Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
2 Samuel 7:4-5,12-14,16 | Psalm 88(89):2-5,27,29 | Romans 4:13,16-18,22 | Matthew 1:16,18-21,24
Though it seemed Abraham’s hope could not be fulfilled, he hoped and he believed, and through doing so he did become the father of many nations exactly as he had been promised: Your descendants will be as many as the stars. (Romans 4:18)
Have you hoped for something that you secretly didn’t believe you would receive?
On the way to Sr. Lorenzina Nota’s 70th anniversary celebration, I pulled a tendon or something in my left leg. Instantly, my toes knotted themselves together, my ankle began throbbing, and the pain was quite literally crippling.
As I tried to relax and not scream in agony, I said a short prayer that went something like this:
Lord, thank You for the pain that reminds me of my mortal self. May it serve Your purpose in me, but If it be Your will, please take this pain from me. Amen.
Clearly, pain and clear thinking are never seen together, just like Clark Kent and Superman. The science-y part of my brain said “oh boy, this is gonna take a long while to resolve itself”, while the faith-y part went “Lord, shazam, please?”
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Abraham trusted God in his hope for children in his old age, and thus he became the father-in-faith to us all.
I trust God in my hope that this nightly Lectio Divina workalike will continue till the end of my physical or mental ability, and not be foreshortened by boredom or inability to find inspiration from sacred scripture.
Reason says I’ll run out of words to ponder after the 3 years of the liturgical cycle.
Hope tells me that when I come round to the same texts again, I’ll be a different person with different thoughts, so I’ll have new things to share.
Hope versus reason, which side will win?
I know which side I’m betting on.
Lord, You are our eternal Hope, whom we long to see in all Your glory, despite the derision of our learned friends. Help us keep faith in Your boundless goodness, be our guide as we navigate through the dark waters of mundane life, and when our time on earth is up, purge our stain of sin, that we may stand in Your holy presence and sing Your praises forever. Amen.