Now 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. – Matthew 1:18

The world crumbles before her as the doctor tells her she has very low egg cell count. She’s only in her 30s but she only has a 10 percent chance of getting pregnant. This is her life’s biggest dream—to have a family of her own. And she would stop at nothing to make this dream happen. She goes through two IVFs and seven IUIs (intrauterine insemination) only to end in tears. 

She takes it further by looking for a surrogate mother. The woman agrees but backs out at the last minute. She finally realizes the need to shift from, “Lord, bless this plan,” to “Lord, is this plan Your will?” She finally resolved that if this is not God’s will for her, then let His will be done.

After four years, she gets pregnant naturally—no IVFs or IUIs. Only by God’s miraculous power. She now has not one but two beautiful children.

What God intends, God delivers. It doesn’t matter if the world tells you it’s the end for you. What God promises, He will do.

Veia Lim-Viñas (veiallim@gmail.com)

reflect

The world may say it’s a dead end or call it impossible. But remember: Our God doesn’t work by the standards of the world. 

Lord, I surrender my plans into Your hands knowing full well that You work beyond the borders of what is possible. Amen.

Saint Desideratus, pray for us.

A life of integrity and truth is the lifestyle that pleases the Lord. St. Pope John Paul II constantly called us back to such a lifestyle, and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI continued this call. The history of Judaism and Christianity is full of examples of men and women of integrity, the faithful few who are sources of renewal and faithfulness in the life of our traditions. 

⁵ Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land. ⁶ In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. This is the name they give him: “The Lord our justice.” ⁷ Therefore, the days will come, says the Lord, when they shall no longer say, “As the Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt”; ⁸ but rather, “As the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Israel up from the land of the north” and from all the lands to which I banished them; they shall again live on their own land.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19

R: Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace forever.

¹ O God, with your judgment endow the king, and with your justice, the king’s son; ² he shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. (R) ¹² For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. ¹³ He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save. (R) ¹⁸ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous deeds. ¹⁹ And blessed forever be his glorious name; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. (R)

Gospel | Matthew 1:18-25

Honor was important to Joseph. Perhaps, he was aware of the purity of his betrothed and could not see how Mary could have possibly betrayed his love. Whatever the case, he refused to denounce her and stood in judgment of her. Like Joseph, let us learn to give people the benefit of the doubt rather than making rash judgments that may not be justified.

Gospel Acclamation 

O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power!

¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ 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. ²¹ She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” ²⁴ When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. ²⁵ He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus. 

Read the Bible in one year! Read WISDOM 1 - 5 today.

During the last visit of Pope Francis in the Philippines on January 1519, 2015, he recommended in one of his homilies the devotion to the sleeping Saint Joseph. It’s an unusual image of the saint, but it became very popular after the papal visit. The Pope himself has a devotion to this image. He keeps in his office the famous statue that has accompanied him since he was rector of the Colegio Maximo de San Miguel. He himself declared in 2015 that he particularly loves Saint Joseph, as he is such a strong and silent man who protects and helps everyone even in his sleep. The image of the sleeping Saint Joseph is actually an expression of a spirituality—a spirituality of trust, a spirituality of confident surrender to God’s providence.

Mind you, Joseph is portrayed as sleeping not because he is lazy. Scripture tells us that Joseph did everything the angel commanded him. But he could sleep because he knew his efforts could only go so far. After doing everything he could, he trusted that God would supply what was lacking in his efforts. After all, “If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor.”

The slumber, therefore, of Joseph is not the slumber of the indolent. It is the slumber of the confident. The slumber of Joseph is not the slumber of the slothful. It is the slumber of the faithful—for God “pours gifts on His beloved while they slumber.”

Like in the life of Joseph, God is our active and faithful partner in the project that we call life. Let us labor all we can. And then sleep blissfully at night.

Fr. Joel Jason

reflection question

Work as if everything depended on you. Pray as if everything depended on God.

Pour Your gifts on me, O Lord, while I slumber. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ___________________________________