Meditations on the Sunday Gospel for the Year of the Eucharist
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." All this took place to fulfill what the
Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive 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. - Matthew 1:18 - 24
does this to show the reader that Jesus is a descendant of King David through Joseph. Joseph was not Jesus' real
father but according to Jewish law the legal father was on the same level as the real father regarding rights and
duties. Jesus inherits his legal father's lineage making Jesus a descendant of King David.
In this section of the first chapter of Matthew we find Joseph struggling with a difficult decision. Since he was a
"just man" and wanted to do God's will he felt as though he should "put her away" but didn't want to expose Mary to
shame so he decided to do so quietly.
This was a very big deal because Mary and Joseph were betrothed. This betrothal or engagement usually
took place about a year before the marriage yet it enjoyed almost the same validity of marriage. We can only
imagine the struggle Joseph was experiencing when the angel of the Lord appeared.
The angel not only sets Joseph's mind at ease but shows the reader that many prophesies are being or are
about to be fulfilled. The prophesy that the savior would come from the "house of David" is fulfilled through Joseph
and so the angel addresses him in this manner, "Joseph, son of David." The angel further reveals that the child
will be born of a virgin and save His people from their sins as prophesied by Isaiah. All this and more is revealed
through the angel's message to Joseph.
Apostles and You
didn't know what to think. I felt betrayed and angry yet I didn't want her
to receive the punishment called for by the Law. Later that evening I
decided to divorce her quietly when an angel appeared and spoke to
me. I was amazed and thought I was dreaming. The next day I told
Mary about the dream. Only then did she tell me her side of the story.
She told me how an angel had appeared to her also and told her
things that were similar to what the angel told me. I asked her why
she didn't tell me this before. She said that she knew the Lord would
provide my answer in His own way and she didn't want to interfere.
That is just like her, always leaving everything to the Lord. - from
Rosary Meditations for Real Life pg 195 (First Person Meditations
by St. Joseph)
the day things happen that I don't understand and don*t
have control of. It is very hard for me to let go and trust
you but I really want to. I also realize that very often you
send "messengers" into my life but I just don*t listen. I
am usually too distracted by work, school, and family not
to mention volunteer work.
*Lord, help me to trust in you and your plan for me
especially when I am confused and hurting. Help me to
trust that your plan is the best and that I simply need to
say yes and stay faithful to you no matter what may
come. Jesus, might I also ask for the grace to see and
hear your messengers. Help me to recognize your voice
in what I read, and hear and in the people you have
placed in my life. Help me to always seek Your will first!
Lord, help me to imitate Joseph and do the "righteous" thing when I am faced with an uncomfortable or
even painful situation. Lord, reveal to me these situations in my life and how I should respond. [ Listen ]
Lord, your requests of me often make me feel afraid, like Joseph. Help me to trust in your plan for my
life. Show me the things in my life that I truly fear and help me, with your grace, to overcome them. I know I
am afraid of [tell Jesus the things you fear] but what else do I fear and need not be afraid of [listen]
Joseph's righteousness and obedience has blessed us all in uncountable ways. Help me to see the
areas in my life where I need to work on obedience...to You...the Church...to..[pray and listen]
EUCHARIST
dwell with us forever as the "Living Bread" come down from
heaven. When the shepherds and Magi came to adore Him,
they brought Him so much joy with their humble visit to
Bethlehem that their visit has been praised and retold down
through the centuries. God has never stopped honoring
them for honoring His Son in Bethlehem. So too, your
humble visit to Jesus today in the Blessed Sacrament brings
Him so much joy that it will be retold for all eternity and bring
the world closer to His promise of peace on earth.
We are as privileged in being called to adore Him today
as were Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and Magi then,
because here Jesus continues His incarnation on earth.
Here Jesus loses His Heart to us in love. Love expresses
itself to the object of its affection; the Eucharist is the
continual expression of God*s perfect, unselfish love for
man. The Word again becomes flesh and dwells among us,
veiled under the Species of the Sacred Host, where the
same Jesus born two thousand years ago as a little babe in
Bethlehem is truly, really, bodily, and personally present to
us in this Most Blessed Sacrament.
Jesus Christ, protector of thy chaste spouse, the virgin Mother of God, I choose
thee this day to be my special patron and advocate and I firmly resolve to honor
thee all the days of my life. Therefore I humbly beseech thee to receive me as thy
client, to instruct me in every doubt, to comfort me in every affliction, to obtain for
me and for all the knowledge and love of the Heart of Jesus, and finally to defend
and protect me at the hour of my death. Amen
Year of the Eucharist Page