March 19, 2020 (Solemnity of St Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
Hope against Hope
Dear friends in Christ, today we celebrate the solemnity of Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary—a quiet achiever in the plan of our salvation. He had to accept and raise the Saviour of the world as his own son. We must salute his courage, to play the role of husband, father and protector, of the Holy Family. May God through his intercession grant to our fathers the grace to live up to their responsibilities. Amen. There are times in life when the situation gets so bad that there’s hardly any reason to continue to believe or hope that it will change. Friends will advise you to see it as fate, its not strange at such a time to get mocked. They will mock your faith and your hope in God. There are situations where people erroneously believe that there is no hope for you anymore. That was how they thought Sarah was beyond child bearing, Hannah could not have a child, Elizabeth was barren. It however turned out in God’s plan, they were preserved for a special purpose.
Our first reading today (2Samuel 7:4-5.12-14.16) was a blessing and a promise to David that his son will be the one to build a house for God. David believed and went ahead to provide all that was needed to make sure the son did so.
The second reading (Romans 4:13.16-18.22) presents a greater faith and hope seen in Abraham, who without a child at the time, and in his old age, was promised that he will become the father of many nations, “In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations as he had been told.” Even though he did not see the fulfilment of that promise, he had a son which gave a ray of hope. His faith justified him.
Gospel (Matthew 1:16.18-21.24) In it Joseph believed what he heard in a dream to take Mary home, “…for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit…” He did what the angel had told him and by that he salvaged the situation. With God, nothing is impossible. Why believe that your situation cannot be resolved. You may be alone in your faith, but keep believing God for an answer. While you wait, do what is humanly possible, but never lose faith in what God can do, even when it is too late in the sight of men. There are too many examples of people who have placed their faith in God and their faith had yielded positive results. Yours can’t be an exception.
Husbands have a great role to play in our homes, by being faithful to God and to their duties. Joseph believed the angel and accepted the role of a husband to Mary and a father to Jesus. He provided for the home as a carpenter. He led the family to safety in Egypt and back after the death of Herod, he led Jesus to the Temple at the presentation and for worship. We salute all the faithful fathers and wish them more blessings as they strive to follow the example of St. Joseph.
Let us pray: I place all my trust in you my God, all my hope is in your mercy. Hear me and come to my aid. Amen. May the Almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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