The initial message of the angel to St. Joseph in his dream must have come as a jolt (see Mt 1:20). If he obeyed the angel, he would marry a woman whose heart, soul and body were entirely claimed by, and given exclusively to, God. Who was Joseph of Nazareth to lead a wife who was so holy and be the head of a family whose child was conceived by the Holy Spirit? How could he lead those who were better than him?
The Bible never says that Joseph knew how to lead his Holy Family, but he led them all the same. He made decisions that needed to be made — saving the life of the Savior from Herod’s scourge. He provided daily for his family — giving bread to feed the boy who would one day give his Body to feed the world. He loved his family — teaching the creator of the world how to live in it.
St. Joseph teaches us that leadership does not require superiority as much as it requires service. Leadership is not about giving what we do not have; rather, it is about giving everything that we do have. Like St. Joseph, sometimes we are called to just obey and lead, even if we feel unworthy or ill-equipped.
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FATHER NATHAN CROMLY, a priest in the Archdiocese of Denver, is president of the St. John Institute, author of Coached by St. Paul: Lessons in Transformation (Scepter Press, 2024) and a member of Msgr. Omer V. Foxhoven Council 14398 in Englewood, Colo.








