ABOUT FOSJ The fathers of St. Joseph is a confraternity of men who follow the timeless wisdom and example of the man who was father to the Son and son of the Father. With St. Joseph as our leader, each father strives to become as he became – an icon of God the Father. As God the Father entrusted His Son to St. Joseph’s care, we also strive to entrust ourselves as children, who are fathers, to this father who will teach us to father, and lead us to the Father. This way of fatherhood is called Joseph’s Way – The Call to Fatherly Greatness.

Join us on this journey to discover the power of authentic fatherhood. OUR PURPOSE Among the most serious crises facing human civilization is the famine of fatherhood. Children, families, the Church and our world are hungering, if not starving, for true fathers to re-enter the human drama and assist God in the mission of saving the world from self-destruction. Indeed, society goes by way of the family, and the family goes by way of the father. Lying at the center of the famine of fatherhood is a deeper crisis: the father’s loss of his identity. The human father has lost touch with his true identity, with his true mission and the person that God has created him to be. The human father knows little of himself because he knows God the Father so little. The human father’s identity leads not only to his destiny, but also, his family’s destiny. The human father, by assuming his identity as an icon of God the Father—an initiator of self-giving love—enables his family to achieve and receive its authentic identity, and assuming this identity, the human family can alter—for the better—the world’s destiny.

The Father’s of St. Joseph are committed to providing men the opportunity to gather around St. Joseph himself. To place his life and example at the center of our gatherings with the intention of discovering the timeless sanctity of the vocation of fatherhood, to learn the meaning of authentic fatherhood, to equip fathers to become the fathers God intends them to be by understanding and living the spirituality that enables St. Joseph to become a father on earth like the Father in heaven. The sole aim and purpose of The Fathers of St. Joseph is to labor for the restoration, revitalization and redemption of human fatherhood, in order that it may become what it has been created to be: an efficacious icon that directs the human family to its Father.

To discover the timeless sanctity of the vocation of fatherhood. To be taught and to teach the meaning of authentic fatherhood. To supply for the spiritual, familial or financial needs of our fellow fathers. To learn how to become an authentic father by becoming children of the Father. To become leaders who serve by following the Servant and Master Who leads. To immerse ourselves in the timeless wisdom, fatherly example and person of St. Joseph, the son of the Father and father of the Son. To learn how to encourage and edify our families in their pursuit of personal sanctity. To learn how to honor and cherish the dignity of our wives and all women by overcoming lust by means of receiving the redemptive power of Christ. CODE OF HONOR symbol-dignity PROTECT THE DIGNITY OF WOMAN As Joseph refused to expose Mary to shame so too we will become successful fathers by becoming guardians of the dignity and value of woman. symbol-trinity BECOME ICONS OF THE TRINITY The Holy Family became the first domestic church, an icon of the inner love or family life of the Trinity. As fathers we will strive to erect the domestic sanctuary and assist our family in becoming an icon of the life of the Trinity. symbol-authority ASSUME CHARITABLE AUTHORITY As fathers made in the image of the Father, we accept our position of ‘charitable authority’ over our household and like Joseph, the hidden Son of David – an underground king – we acknowledge our hidden kingship over our family. symbol-adopt SPIRITUALLY ADOPT OUR CHILDREN We are not mere biological fathers but rather choose to ‘spiritually adopt’ our children and commit ourselves to the fatherly experiences of ‘protecting, feeding and teaching’ and by means of these experiences grow in understanding of our dependence upon the generosity of God the Father. symbol-dignity WORK AS EXPRESSION OF LOVE Working side by side with our children, we will teach them the art of self-giving love. Like Joseph and Jesus who crafted the cross of self-giving love within the workshop at Nazareth, by means of work, we will provide our children the necessary materials to build the temple of the Holy Spirit – which they are.