Sunday - March 20, 2023
TODAY'S READINGS
March 20 2023
Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 543
Reading 12 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 Psalm89:2-3, 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 2ROM 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 GospelPS 84:5
Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord;
they never cease to praise you.
GospelMT 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
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.
Both options for the Gospel reading on this feast day seem out of place in Lent. However, its lesson in trust is very apropos for facing the cross.
In both Gospel readings, we see Joseph growing in his ability to trust God. How difficult it must have been to believe Mary's story! So, since he didn't trust her version of the story about her pregnancy, God sent him an angel in a dream.
Now, Joseph had to trust that his dream was not a product of his own imagination. Wouldn't it have been more convincing if the angel had appeared to him in person, the way Mary had been visited by an angel?
And yet, something about the dream triggered Joseph's faith. He believed what he heard in his sleep. I suspect, though, that a new doubt flooded him as soon as he believed the message of the dream. He might have wondered: "Who am I to raise the Messiah! I can't do this! I'm not worthy of this responsibility and I will make mistakes!"
Maybe the questions lingered only a second, or maybe he had to get down on his knees and go deep into prayer before he could feel God's assurance. Either way, he chose to trust God, which gave him the freedom to feel assured that God would help him take care of Mary and the child.
Years later, when Jesus was twelve years old, Joseph's trust was again stretched. He lost the child for three days! He had to choose repeatedly, moment by moment, to trust God no matter how long the boy was missing. You and I have to trust God the same way. We can either look at the evidence that says how bad things are -- and live in worry -- or we can look at God and remember that he cares with infinite love and is worthy of our trust.
In today's first reading, David chooses to trust that God would protect his throne forever. In the second reading, Paul reminds us that Abraham "hoped against hope" (which is the meaning of trust) that although he and his wife were well past their child-bearing years, he would become the father of a great nation as promised.
And Jesus had to trust that his death upon the cross -- and all of its excruciating pain and the tortures before it -- would lead to the glory of resurrection and the redemption of the world.
To journey through the cross to resurrection, to move from pain to glory, trust is necessary. In each problem you face today -- especially the long-standing ones -- stop and think about the choice you have: You can worry and be afraid or you can trust God. Ask St. Joseph to help you!
Trust God. Your resurrection glory has already been planned.
Today's Prayer
Jesus, teach me to look with Your eyes at the cross that stands before me. Help me never forget that the eyes of my Father look upon me with deep tenderness and that His unconditional love will be with me forever. Amen.
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The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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