Can you believe that Advent is here? We just finished our Thanksgiving celebrations and, wow, here we are in the first week of Advent! Well, this year I am a little better prepared as I ordered a book and DVD from Ascension Press called REJOICE! Advent Meditations with Joseph. I am truly enjoying it and so I thought I’d share with you my journey through Advent with Joseph. What better way to do it than with a man chosen by God to be with Mary in raising Jesus?
Right before the season began, I heard somewhere that many people are not changed during their Advent preparations because they are looking toward celebrating an event and not a person. A very interesting concept! So why not pray and prepare by looking at a man who truly waited to celebrate Jesus on that first Christmas morning?
This first week we look at who Joseph was. So many of us have the image of Joseph holding a flower and don’t realize that Joseph was a hard-working carpenter with rough and strong hands. He toiled many hours trying to make a living so that Mary and Jesus would have the simple things in life. He also spent many hours, I am sure, teaching Jesus how to master the art of carpentry.
Joseph was also a very prayerful man, and I am sure that he did not need to be convinced to follow God’s plan with Mary. Joseph was a just man who delighted in the law of the Lord. As all good Jewish men would do, he rose early to communicate with Yahweh and stay connected with him all day.
So you see Joseph was a very faith-filled man taking his role as parent of Jesus very seriously, and he used all the gifts that God had given to him to fulfill that role. I am starting to get a different picture of Joseph as I read and reflect daily on him this week.
It might be said one needs to be quiet and still to really get to know someone or ourselves better or from a different perspective. This week why not spend some time coming to know yourself better and learning how you treat others as well as yourself. Use this Advent time to ponder this question:
If God could do anything in your life during this season of Advent, what would you want the Lord to do?
Till next week,
Sister Theresita
P.S. Here are some scripture references that might be helpful during the week: Ps 46; Ps 63; Ps 1:3; Ps 25:1-10; Joshua 1:1-10;Jeremiah 29:11-14; Isaiah 43:1-7
The photo is of an icon painted by Sr. Beniamina Jurkiewicz, CSFN of Holy Name of Jesus Province, Warsaw, Poland.
