Ite ad Joseph

Hark! my lover–here he comes springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills.  My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.  Here he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices. My lover speaks; he says to me, “Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come! For see, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of pruning the vines has come, and the song of the dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance. Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!  O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the secret recesses of the cliff, Let me see you, let me hear your voice, For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely.” -Song of Songs 2:8-14  (Daily Mass, Saturday)

And do this because you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness [and] put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. - Romans 13:11-14  (Morning prayer, Sunday)

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 conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”  When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. 
-Matthew 1:18-24 (Gospel for Sunday, and focus of Lectio)


Joseph woke up.

I think it's interesting how Joseph can personify our relationship with the Blessed Mother and Jesus.  The only one in the family who is able to sin, is prone to weakness and doubt, and must feel a huge burden on his shoulders because he knows what sort of precious treasure he has in Mary.

I can imagine him struggling to want to do the right thing- to obey the laws of Moses, but at the same time wanting to put Mary through nothing that will be contrary to her dignity.  the pain he must've felt at this perceived moment of infidelity from a creature without blemish must have shattered his world.  Not many things are as emasculating to a man as unfaithfulness.  It proves that he's not good enough; he doesn't have what it takes.

I sometimes think of all the millions of things that were running through Joseph's head.  As one who is more inclined to silence, I can identify with this.  Just because my mouth is shut doesn't mean that my brain turns off.  So all these thing: the fears, doubts, inclination to sin, were battling against his righteousness.  A spiritual Battle of Battles.

Enter Gabriel.  A divine moment of clarity for a troubled mind and anxious heart.

Truth.  Truth enters and floods our soul with reassurance, encouraging us and telling us to fear nothing, that we can do it.  That we shouldn't believe the lies.  And Joseph emerges, victorious.  The victory already won by Christ, Who chose him as a foster father from the beginning of time (MIND BLOWN).  And, suddenly, like Joseph, we are the sleeper who awakes, who walks out of darkness to follow the Light and obey the Truth on a fruitful path that is difficult but worthwhile.  

We are no longer the scared child who grabs to control the situation, but a precious child of God who responds with haste and urgency when He bids us,

"Arise, my beloved, and come."

O, most glorious St. Joseph, we most humbly beg of you, by the love and care you had for Jesus and Mary, to take our affairs, both spiritual and temporal, into your hands.  Direct them to the greater glory of God, and obtain for us the grace to do His most holy will.  St. Joseph the Worker, pray for us. 

St. Joseph, patron of my beloved and my future family, pray for us.