Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Go, tell my servant David, ‘When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.

God sent His Beloved Son into the world to build a house for Himself. This house can be found in the Church and its scriptures and traditions. It can also be found within our hearts. Each of us has a temple within our souls that we either adorn with every virtue or disgrace with every sin. We, like St. Joseph, are given the choice to either divorce ourselves from God’s Will and thereby cut ourselves off from the house of Jesus or we can do as God asks us and take Jesus into our hearts and prepare a place for him there. If we do this and do not turn away from God’s Will, then we shall make God’s throne firm within our souls and His Kingdom will endure within us as we proclaim the Good News to all who enter our lives.

Are we building a house to God within ourselves or are we filling it with worldly things? How can we adorn our hearts with good thoughts, words, and works? What can we do to make our souls good and faithful temples to God?

O Lord, help us to build your house within us.

Amen.

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

“Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, 
he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee.

Throughout the nativity story, Joseph listens to God’s messages and carries them out without complaint. He could have complained about how unfair his lot in life was. His plans for marriage and a family were high jacked by God’s plans. He could have complained about the public shame he must have suffered when Mary was found to be with child before his official marriage to her. He could have refused to raise a child that wasn’t his own. He could have grumbled about having to leave everything he ever knew and flee to Egypt. He could have protested about being told to come back to Israel only to find out someone just as bad as Herod had taken over. He could have whined about a lot of things, but he didn’t. He accepted God’s Will and took Mary as his beloved wife and Jesus as his beloved son. He did what he was told without hesitation. He took it on faith that everything his family was going through had a reason and a purpose. He might not have understood why, but he understood God’s Providence would provide and everything would make sense in the end. In the same way, we need to trust in God’s plans for our families and ourselves. We might want to complain or run away, but God gave us our parents, siblings, and other family members for a reason and a purpose. We would do well to remember that it is not necessary for us to understand our family to love them as God loves them.

Do we complain about our family or hesitate to help them? Are we willing to accept we won’t always understand why certain things happen to our loved ones or ourselves? How can we be more trusting of God’s Divine Plan?

O Lord, help us to be holier families.

Amen.

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." 

We would all do well to remember Joseph's example of acceptance of God's Will. Just like Joseph, we are all called to welcome Mary into our homes because by doing so we also welcome the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God the Father into our lives. Mary is the living temple of the Holy Trinity, wherever she is found the Triune God is found, too. As such, we should give Mary the veneration she deserves and learn from her how to know, love, and serve God and others as she did in her most holy and chaste life. The more we imitate Mary, the more we can incarnate Christ through our thoughts, words, and works. She constantly pours graces upon us when we seek her aid in prayer and meditation. She is our Mediatix and through her we not only received Christ, but also his love and mercy as well. We owe Mary a great debt of gratitude and the best way to repay that debt is to become faithful followers of her Son and loving children of God.

Are we afraid of accepting Mary into our lives? How can we welcome her into our every thought, word, and work? What can we learn from her in regards to how to live the Christ-like life?

O Lord, just as Joseph welcomed Mary into his home, so may we let her into our hearts.

Amen.

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

As soon as God speaks to Joseph in his dream, he immediately does what he is commanded. This is how we all supposed to act when we are inspired by the Holy Spirit or asked to do a good work. This is what it means to be a truly righteous person and not just self-righteous one. God's instructions to Joseph are also relevant to all of us. Like Joseph, we are to be fearless in our pursuit of doing God's Will. We are supposed to take Mary into our hearts because she will bring us closer to Jesus, who will save us from our sins. Sometimes doing the right thing and listening to God's Will is difficult and requires a leap of faith on our part, but as long as we make that leap with hopeful hearts, and loving vigor, then we shall overcome all obstacles and make it to the Gates of Paradise and to our Heavenly King.

Do we do what God inspires us to do? What are the actions, people, or things in our lives that keep us from being righteous people? Are we willing to make a leap of faith when God asks us to?

O Lord, we are not afraid to do your Will.

Amen.

Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

“Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, Out of Egypt I called my son.

Most of us can hardly imagine what it would be like to have to flee our homes in fear of our lives, nor can we fully comprehend the sacrifices Joseph and Mary made in order to be the parents of Christ. Being a holy family for them was full of self-sacrifices. Joseph gave up his pride in order to take Mary as he wife in spite of her being pregnant. He also gave up his home to flee to Egypt where he had no contacts, no prospects of work, and no common language. So too, Mary gave up being close to her family and ultimately would see her beloved son scourged and crucified. Whenever we are tempted to complain about our lot in life or start to take for granted what we have, we should remember that Mary and Joseph suffered much more than we can imagine and though they might not have understood the reasons, they did accept that their trials were for God’s greater glory. Perhaps we should follow in their examples and be willing to trust God’s plan for us and whatever sorrows might come to us for the greater good.

Are we as trusting of God as we should be? How can we become more like Mary and Joseph when it comes to doing God’s Will? Are we willing to go wherever God leads us and do whatever He wants us to do?

O Lord, you called us, help us to rise up and do your will.

Amen.

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, 
listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded 
at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, 
and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

The holy family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph shows us all how to live our lives in relationship with God and each other. We, like Jesus, should always seek to do our Heavenly Father’s Will. So too, we should be like Mary and Joseph seeking to understand Jesus’ role in our lives and the messages God sends us through the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. We might not always appreciate the tribulations we suffer, just as Mary and Joseph didn’t, but we can accept with humility that our sorrows can help us grow in wisdom and favor before God and man. This is why we should treasure our trials just as much as we do our triumphs. By doing so, we learn to appreciate not only what we have, but also the sufferings of Christ. In this way, we imitate the life, death, and resurrection of Christ by responding to our adversity in the same way as he did… by not letting it trouble our hearts or sour our souls. The holiness of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph’s family did not come from lack of hardship, but rather the selfless acceptance of God’s Will without counting the cost.

Do we ask God why He has done something to us? How can we learn to transform our anxieties into trust in God’s Divine Plan? How can we appreciate what we have and to be willing to suffer for the glory of God?

O Lord, we shall treasure all your words in our hearts in the hopes of one day growing in wisdom and favor with you and your children.

Amen.

Third Friday of Advent

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

Sometimes we are afraid to do God’s Will in our lives. We know what must be done, but delay, make excuses, or convince ourselves that other things are more important or we misunderstand what God wants from us. However, nothing is more important than doing God’s Will. We do not need to understand it, but rather to take it on faith that God is guiding us to where we need to be and what we are called to do. So when we discern God’s Will in our lives we should not be afraid, but rather act like Joseph and do what He has commanded us without complaint or hesitation. We can learn a lot about what it means to be a good and faithful servant from Joseph and his attitude of silent obedience to God.

Are we afraid of what God is asking us? Are we willing to be open to the inspirations God sends us? How can we build up the habit of holy obedience to God’s Will in our lives?

O Lord, give us the grace to be not afraid and do as you command us throughout our lives.

Amen.

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

Joseph is one of the few people in the Old and New Testament who is called righteous. He does not speak a word to God. Instead he does what God tells him to do without questioning or complaining. This is what it means to be righteous: to put into action the words of the Lord without hesitation. We might not receive visions or dreams from God, but we do have the Gospels and they show us the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Do we listen to God? Are we receptive of His Word? Do we do what God commands us through the Gospels and inspirations of the Holy Spirit?

O Lord, help us to be righteous by listening to your message and then working towards its fulfillment.

Amen.

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted —and you yourself a sword will pierce— so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

Jesus was a sign of contradiction for many in his time and in our own. He caused the fall and rise of many evil and good people and revealed their hearts. Being a devote servant to God offers us no consolation other than hope in our salvation and love of our God, both of which are impossible to see without the eyes of faith. These are not the rewards the world promises or offers us and it can be very difficult to live a virtuous life when all around you wonder why you have to be so contradictory. However, as Christians we are not meant to go with the flow or to walk along the wide road. No, we are called to cross against the current and take the narrow path to salvation. We often ask for signs to help us discern God’s Will, but perhaps we are meant to be signs to each other of God’s Love for us and His desire to lead us home to Him.

How are we signs of contradiction to the world? Are we really willing to allow a sword to pierce our hearts? In what way do we seek to reveal God to the hearts of others?

O Lord, make us a sign of your Love to the world, even if it means others will hate us for it.

Amen.