Dad’s Lenten Blog

Thoughts during Lent

Tag: christmas

  • The greatest yes

    Their are times in your life, many of them just fleeting moments, when you’re asked to do something that is either uncomfortable, inconvenient, or just plain hard. Each of us has a story. At one time or another we had to make a decision. Yes, or no. Sometime today I want you to close your eyes and picture this scene: In a small ancient town, there is a small, nondescript house. Inside, there’s a young girl, maybe 13 or 14 years old. I’d like to believe she’s praying.

    All of a sudden, there’s an intense light. A man appears in the room. She is very frightened. The man kneels at her feet and bows his head. His words, “Hail Mary, full of Grace!“. Just imagine for a second what it would’ve been like for a young girl back then to experience this. Then, on top of this frightening moment, the man tells the young girl that she has been chosen by God to give birth to the savior of the world, the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus.

    Above all else, this young girl must have been so confused and fearful. How could she explain this? What would she tell her fiancé, Joseph??? What thoughts must have been racing through her mind. What would her response be???? I believe all the angels heaven stopped at that moment and were listening and hoping. She had free will to say yes or no. This was the moment that would change everything, forever. Her response: “Behold, I am the handmade of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word“.

    At that moment, heaven must have rejoiced. This young, simple, and innocent girl from a small, poor, insignificant town loved God and trusted Him. Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation. Today we celebrate like the angels did at that moment. Why? Because Mary said Yes.

  • How did he do it?

    How did he do it? How in the world did he do it? Mary would’ve been about 15 years old when they were engaged. I can only imagine how beautiful she would’ve been. Imagine with the singular grace she received from God, never having sinned in her whole life. When Joseph laid eyes on her for the first time, I can’t imagine what he must’ve felt.

    Sometime during their engagement, Mary conceives Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Immediately following that moment, Mary goes to her cousin Elizabeth to take care of her during the later stages of her pregnancy. I can imagine that Joseph took Mary to Elizabeth to protect her along that journey. So he is working hard and anticipating marrying this beautiful girl. But when she returns three months later, she is noticeably pregnant. What could possibly be going through his mind? I can’t even imagine the anxiety, the questions, the doubt.

    He went from being on top of the world to distressed beyond belief. I like to think that he decided one night to pack up his things and just leave and travel to a far off place never to be heard from again so that Mary’s virtue would be protected. How much did Joseph pray during those trouble moments? How many times he must’ve said to our Lord “what should I do?” And then, Joseph gives us perhaps the greatest example of trusting in God. In a dream, an angel tells Joseph to not be afraid, to take Mary into his home, and that the baby, Jesus, would be the savior of the world. And what does Joseph do? He trusted in God’s will and took Mary as his wife and raised Jesus as his son.

    Each time we hear of Joseph in the Bible, he is undergoing some incredible test. When Mary is nine months pregnant, they must make the journey to Bethlehem. And then, upon arriving, having no place to stay. Joseph must’ve felt like a failure as a protector and provider, especially knowing who Jesus was. When they presented Jesus to the temple, Simieon the priest foretold that Jesus would suffer, as would Mary. Can you imagine Joseph’s reaction? Yet he persevered. Soon after Joseph would have to take Mary and the baby and flee in the middle of the night to Egypt. Joseph had to provide for his family in a strange place, probably without any tools.

    Maybe the one that gets me the most is when Jesus is separated from Joseph and Mary. They searched for Him for three days!!!! Can you even conceive of the stress and anxiety that Joseph must have felt? Joseph was one of us. And he gives us the greatest example of trusting in God’s plan. He had to abandon his will to trust in Gods. That’s how he did it.