December 18, 2014
Thursday,
3rd Week of Advent
1st Reading: Jer 23:5–8Gospel: Mt 1:18–25
This is how Jesus Christ was born. Mary his mother had been given to Joseph in marriage but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her. While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a son. You shall call him ‘Jesus’ for he will save his people from their sins.”All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Emmanuel which means: God-with-us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do and he took his wife to his home. So she gave birth to a son and he had not had marital relations with her. Joseph gave him the name of Jesus.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
St. Joseph never touched the Blessed Virgin Mary. But their relationship could not have been that of two detached people brought together by some vague ideas of a mission from God. On the contrary they lived together in the highest form of love. This love made their presence to one another total. It made them transcend the cravings of the flesh and all inordinate carnal desires even as they lived together in intimate relationship.
Not all who live together live in love. The following story will illustrate. A couple continued sleeping together despite strained relations. Since they were not on speaking terms, they wrote short notes to each other for very important communications. One night the husband who needed to wake up early the following day wrote the following note: “Hey wife, wake me up at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow.” The wife did not wake him up; the barking of dogs did but at 7:00 a.m. Jumping off from his bed to catch up with time he found a small piece of paper on top of his pillow with the following note from his wife: “Hey husband, it’s 5:00 a.m. Wake up!”
When one is truly in love with another, his presence to that other person comes alive as he makes that person’s dreams, aspirations, and desires his own. Without love presence remains at the physical level. Family members become mere housemates and homes turn into boarding houses.
May Mary and Joseph inspire couples to deepen their love for one another. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website:www.frdan.org.
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