A blessed Christmas to all friends, inquirers, affiliates, associates, and members of the Confraternity of Penitents! As we contemplate the birth of God into our world, let us remember that Jesus is the only real hope for humanity. May we renew our commitment to serving Him however He may call us, and may we, like the Blessed Mother, respond always and only with "yes."
As a Christmas meditation, we share this reflection by CFP Visitor Michael Sisco, linked to from this page: <http://penitents.org/siscoarchives.htm>http://penitents.org/siscoarchives.htm St.Joseph: Ready to Respond to God A Reflection on Matthew 1: 18-25 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." 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. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus. (Matthew s1: 18-25) I think what I love most about Saint Joseph, is his immediate response to the will of God. If there was an aspect of Saint Joseph I'd like to emulate most, it would be that. When Saint Joseph receives a message from the angel, there's no hesitation in his response, there's no questioning, there's not even a request for a clarification; he just does it. And if you look closely, you see every time the angel comes to Joseph with a message, it's to deliver him or his family from something. The first time that the angel appears to Joseph is to deliver him from his distress. "Have no fear about taking Mary as your wife." The angel's first message to Joseph is one of comfort and reassurance. The second time the angel appears to Joseph is to warn him of danger. "Joseph! Rise quickly and flee with your family to Egypt, for Herod means to destroy And the third and last time the angel appears to Joseph is to tell him that it was safe to return home again. So the last time the angel appears to Joseph to deliver the Holy Family from exile. And because Joseph's response is always immediate, they are always delivered. This is in contrast to Israel. The Holy Family is a smaller model of what Israel should have been as a nation, but wasn't. Mary, the sinless one, the pure one, is an image of the temple, and what the temple was supposed to be; pure, and sinless. That's why Jesus flies into a rage when they use the temple as a marketplace. Joseph, the just and devout one, the descendant of David, is an image of the king. Joseph is what the King was supposed to be; humble, honorable, hard working, and ready to do the will of God without question. And both of their lives revolve around Jesus, God, but also their child. The Israelites failed so often throughout their history to teach their children the ways of the Lord, because they failed to lead by example, and center their lives around the Lord. And so the Lord could not deliver them. We find three predominant themes around the preaching of the prophets. The prophets attempt to deliver the people from distress by speaking words of comfort and reassurance to the people, as Jeremiah does when he says, "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; As king he shall reign and govern wisely,he shall do what is just and right in the land." The prophets attempt to deliver people of danger, especially when they start straying into idolatry, making alliances with pagan nations, and forgetting their responsibility to the poor, the widow, and the orphaned. And the prophets also kept reminding people during their exile in Babylon that the Lord would someday deliver them, and allow them to return to the Promised Land. So the prophets attempt to deliver Israel in the same ways that the angel delivers the Holy Family, but the prophets fail, because Israel doesn't respond to God's will with the same readiness the Holy Family does. And if we look closely, we see that the Lord continues to deliver us of the same three things. How does the Lord deliver us from distress? Through His word and the teaching of the Church, we know we're doing his will, so we have nothing to be anxious or fearful of. How does the Lord deliver us from danger? The sacraments, which protect us from sin and its effects. And how does the Lord deliver us from exile? Through the Church. Through the community of believers, wherever we go in the world, we have family, we belong. The only thing we need ask ourselves is, do I respond to the Lord with the same readiness as Saint Joseph? Think about it. And blessed be God forever. Father Michael Anthony Sisco (December 2008) Catholic on Amazon <*}}}>< <http://astore.amazon.com/halthekin-20>Catholic on Amazon <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <http://www.holypostage.com/>Holy Postage <*}}}>< <*}}}><<http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Half the <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Kingdom!<*}}}>< Lord, may everything we do begin with Your inspiration and continue with Your help, so that all our prayers and works may begin in You and by You be happily ended. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Please note that I do not send or open attachments sent to this list. 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