Advent with St. Joseph

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Anton Raphael Mengs

​“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife” Matthew 1:18-24.

During a recent Votive Mass in honor of St. Joseph, our chaplain gave the Sisters a brief but profound preparation for Advent. As we look to Joseph and ask, “What did he do?” the answer Father gave us was: “He trusted Mary, and he welcomed Jesus.” Responding to the message of the angel in Matthew’s account, this is exactly what Joseph did.

This too is what we are called to do in the season of Advent. We learn to trust and imitate Mary’s humble, joyful, and expectant example of how to live Advent – forming God Incarnate in the ordinary realities of our day to day life. In this process of letting the presence of Jesus grow in the activity of our day and in the interior of our heart, we learn with Mary and Joseph to prepare to welcome Him more profoundly as we too prepare to celebrate His Nativity in the season of Christmas.

​May the intercession of Mary and Joseph be a source of many graces for each of us as we seek to grow closer to Jesus, the Word made Flesh, in this Advent season.