“I don't agree with the traditional picture of St Joseph as an old man, even though it may have been prompted by a desire to emphasize the perpetual virginity of Mary. I see him as a strong young man, perhaps a few years older than our Lady, but in the prime of his life and work.
You don't have to wait to be old or lifeless to practice the virtue of chastity. Purity comes from love; and the strength and gaiety of youth are no obstacle for noble love. Joseph had a young heart and a young body when he married Mary, when he learned of the mystery of her divine motherhood, when he lived in her company, respecting the integrity God wished to give the world as one more sign that he had come to share the life of his creatures. Anyone who cannot understand a love like that knows very little of true love and is a complete stranger to the Christian meaning of chastity.” ~ St. Josemaria Escriva
I entered the life of chastity at age 29. Then, because I had been so prolific, I felt old and tired; more than willing to give-up another day of meaningless sex – just for the mere fact that I needed a rest. As the years moved on, I realized that sex was never a necessity for Love. Through my involvement with the Catholic apostolate Courage, and by keeping myself always in good Christian company, I realized that the greatest friendships were those bonded inside the Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ. And, to my astonishment, they were completely fulfilling- and less taxing on my health and less damaging to the psyche. Within purity, the soul takes predominance over the body. In a strange way, it starts to become immaterial, whereas before: I would only associate with those whom I felt at least somewhat sexually drawn. It’s a liberating escape from a form of slavery that keeps us chained to the purely physical. Yet, it is not frigid, constraining, or emasculating. Like the stalwart St. Joseph, freedom and mastery over our bodies creates the fullness of man; a truly masculine person who needs only the Lord to fulfill him. He exudes manly strength everyday by not becoming a weak hostage to his passions. And, herein rests the great Love between Mary and Joseph, who always maintained their separate identities of female and male, because they united themselves with the all-embracing Love of their Son: Jesus Christ. For, by first developing our relationship with Our Lord, only then, are we able to entirely give ourselves to another. Because, as Mary and Joseph exemplified, the virtuous are still fully feminine and masculine, because, through their connection with God, they have reached the highest pinnacle of human development –truly made in the image and likeness of God.