Memorial of St. Joseph - March 19, 2021

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2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a

The First Reading reminded me that God is with us forever. When we do wrong or sin, we forget that God loves us and is there when we turn away. In Religion class, we learned that heaven is a perfect life with God. We all spend so much time planning and worrying about the future and thinking about the past that we forget that God is with us now and we need to live in the moment. To me, the whole point of that Scripture is to remember that now is what matters and heaven is the perfect and eternal life with God.

Q: How do I envision Heaven? Can I see my life as a continuing opportunity to prepare myself for Heaven? Where in my life have I experienced a foretaste of Heaven?

Picture a time in your mind when you were a split second away from doing something. Maybe an insult you were about to hurl, a decision to procrastinate, or maybe even a choice that could seriously change your life. But you stopped, reasoned and decided against it. Maybe God wouldn’t have approved of the decision. Maybe you wanted to preserve your image. But just as God stopped Joseph from divorcing Mary to save his own skin, God showed him the good that could come of another outcome. Next time you come to this conflict, reflect on what God may open you up to if you reconsider.

Q: Can I hear God speaking to me in the same way he spoke to St. Joseph? Do I have the courage and humility to follow God’s plan for me?

Sinning is like getting lost from God. In this reading, Mary and Joseph cannot find Jesus. They are so scared that he is lost. This reminds me that when you sin, God is worried for you. He wants you to come back, to reconcile. When they found him in the temple, it was like when you are forgiven of your sins. My personal connection is that I sin, because I’m human. But when Jesus went into the temple, it was like my sins are being forgiven.

Q: When have I lost God this past year? What caused the separation, and how did God find me?

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