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The Imitation of Saint Joseph
The Church is a city set on a hill and on that hill there is a lighthouse. The Church directs her light this way and that as occasion warrants. That we might not make a shipwreck of our faith (see 1 Tm 1:19), she illuminates dangerous crags and reefs when all the world would tell us the water is clear.
Each age has its heresies, and ours is a hatred of origin, of fatherhood. But if we come from somewhere and someone, we cannot be self-made. As an anchor against the wave of patricide, a light in the darkness of our age, the Church has been fixing her light, ever increasingly, on Saint Joseph. It is him to whom we look. He is who we must imitate.
But how can we imitate that which we do not know? How do we speak about one whose words are not recorded? How do we attempt to look like one whose visage has never been captured?
It will do no good to pin virtues onto Joseph as if he were no more than a mannequin. He was and is a fact and he was and is a man, a righteous man. How can we see him?
In this illuminating work, Fr. Matthew Kauth opens our eyes to what Joseph saw, so that we might imitate what he imitated.Part I examines the teachings of Aquinas to help us understand the depths of our human nature and why we come to love some things more than others, and what it means to imitate that which we love, for better or for worse.Part II looks back at Joseph’s lineage, providing a sweeping tour of salvation history and the patriarchs of the Old Testament, showing how Joseph was their fulfillment.Part III brings us inside the life of the Holy Family, taking us along for their harrowing journeys to Bethlehem and Egypt, and their daily life in Nazareth, to show us how growing closer to Joseph and imitating him binds us to the hearts of Jesus and Mary.Part IV closes with a look at our lives today and the life of the Church, and the challenges we face to live a life of virtue in a fallen world, imploring us to turn to Joseph, the Patron of the Universal Church. In these pages, a true image of Joseph begins to emerge from obscurity. Silence itself begins to speak eloquently.
Go therefore to Joseph. Imitate what you see. And live without fear under the patronage of our just father.
Each age has its heresies, and ours is a hatred of origin, of fatherhood. But if we come from somewhere and someone, we cannot be self-made. As an anchor against the wave of patricide, a light in the darkness of our age, the Church has been fixing her light, ever increasingly, on Saint Joseph. It is him to whom we look. He is who we must imitate.
But how can we imitate that which we do not know? How do we speak about one whose words are not recorded? How do we attempt to look like one whose visage has never been captured?
It will do no good to pin virtues onto Joseph as if he were no more than a mannequin. He was and is a fact and he was and is a man, a righteous man. How can we see him?
In this illuminating work, Fr. Matthew Kauth opens our eyes to what Joseph saw, so that we might imitate what he imitated.Part I examines the teachings of Aquinas to help us understand the depths of our human nature and why we come to love some things more than others, and what it means to imitate that which we love, for better or for worse.Part II looks back at Joseph’s lineage, providing a sweeping tour of salvation history and the patriarchs of the Old Testament, showing how Joseph was their fulfillment.Part III brings us inside the life of the Holy Family, taking us along for their harrowing journeys to Bethlehem and Egypt, and their daily life in Nazareth, to show us how growing closer to Joseph and imitating him binds us to the hearts of Jesus and Mary.Part IV closes with a look at our lives today and the life of the Church, and the challenges we face to live a life of virtue in a fallen world, imploring us to turn to Joseph, the Patron of the Universal Church. In these pages, a true image of Joseph begins to emerge from obscurity. Silence itself begins to speak eloquently.
Go therefore to Joseph. Imitate what you see. And live without fear under the patronage of our just father.
177 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 27, 2022
21 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 11, 2023
Great book! Every man should read this before getting married
July 12, 2024
Every man who feels called to the vocation of fatherhood should read this.
This book shows how St Joseph is the summation of his fathers before him- Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and David.
All men are the sum of the men that came before them. What men teach their sons, and how they live, passes on to the next.
From these prophets and saints we see what sort of man that Joseph was. And how he fulfilled their work in being the earthly father of Jesus. In rescuing the holy family by fleeing to Egypt without complaining or reasoning why. In caring for Christ the child. In loving the blessed mother.
St Joseph is a wonderful example of what a man should be. Though he says little in the Bible, we learn a lot from what he does.
Cannot recommend enough
This book shows how St Joseph is the summation of his fathers before him- Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and David.
All men are the sum of the men that came before them. What men teach their sons, and how they live, passes on to the next.
From these prophets and saints we see what sort of man that Joseph was. And how he fulfilled their work in being the earthly father of Jesus. In rescuing the holy family by fleeing to Egypt without complaining or reasoning why. In caring for Christ the child. In loving the blessed mother.
St Joseph is a wonderful example of what a man should be. Though he says little in the Bible, we learn a lot from what he does.
Cannot recommend enough
January 9, 2025
Fr Matthew Kauth is truly a man who knew the mind of Joseph. A beautiful book with an intimate look at the Holy Family from St Joseph’s point of view. It is clearly the result of a lot of thought, prayer, and Lectio Divina. I would recommend this book to anyone who seeks to develop a devotion to Saint Joseph.
December 21, 2025
I absolutely agree with the core concept of this work. St. Joseph is the model fatherhood, self denial/sacrifice in fatherhood, and marriage. However, I found some of Fr. Kauth's musings, modern theology, and liberal use post concilliar Scriptural passages to be grating and cringe-worthy at some points.
March 23, 2025
Makes the reader think about Saint Joseph in a new way. Easy book to pray with along the way. Would highly recommend to all fathers but good for anyone who wants to think more deeply about Saint Joseph in ways you never have before.
April 4, 2025
This was written so beautifully
This book is truly beautiful. It’s poetic and philosophical and spiritually edifying. I found everything he wrote to be grounded in scripture and truth and yet allowed me to see scripture from a whole new perspective
This book is truly beautiful. It’s poetic and philosophical and spiritually edifying. I found everything he wrote to be grounded in scripture and truth and yet allowed me to see scripture from a whole new perspective
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews