19-MAR-'24, Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Lectionary: 543

Reading 1

2 Samuel 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 forever.

Reading 2

Romans 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

Psalm 84:5

Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord;

they never cease to praise you.

Gospel

Matthew 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

Luke 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.

Reflection 1

Catholic Daily Reflections

The Greatness of Saint Joseph

When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. Matthew 1:24

What is it that made Saint Joseph so great? He wasn’t immaculately conceived as our Blessed Mother was. He was not divine like Jesus. But he was the head of the Holy Family, its guardian and its provider. He became the legal father of the Savior of the World and the spouse of the Mother of God. But Joseph is not great only because he was given such incredible privileges. First and foremost, he was great because of the choices he made in life. Today’s Gospel refers to him as a “righteous man” and as a man who “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” Thus, his greatness is primarily on account of his moral righteousness and obedience to the will of God.

Joseph’s obedience is especially seen in the fact that he obeyed the voice of God given to him in the four dreams recorded in Scripture. In his first dream, Joseph is told “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” (Matthew 1:20–21). In his second dream, Joseph is told, “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” (Matthew 2:13). In his third dream, Joseph is told, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead” (Matthew 2:20). And in his fourth dream, Joseph is warned to go instead to Galilee rather than Judea (Matthew 2:22).

When these dreams are read in succession, it is clear that Saint Joseph was attentive to the voice of God. We all have dreams, but Joseph’s dreams were different. They were clear communications from God, and they required a willing recipient. Joseph was open to the voice of God and listened in faith as that willing recipient.

Joseph also responded with complete submission and full determination. The commands Joseph received were not insignificant. His obedience required that he and his family travel great distances, take up residence in strange lands and do so all in faith.

It’s also clear that Joseph took his vocation seriously. Pope Saint John Paul II gave him the title “Guardian of the Redeemer.” Over and over, he showed his unwavering commitment to his role as the guardian of his legal Son, Jesus, and of his wife, Mary. His life was spent providing for them, protecting them and offering them a father’s heart.

Reflect, today, upon the unique vocation of Saint Joseph. Ponder, especially, the early years of his marriage and the raising of Jesus. Consider his fatherly commitment to care for, provide for and protect his Son. We all must seek to imitate Saint Joseph’s virtues by protecting the presence of Christ within our own hearts, the hearts of our family and friends and in the world as a whole. Pray to Saint Joseph, asking him to help you follow his example so that the hidden presence of our Lord in our lives will grow and come to full maturation.

Reflection 2

One Bread, One Body

THE SORROWS OF JOSEPH

“Your father and I have been searching for You in sorrow.” —Luke 2:48

When we see a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross, we realize in a small way His great sorrows and sufferings. He suffered more than any human being ever has or ever will suffer. We also are aware of the sorrows of Mary, the Sorrowful Mother. However, we hear less often, if at all, of the sorrows of St. Joseph.

That Jesus was born in a stable must have hurt Joseph deeply. He may have thought to himself: “Can’t a husband and father do better for his wife and Baby?” Joseph must have suffered sorrow when he heard Simeon prophesy that Mary, Joseph’s wife, would be pierced with a sword of sorrow (Lk 2:35). When you love someone, it can be harder to hear about their sufferings than to suffer yourself. Joseph also suffered when he had to get up and flee that night with his wife and his Child to Egypt (Mt 2:14). The family life of refugees is full of sorrow. How hard it must have been for the sorrowing Joseph (Lk 2:48) to realize when Jesus said He had to be in His Father’s house, He was not referring to Joseph’s house (Lk 2:49). Also, Joseph suffered the daily sorrows of being looked down upon because of his lowly occupation (see Jn 6:42; Mk 6:3).

Finally, after a life of sorrows, Joseph died a happy death. He went to his Father’s house, the house where Jesus lived. In the end, Jesus wiped every tear from Joseph’s eyes (Rv 7:17).

Prayer:  Father, may I love as St. Joseph loved. May I love enough to suffer much.

Promise:  “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before Me; your throne shall stand firm forever.” —2 Sm 7:16

Praise:  “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before Me; your throne shall stand firm forever.” —2 Sm 7:16

Reflection 3

By Abbé Marc VAILLOT

(París, France)

“His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph”

Today, the Church invites us to contemplate the kind figure of the Holy Patriarch. Chosen by God and by Mary, Joseph lived like all of us between sorrows and joys. We must look at any of his actions with special interest. We will always learn from him. We should put ourselves in his shoes to imitate him, for in this way we will be able to respond, as he did, to the divine will.

Everything in his modest, humble and ordinary life is luminous. For this reason, famous mystics (Teresa of Avila, Hildegarde of Bingen, Therese of Lisieux), great Founders (Benedict, Bruno, Francis of Assisi, Bernard of Clairvaux, Josemaría Escrivá) and so many saints of all times encourage us to treat him and love him to follow in the footsteps of the Patron of the Church. It is the shortcut to sanctify the intimacy of our homes, putting us in the heart of the Holy Family, to lead a life of prayer and to sanctify our work.

Thanks to his constant union with Jesus and Mary — that's the key! —Joseph can simply live the extraordinary, when God asks him to do so, as in the Gospel scene in today’s Mass. He performs, above all, ordinary tasks, which are never irrelevant as they ensure a successful and a happy life, which leads to the heavenly Beatitude.

Pope Francis writes: “Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Joseph, then, teaches us that faith in God includes believing that he can work even through our fears, our frailties and our weaknesses. He also teaches us that amid the tempests of life, we must never be afraid to let the Lord steer our course.”

Prayers

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. To you God entrusted his only Son; in you Mary placed her trust; with you Christ became man. Blessed Joseph, to us too, show yourself a father and guide us in the path of life. Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage, and defend us from every evil. Amen. (Prayer from Patris Corde)

Lord Jesus, you came to free us from the power of sin, fear, and death, and to heal and restore us to wholeness of life. May I always trust in your saving help, guidance, wisdom, and plan for my life.

Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy

Reflection 79: Our Blessed Mother of Sorrows

Mother Mary endured so much in life.  She endured suspicion and ridicule at the miraculous conception of her Savior.  She watched with a perfect motherly love as her Divine Son was rejected and misunderstood.  And she stood by Him in His agony and death.  And through it all, her motherly love was perfect and powerful.  She stands by us, also, in all that we endure in life.  And she gives us a perfect witness of love and compassion through her tender heart (See Diary #315).

Ponder the heart of the Mother of God this day.  Ponder your Blessed Mother, the true mother of Jesus, as she loved her Son throughout His life.  Imagine the sword of sorrow that pierced her heart countless times.  And strive to understand the perfect and tender love with which she loved both her Son and those who treated Him so cruelly.  Seek her prayers, this day, to imitate her love and ask her to shower that love upon you.  She will not let you down.

Dearest Mother, my Queen, please pray for me and help me to know your motherly care.  Help me to turn to you in all things so that I may receive the abundance of Mercy flowing from your pure heart.  Give me the grace to imitate your kindness and tenderness and to stand by all those who are in need.  Mother Mary, pray for us.  Jesus, I trust in You.