The goals of the initiative are to sanctify and promote the dignity of work in society and to serve the needs of the Church and society through corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
Newsroom (02/01/2022 8:53 AM, Gaudium Press) The Catholic Church in the Philippines has officially established the ‘Men of St. Joseph’ (MOSJ), a lay Catholic association of men committed to Our Lord Jesus Christ and consecrated to his adoptive father.
The ceremony took place after the national consecration of Filipino families to St. Joseph, presided over by the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, at the San Roque Cathedral in Caloocan City.
Objective of the association of the ‘Men of Saint Joseph
This new movement, a collaborative initiative of the CBCP, the Philippine Lay Council and the Oblates of St. Joseph (OSJ), is the Bishops’ response to Pope Francis’ call in his apostolic letter, Patris Corde, urging the Church to “reflect on the role of St. Joseph in the care and love of our Savior with the heart of the Father.”
The priest in charge of MOSJ, Father Erwin Mendoza, said that this initiative aims to “increase our love for this great saint, to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtues and his zeal.”
Sanctifying work and promoting the dignity of work in society
According to him, the objectives aimed at are to “sanctify and promote the dignity of work in society and to serve the needs of the Church and society through corporal and spiritual works of mercy.”
To become a member of the organization one need only be a Catholic male who is at least eighteen years of age, willing to learn, and committed to imitating the virtues of St. Joseph. MOSJ is one of the CBCP’s legacies for the Year of St. Joseph, which concluded past December 8, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (EPC)
Compiled by Camille Mittermeier
