One Minute Reflection – 19 March – The man who doesn’t speak but obeys

One Minute Reflection – 19 March – The Solemnity of St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Guardian of Jesus and Patron of the Universal Church

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife...Matthew 1:24

REFLECTION – “And this man, this dreamer, is able to accept this duty, this grave duty. He has so much to say to us, in this time, of a strong sense of being orphaned.   And so this man takes the promise of God and carries it onward in silence, with strength, he carries it onward so that God’s Will might be done.   He is the man who doesn’t speak but obeys, the man of tenderness, the man capable of carrying forward the promises so that they might become solid, certain;  the man who guarantees the stability of the Kingdom of God, the paternity of God, our sonship as children of God.
I like to think of Joseph as the guardian of weaknesses, of our weaknesses too, he is able to give birth to so many beautiful things from our weaknesses, even from our sins.

Today I want to ask, grant to all of us the ability to dream, that when we dream great things, beautiful things, we might draw near to the dream of God, the things God dreams about us.   [I ask] that he might give to young people – because he was young – the capacity to dream, to risk, to undertake the difficult tasks they have seen in dreams.  And [I ask] him to give to all of us the faithfulness that tends to grow when we have a just attitude – Joseph was just – [the faithfulness that] grows in silence, with few words, that grows in tenderness that guards our own weaknesses and those of others.”…Pope Francis – Santa Marta, 20 March 2017

PRAYER – Almighty God, at the beginnings of our salvation, when Mary conceived your Son and brought Him forth into the world, you placed them under Joseph’s watchful care.   May his prayer still help Your Church to be an equally faithful guardian of Your mysteriest and a sign of Christ to mankind.   We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, God, forever, amen.