“Consecration to St. Joseph will make you a Knight of the Holy Queen.”
“First, we need the spiritual fatherhood of St. Joseph to help us protect marriage and the family. Marriage and the family have always been under attack, but in modern times, the threats have reached extraordinary heights. Many people no longer know what it means to be a man or a woman, let alone what constitutes a marriage and a family.” Calloway, Donald H.. Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father (p. 11).
Since the so called “sexual revolution,” the institution of marriage has lost its importance in society. Many couples do not bother with marriage, seeing it as only a piece of paper. The advent of “no fault” divorce has further weakened the marriage commitment.
“The percentage of households with a married couple peaked 75 years ago: in 1949, it was 78.8%. That percentage has been below 50.0% since 2010, when the rate was 49.7%. In other words, less than half of American households have included a married couple for over a decade.” (from USAFacts)
This accompanies the decline in church attendance. If a couple does not attend a church where marriage is taught as a Catholic sacrament, or at least a covenant relationship in Protestant churches, they have little reason to have a ceremony. Many men have an aversion to commitment as well, and many women are wary of men’s motives in relationships anyway. What used to be marriage, making a home together, then having children has twisted around to making a home together, having children, then getting married. A large percentage of men under age 30 still live at home with their parents, don’t have a job, and don’t have a girlfriend. They are content to avoid responsibility by spending their days gaming and looking at porn online.
It is the responsibility of fathers to teach their sons and daughters about love and marriage, yet many leave all teaching to the school system, which is increasingly liberal and progressive. More and more children claim to have gender dysphoria which is celebrated by their teachers and peers. These kids are encouraged to act on their delusions and eventually have surgery to get their bodies to match their emotional state. Before puberty, many children do not fit into neat categories of gender roles, and after puberty these issues are normally resolved. Those who go ahead with surgical or medical intervention may come to regret their choices when they realize they will never be married and have children.
St. Joseph gives us a wonderful example of fatherhood, and we in turn can teach that to young men. The Knights of St. Michael can study this book and be encouraged to raise sons and daughters that grow into Christian families for the glory of God.