40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 19 March 2025
Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16 + Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 + Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24
God our most loving Father,
thank you for this Solemnity of St. Joseph,
the most chaste husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
who witnessed to us with his life of faith
the important aspects of Lent
that have become a rarity these days -
silence and stillness in you.
In this world of 24-7
when everything is "instant",
we have lost the sense and beauty
of silence and stillness in you,
O Lord, making us to drift farther
away from you,
not believing you,
not obeying you
relying more in our powers
and control of everything.
But life is not about doing
and things as your Son Jesus
have shown us:
life is about being and loving,
of persons in whom we find you
and meaning of our lives.
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…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 (Matthew 1:19-20, 21, 24).
Teach us, Jesus
to be like St. Joseph
your foster father
to be holy and righteous:
obedient to your laws
but most of all,
faithful and loving to God
through one another.
Teach us, Jesus to be like St. Joseph your foster father to be silent because silence is the domain of trust: let us trust you more than our selves, than our gadgets, than our modern thoughts and beliefs; teach us Jesus to be like St. Joseph to be still in this time when everyone is easily agitated foolishly by the cacophony of various shouts and cries in social media that are mostly not true.
Teach us, Jesus,
that life is a daily Lent,
of being silent and still
in your presence,
in your voice,
in your plans
so that like St. Joseph
your foster father
we may take care of you
found in each one of us
especially the weak
and the poor.
Amen.
lordmychef.com 