Encounter, Entrustment, and Witness Through Work
Karol Wojtyła and the Imitation of St. Joseph
Keywords:
imitation, family, work, fatherhood, masculinity, Karol Wojtyła, St. JosephAbstract
The goal of this article is to deepen appreciation for St. Joseph’s significance in human and Christian life and to encourage greater imitation of St. Joseph in light of that significance. This article does not intend to highlight all the personal virtues of this great saint or to explore in detail his relations to Christ Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Instead, after identifying the concept of imitation, the article examines the fundamental principle involved in imitating St. Joseph and considers several personal virtues that organically proceed from that principle. Although every man is called to imitate St. Joseph, this article considers such imitation particularly within the context of the ministerial (hierarchical) priesthood and priestly formation. In answering the question of what the imitation of St. Joseph truly entails, the article demonstrates that this imitation remains not only a suitable but also a feasible choice for the contemporary man, and especially the Christian. To accomplish this goal, the article draws primarily from the teaching of Karol Wojtyła prior to 1978.
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