Meditation Mt 1,16.18-21.24a

Stand in God’s presence. God is present here and now, looking upon you with love.

Ask for the Grace:I will beg God our Lord that all my intentionsand actions may be directed purely to the praise and serviceof His Divine Majesty

Fixing a place, a picture for meditation: Joseph, who wants to marry Mary, learns that he is pregnant and knows that he is not the father of her child. Maybe he can feel anger now, maybe regret. However, he does not want to expose Mary to public disgrace, so he decides to dismiss her quietly. At night, he gets a dream in which the angel of the Lord comes and explains the situation to him and says that Joseph would take Mary to him. Joseph accepts the words of an angel, wakes up and does everything as the angel instructed. Where do you find yourself in this scene?

Ask for the fruit of meditation: for the courage to live with Christ

1.  Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace …

Joseph found himself in a difficult situation, unenviable. He could feel betrayed, cheated by Mary. Still, he does not want to expose her to public disgrace. So, he is looking for a way out of this situation, to provide Mary with respect, save her as a human being. Joseph gives us a beautiful example of realizing the commandment of love.In different life situations we also have the right to feel anger, regret, feel betrayed, but we should let us keep our dignity to the other person. How do you deal with such situations? How do you accept another person? What does Joseph teach you today?On the other hand, let us note that despite Joseph’s first assumption of betrayal of Mary, it turns out that the situation is different. The thought that arises in us doesn’t always good.  What is your ability to explain misunderstandings to others and yourself? How do you verify the truth of your thoughts?

2.   Discernment of vocation.

An angel comes to Joseph in a dream and gives him a mission to fulfill. Joseph’s task is to take Mary to himself, to receive the child who will be born and give the child the name Jesus. Joseph undertakes this, although it was probably difficult for him. He went into something that was a certain unknown. One can say that he makes a kind of discernment of what to do to be closer to God.How do you read the will of God in your everyday life, do you discern what to do or not to do in an even closer relationship with God?

3. Love.

Meet Jesus, feel his gaze, experience his gaze. Talk to him about what is difficult in your life, about your fears and uncertainties. Jesus understands you, accepts you as you are, with everything you come with, maybe he gives you courage and says: do not be afraid, I’m with you. That is his love.

Meditation:St Ignatius encourages in The Spiritual Exercises No. 2 … Because not so much knowledge, but internal feeling and the taste of things please and saturate the soul, that is, we stay where we feel interior movement … and nervously do not try to go on.

The final conversation: Spend a little time at the end, being with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit….as you would with a good friend: sometimes talking, sometimes listening, sometimes being together in silence. Speak to God about your feelings. Remember that times when ‘nothing is happening’ can also be significant. When you’re ready, end your prayer by saying thank you or using words that are familiar, such as the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father)–whichever feels right and comfortable. (The Spiritual Exercises No.54)