The Lion and the Lamb
The Virtues of Humility and Courage as Practiced by Saint Joseph
Happy Saint Joseph’s Day!
You might think that my writing today was planned, but it is, in fact, by happy accident that my turn in the writing cycle falls on the feast of my namesake, Saint Joseph. With that being said, you have likely deduced the topic of this article! Considering much, if not almost all, of TBB readership is comprised of Catholics/Christians, I am not going to sit here and tell you about a character with whom we are all quite familiar. Rather, I would like to contemplate why the figure of Saint Joseph is the remedy to the malady of modern men.
In the world, it seems there are two extremes regarding manhood; the first is the typical, testosterone-driven Übermensch, who wills his way through everything, usually at the expense of those around him; the second is the pusillanimous man, who has been bent by his lack of conviction, losing his dignity and ability to act. The former is what we might call in modernity, “toxic masculinity”, and the latter are those who let themselves be beat down by the toxic masculinity mantra. Although my fellow contributor, Peter Cermak, might disagree with my using the Aristotelian framework, I believe the virtue lies in the mean of these two extremes. Equipped with both courage and humility, Saint Joseph shows us how to ensure that we do not fall into either extremity and attain true magnanimity.
In regard to the first extreme, we’ll call him the braggadocious man, the contrast to Saint Joseph is quite clear. Perhaps the most obvious example of this contrast is that, although he is mentioned in the Bible many times, there is no recording of him ever saying a word. He does not seek the foreground, but, humbly, and obediently works in the background to create and uphold an environment in which Jesus and Mary could live. This is not to say that the braggadocious man does not also work to create and uphold certain things, even good things, but his modus operandi is driven by success for success’s sake and self-glorification. When one’s actions are determined by such a motive, the grace in the action is corrupted. The only remedy to such self-motivated inspiration is humility, as seen and practiced by Saint Joseph. Such humility is not to be compared to weakness, for weakness is merely the avoidance of something challenging. True humility aids in determining exactly what one must do. True humility is a realization of one’s role in the grand scheme of creation and the providential plan God has in place for you and me.
Humility as we have just described it then, plays a role complementary to courage. As determined above, humility is the virtue which deters us from becoming like the braggadocious man; the man, who we might say, does not understand his role in the grand scheme of life. Thus, he finds that he must determine and will his own meaning out of the nothingness. On the other side of the spectrum lies the pusillanimous man. He has what some might observe as a kind of humility, a low view of his own importance. Internet definitions of humility are essentially this: “a modest or low view of one’s own importance.” This definition is flawed. It denotes a certain self-deprecation and focuses on importance. If such were the case, then many a man, still living in his parent’s basement and wasting his life away could be seen as humble. Nay, such is not humility, but is instead what we stated above, more so an avoidance of that which is challenging. That challenge is the very thing one realizes one must face when one humbly understands his or her role in the providential plan of God. Having realized the challenge and one’s minuteness, humility then beckons courage to its aid. Saint Joseph, having realized and accepted what God was calling him to do in his dream, most certainly turned to God and prayed for courage.
In a word, Saint Joseph is the embodiment of that seemingly paradoxical humility which is necessary for courage. And in the same way, the embodiment of that seemingly paradoxical courage which is necessary for humility. The interplay between the two are essential if we are to live out that virtuous kind of extreme that is itself the mean between pride and pusillanimity. I hope and pray that each of us can look to Saint Joseph to learn how to live out the virtues of humility and courage, using them as walking sticks, so as not to fall into the traps of pride nor pusillanimity. In doing so, we too can be protectors of the Truth incarnate, Jesus Christ.
“Joseph's faith does not falter, he obeys quickly and to the letter. To understand this lesson better, we should remember that Joseph's faith is active, that his docility is not a passive submission to the course of events. For the Christian's faith has nothing whatever to do with conformity, inertia or lack of initiative.” — St. Josemaria Escriva