Daily Gospel Reflection for December 18, 2019

Reflection by Jennifer Durney Today's Gospel: Matthew 1:18-25 St. Joseph, the silent foster-father of Our Lord, often feels like the unsung hero of the Holy Family. He surely isn’t the Son of God who came to Earth as a tiny, helpless baby to save us. He didn’t physically carry this baby Savior and give birth to Him in a stable. He wasn’t immaculately conceived without sin or “incarnate of the Holy Spirit”. He doesn’t have a single spoken word attributed to him in the entire Bible but this was a man of great faith. The faith of St. Joseph, a man who much like Moses does not live to see the ending of the massive task God has called him to, is the kind of faith that I long to know. I know that the Christ Child that St. Joseph held in his arms died on the cross for my sins, but I don’t have the unquestioning faith it took St. Joseph to wake from a dream and do “as the angel of the Lord had commanded him”. I know that on Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from the grave and defeated death forever, but I can’t claim that I have Joseph-like faith evident in the actions of my life, be they big or small. St. Joseph knew nothing about the life that this child would lead and yet dedicated himself to caring for and protecting Jesus. I have the advantage of knowing everything written and passed down through tradition about Jesus and His life, death and resurrection and yet, comparatively my faith is nowhere near that of good St. Joseph. St. Joseph and I are both imperfect sinners who love Jesus and try our best. One day, through prayer and practice, I hope to be able to imitate the enormous faith shown by this great hero of God.

Ponder:

How can you prepare your faith this Advent for the birth of Jesus? How can you prepare your faith this Advent for the Second Coming of Jesus?

Pray:

Lord, I long to know and love Your Son like St. Joseph did while he was on Earth. Give me the grace to grow my faith so that my actions show my great love for You.

Copyright 2019 Jennifer Durney Jennifer Durney ministers to the young church of the Diocese of Erie in a variety of roles, all of which try her patience and stretch her heart in the best ways possible. She is blessed to share her passions and her life with her husband, Matt, and is in love with being Momma to their beautiful daughters, Vivianne and Gianna. Receive CatholicMom.com newsletters in your inbox, including the Daily Gospel Reflection each morning! * indicates required