†Quote of the Day "We have close to us as much as Joseph had at Nazareth; we have our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, but our poor eyes fail to see Him. Let us once become interior souls and we shall immediately see. In no better way can we enter into the Heart of our Lord than through Saint Joseph. Jesus and Mary are eager to pay the debts which they owe him for his devoted care of them, and their greatest pleasure is to fulfill his least desire. Let him, then, lead you by hand into the interior sanctuary of Jesus Eucharistic."
–St. Peter Julian Eymard Today's Meditation St. Joseph is the most Marian of all saints…There has never been a greater Marian saint than St. Joseph and there never will be. St. Joseph is the model for total consecration to Mary. Long before Calvary, when Jesus commanded all of his disciples to take Mary into their hearts and homes (see Jn 19:26-27), St. Joseph had already taken Mary into his heart and into his home. She is his heart; she is his home. Everything he did was done for Jesus and Mary. He lived and died for Jesus and Mary."
—Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, p. 121 Daily Verse "When he rose from prayer and returned to his disciples, he found them sleeping from grief. He said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test.""
–Luke 22:45-46 | St. Joseph St. Joseph (1st c.) was a descendant of Israel's King David and a carpenter by trade. Scripture tells us that he was a just and virtuous man who was betrothed to wed the young Blessed Virgin Mary. Upon finding her pregnant with the Son of God, Joseph, after a time of uncertainty, was encouraged by an angel to continue with the marriage plans. Because of his complete faithfulness and obedience to the will of God, St. Joseph was chosen to become the spouse of the Mother of God and the adoptive father of Jesus Christ. As the divinely-appointed earthly guardian and protector of the Holy Family, St. Joseph provided and cared for the material needs of Mary and the Child Jesus. St. Joseph is the patron saint of many causes, especially fathers, families, married couples, children, pregnant women, workers, craftsmen, against doubt, the dying, and a happy and holy death. He is also the guardian and protector of the Universal Church. He has two feast days: St. Joseph the Husband of Mary on March 19th, and St. Joseph the Worker on May 1st. However, when St. Joseph's feast day on March 19th falls on a Sunday it is moved to the Monday and celebrated on March 20th. | Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary Reading 1 2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 The LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
"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.'" Responsorial Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29
R. (37) The son of David will live for ever.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness,
For you have said, "My kindness is established forever";
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. The son of David will live for ever.
"I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations."
R. The son of David will live for ever.
"He shall say of me, 'You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.'
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm."
R. The son of David will live for ever. Reading 2 Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22 Brothers and sisters:
It was not through the law
that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants
that he would inherit the world,
but through the righteousness that comes from faith.
For this reason, it depends on faith,
so that it may be a gift,
and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants,
not to those who only adhere to the law
but to those who follow the faith of Abraham,
who is the father of all of us, as it is written,
I have made you father of many nations.
He is our father in the sight of God,
in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead
and calls into being what does not exist.
He believed, hoping against hope,
that he would become the father of many nations,
according to what was said, Thus shall your descendants be.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness. Verse Before the Gospel Ps 84:5 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord;
they never cease to praise you. Gospel Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"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. or Lk 2:41-51a Each year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
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.
| Daily Meditation: Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24 Joseph . . . was a righteous man. (Matthew 1:19) Did you know that only two Gospels provide accounts of Jesus' miraculous conception and birth? Luke tells the story from Mary's point of view—the annunciation, the visitation, and Mary's prayerful heart. Matthew, on the other hand, focuses on Joseph's role. Matthew highlights how important Joseph is, not only for supporting Mary and raising Jesus, but also for his connection to Abraham, David, and all of David's heirs (1:1-16). In fact, by calling Joseph to be the foster father of Jesus, God fulfilled a prophecy that we hear in today's first reading. Jesus is the heir through whom God will "make his kingdom firm" (2 Samuel 7:12). It may seem that Joseph's connection to his ancestors is minor in the grand scheme of things. But what it shows is that God keeps his promises. God had promised Abraham that he would be the "father of many nations" (Romans 4:17), and he remained committed to the promise throughout Israel's long and turbulent history. Still, God's promises aren't automatic guarantees. Because he gave us the great gift of free will, we need to cooperate with him to make sure those promises come to pass. And that's where faith comes in—the faith of people like Abraham, David, and St. Joseph. These men didn't always understand what God was asking of them, and they didn't see his promises completely fulfilled in their lifetimes. But that didn't keep them from trusting him and seeking to obey him. In Joseph's case, that involved not just marrying Mary, but fleeing with his family to Egypt to escape Herod's wrath, and then moving back to Nazareth when an angel told him to. On this day when we honor St. Joseph, let's thank him for being such a wonderful model of trust in God's promises. Let's also imitate his deep faith in God and willingness to take decisive action when the Lord calls us. "Oh, St. Joseph, watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, pray for me and for all the Church! May we all follow your example of faith and trust in the Lord!" 2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16
Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29
Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
"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......." end quote. | From Bishop Barron;
"Friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph.
Every episode of Joseph's life is a crisis. He discovered that the woman to whom he was betrothed was pregnant. He resolved to divorce her quietly, but then the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream and explained the anomalous pregnancy. So Joseph understood what was happening in the context of God's providence and took Mary as his wife.
Next, discovering that the child was in mortal danger, Joseph took mother and baby on a perilous journey to an unknown country. Anyone who has ever been forced to move to a new city knows something of the anxiety that Joseph must have felt. But Joseph went because God had commanded him.
Finally, we hear of Joseph desperately seeking his lost twelve-year-old son. Quietly taking the child home, Joseph once more put aside his human feelings and trusted in the purposes of God.
The little we know about Joseph is that he experienced heartbreak, fear unto death, and a parent's deepest anxiety. But each time, he read what happened to him as a theo-drama, not an ego-drama. This shift in attitude is what made Joseph the patron of the universal Church... " end quote from Bishop Barron.
I remember Blessed Sister Anne Emmerich speaking about St. Joseph, the husband of Mary, when there was no room for them and Mary was about to give birth...seeing he was having so much trouble, he felt horrible at not being able to provide and being rejected so much. Mary comforted him. Hope was restored. And they were given a place in a manger.
It seems from the moment of conception, being the father figure of our Lord and husband of the Blessed Virgin was hard work. Lots of mental anguish, and stress, you should see the persecutions that continued as they fled into Egypt after Herod was trying to kill the newborn Messiah. How do you carry the light of the world and the salvation of the world? How do you provide for the Savior and His Mother? There is only one way...Trust In the Lord of Hosts, and this father Joseph knew all about Yaweh-Yireh, which Abraham named the mountain where "God Provides" the ultimate sacrifice.
They say that the last 100 years has been the worst 100 years in history for Christianity.
But you want to know what else has been happening in the last 100 years? The rise of St. Joseph in our Church. We've always had Mother Mary, but not until lately has there been a growth in spirituality with Saint Joseph. This means the provider that defended and protected Jesus throughout his life, is now on the rise to come and help us all as well, because Christ is in us now and He loves the child Jesus, He loves to help and show us the way to the Father.
And that, He did an excellent job. Look at our Lord Jesus. An amazing Son, of the Davidic line of Kings. The blood line ended there and a new blood line of inheritance has begun in Jesus the Father of Priests. And this is good news, if you've been tuning in so far.
We are the inheritance. We are treasures of God. Do we treasure Him above all? Saint Joseph, help us to carry Jesus throughout our lives with such love and sacrifice as you did, to behold the Child Jesus forever in our arms and be able to kiss His forehead and forever live blessed for doing so. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 3:5–6 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
