So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him. Male and female He created them." Gen 1:27

There is only one reason for maturing into the man God calls each of us to be. That sole reason, that sole purpose, is to love, know and serve God - to be transformed completely in Jesus Christ. Rather, to let Him live perfectly in us. To this end, we look to Jesus Christ as our fountain of grace, as our model of Faith, Hope, and Charity. Union with Him is the ultimate goal in our lives, yet He is also the Truth which we seek and the One Who leads us every step along the journey. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, being fully God, emptied Himself to become fully man, and chose to learn how to be a man from a humble carpenter - St. Joseph. Though we have no record of his words in the Gospel accounts, St. Joseph was a man of action, seeking only to do God's Will. His life consisted of raising and loving as his own the Eternal Son of God, and caring for Our Lady, the Mother of God. He personified every virtue - most notably obedience to the will of God, humility, fortitude, chastity, faith, hope, and finally charity.

We humbly beg St. Joseph to accept us as his lowly apprentices, that he may teach us the ways of manhood in all things, as he taught Our Lord. We submit ourselves to his holy patronage, his loving guidance, recognizing that he is the instrument through which Christ will fully transform our lives. As apprentices of St. Joseph, we humbly accept the challenge to love Our Lady as he did - with all honor and reverence. We have a special devotion to her under her glorious title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Protectress of the Unborn and Patroness of the Americas. We will endeavor also to honor all women as reflections of Our Lady, the masterpiece of God's creation, so as to see all women as the "Flowers of Christendom"*. Finally, it is imperative that we see our household brotherhood as the manifestation of our individual journeys towards personal holiness. At this moment, and every moment afterward, let this covenant be the commitment of the Apprentices of St. Joseph, that we may follow perfectly the command of our Most Holy Mother Church...

ITE AD JOSEPH.

* Schmidt, Fr. George T., The Catholic American. Benzinger Brothers, Cincinnati. © 1920.