When Joseph awoke he did as the angel of the Lord
had directed him... Those are the words that stand out for me from today's
Gospel on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary[1].
We don't know a lot about Joseph, only few things like that God spoke to
him in his dreams and he followed his dreams. What's also interesting to me is
that nowhere in the Gospels do we ever hear anything Joseph says. He never says anything. But he’s a man of action: he does what the angel tells
him; he takes Mary as his wife; he goes to Bethlehem; he finds a place to stay
for the night; he takes his family to Egypt... He’s a man of action, not a man of words, a man
after God’s will. He longed to know God’s will and searched to see how he fit
into the Father’s plan. And just like God had a plan for Joseph, God has a plan
for each one of us. The plan does not need to be more than that He wants us to
be upright and righteous. He wants us to be loving people. But, just like
Joseph, we may feel that we don’t have anything to contribute: that we are
nothing but simple carpenters...we may feel insignificant, that we have nothing
to offer. Still, God has a plan for us! God gives us dreams and speaks to us in
our dreams. But also, just like Joseph we may never see the fruit of our
labour, we may never reap the harvest, but we have to keep going. St. Joseph may have been a simple
carpenter, who did not amount too much during his life, but today he is
venerated as one of the greatest saints in the Church. As we journey
through Lent, especially when we gather around the Eucharistic table, let’s
pray to St. Joseph. Let him guide us and help us open our hearts to God’s plan.
That we may be upright and righteous; that we may be men and women after God’s
will; that we may be able to pray, “Father show me how I fit into this plan of
yours.” And dream. Let God speak to us in our dreams and then get up and do
as the angel of the Lord directs us! God has a great plan for everyone. Even
for a simple Carpenter • AE
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