Jorge Lozano of Gualeguaychu, Argentina is urging Catholic men to learn from St. Joseph, rather than the examples of masculinity the world embraces today.

“Sometimes the image we have of a real man is a fuzzy caricature of the ideal: having lots of money, enjoying many women, having no commitments,” the bishop wrote in his weekly column on March 20.

His article was published in the newspaper “Cronica.”

“Some say the current crisis in society has to do with a crisis among men,” the bishop continued.

“In reality, we are at a time in which the roles of men and women in the family and in society are being redefined,” he said. “When this dimension of complementarity (between men and women) is lost, we run the risk of turning each other into ‘things’ and losing respect for the qualities proper to each sex and that make up the person,” the bishop wrote.

“We can end up superficially trivializing each other and valuing our bodies as if they were a reality disconnected from our histories and our families,” he added.

St. Joseph “was humble, simple and quiet. He saw himself as part of a people and understood its history. He awaited the fulfillment of the promises made by God centuries before,” Bishop Lozano noted.

“God spoke to him in dreams, and St. Joseph knew how to listen and let himself be guided. He was a migrant because of the persecution of Herod. He earned his living by working with his hands. He was a simple man with unique treasures under his care: his life and the lives of his loved ones.

“Tell me, beloved reader: Is St. Joseph very different from you?” the bishop asked.