“Joseph loved Jesus as a father loves his son and showed his love by giving him the best he had. Joseph, caring for the child as he had been commanded, made Jesus a craftsman, transmitting his own professional skill to him. So the neighbors of Nazareth will call Jesus both faber and fabri filius: the craftsman and the son of the craftsman. Jesus worked in Joseph’s workshop and by Joseph’s side. What must Joseph have been, how grace must have worked through him, that he should be able to fulfil this task of the human upbringing of the Son of God!”~ St. Josemaria Escriva

When the Lord suddenly Saved me from a desolate life of pornography and promiscuity, I instinctively knew that this woundedness rested firmly in a failure to grasp my innate sense of masculinity. Therefore, I was naturally drawn, but also frightened of God the Father and God the Son. In my mind, they were both supremely distant and judgmental. I could never lift my eyes to them; I was too filled with hatred, self-emasculation, and pride. I felt like a queer eunuch; someone who should have gotten blown-up at Sodom and Gomorrah. What was I doing here? Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I experienced a strong pull towards St. Joseph. I didn’t know why. During prayer and meditation, I saw myself at the doorway to the carpenter’s shop: standing back, watching, and listening. I longed to go inside. I could see Joseph steadily working and I wanted to be with him. He was a little older than me, vigorous, and manly. He was everything I always wanted to be; and everything I always sought in other men. Yet, he was divinely pure and incredibly serene. Slowly, he invited me join him. Just being with him healed me. For, Christ had given me His earthly father. He wanted me to grow-up as He did: protected, uncorrupted, and unafraid.

*To all men with addictions to pornography; with sexual dysfunction; or with feelings of same-sex attraction – I implore you to go to St. Joseph. Read the mystical works of Venerable Maria of Agreda and Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich; also, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Josemaria Escriva, and Blessed John Paul II wrote and spoke extensively about St. Joseph. Ask for his intercession; meditate upon his life, and he will bid you to work with him – but not in building some chair or table, but on rebuilding your soul.