Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent | USCCB
In our gospel for today we hear of St. Joseph, a man of no words but quick to action. At first, when he hears of Mary being pregnant, he was all set to divorce her quietly since he knew the child she was carrying was not his. He loved Mary, but he was also trying to do the right thing according to his conscience and the Jewish Law. I'm sure he was confused upon hearing that Mary was pregnant. How can this woman that he loved be unfaithful to him? I'm sure he had turned to God in prayer and meditation asking God for clarification and help in this difficult situation. He was always open to the will of God, so when the angel came to him in a dream and helped him understand that it was through the Holy Spirit that Mary conceived, he got up and said "yes" to being the foster father of the child Jesus.
Joseph is an example of how we are to live out our faith in God. There are times when things happen in our lives that we may not understand. It is through prayer and reflection on scripture that we can know God's Will for us. God will always help us to understand what He is calling us to do. Further, in all our difficult situations in our lives, we are to always say "yes" to God in whatever he may be calling us to do, even in difficult situations.
From Arlene B. Muller
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of Proverbs 3:5: "TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART & LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING. IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, & HE WILL DIRECT YOUR PATHS."
In 2002 when I got fired from my job at The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. I sought a transition out of the corporate world of music publishing into what I had hoped would eventually become some sort of full time ministry in which I would be able to use my gifts of teaching and/or writing and/or music , I applied to the Catholic school system in our diocese of Brooklyn/Queens and to a few Catholic high schools to which I had been referred. Within the year I had several very promising interviews & very high hopes, but the results were rejection, primarily because I had a Master's degree (in speech/language pathology) but no teaching experience. I almost got a job as a music teacher because the principal noticed that my face lights up when I speak about music & what she was looking for was a teacher who could teach the children songs for Mass, but then not enough students came back for the school year, thus leaving insufficient money in the budget to hire a music teacher! The only job I got was a 7 week stint as a 1st grade teacher during the teacher's maternity leave, and although my teaching & lesson plans were good, I struggled with classroom management. So the road pointed to a return to the field of speech/language therapy that had rejected me many years ago. A friend got me an interview at Parsons Preschool, a transitional position as a Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT) & a pathway toward certification & employment as a speech/language therapist.
When I met with Shifi, one of the speech/language therapists I kept thinking "I don't know if I want this. I don't know if this is Your will for me, LORD. Speech/language therapy in a secular school environment? My heart's desire is full time ministry & to teach children about GOD!!" But then something in her office caught my eye: the above quote from Proverbs 3:5, so that was GOD'S way of telling me that this was His will. The next few years were filled with struggle, but eventually I was able to teach library enrichment at Parsons Preschool & write poems & songs & lessons that discreetly pointed to the LORD & do music with the children & even write & record a one song CD called WONDERFULLY MADE, which a friend privately produced & I was able to give as a gift to graduating students transitioning into kindergarten!