Today, calling a man the “head” of the family is frowned upon.

God is not worried about political correctness, however. He established the family and designated that fathers be the heads of their families. Now, this doesn’t mean that men are better than women. The greatest human person who ever lived was not a man, but a woman — Mary, the Mother of God. (Jesus is a divine Person.)

Jesus and Mary both delighted in the headship of St. Joseph in their home.

Why are many people offended by such terminology today? Sadly, it often stems from having been emotionally, physical, or sexually abused by a father figure. Such abuse breaks the heart of God. Yet the crisis in manhood can be corrected if men begin to imitate St. Joseph. His fatherly example shows that strength, authority, and headship are meant to be at the service of others.

In Joseph, heads of the household are blessed with the unsurpassed model of fatherly watchfulness and care.

— Pope Leo XIII

HUSBAND AND FATHERS NEED TO IMITATE ST. JOSEPH. Families around the world will experience a revolution of holiness if husbands imitate St. Joseph. Important passages in the New Testament will no longer be seen as offensive but life-giving.

Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body. As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. So [also] husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and [his] mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church. In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

— Eph 5:22-33

MAKE ST. JOSEPH THE SPIRITUAL HEAD OF YOUR FAMILY.

Obtain a statue or a beautiful image of St. Joseph for your home. Place it in a prominent location and frequently invoke the intercession of St. Joseph as a family. You will see the difference St. Joseph makes.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, the sacrament which unites you to each other, unites you in Christ! It unites you with Christ! “This mystery is a profound one!” (Eph 5:32). He comes to you and is present in your midst and dwells in your souls. In your families! In your homes! Saint Joseph was well aware of this. For this reason he did not hesitate to entrust himself and his family to God. By virtue of this trust he completely fulfilled his mission, entrusted to him by God for the sake of Mary and his son. Supported by the example and protection of St. Joseph, offer a constant witness of devotion and generosity.

— St. John Paul II

Read “The Holy House of Loreto”

Pray the Litany of St. Joseph

“Used with permission of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Stockbridge, MA USA.”