6th Sunday
His sorrow when he was afraid to return to his homeland; His joy on being told by the angel to go to Nazareth.
INTRODUCTORY PRAYER O glorious Saint Joseph, you marveled to see the King of heaven obedient to your commands. Your consolation in bringing Jesus out of the land of Egypt was troubled by your fear of Archelaus. Nevertheless, being assured by an angel, you lived in gladness at Nazareth with Jesus and Mary. By this sorrow and this joy, obtain for us that our hearts may be delivered from harmful fears, so that we may rejoice in peace of conscience and may live with Jesus and Mary, and, like you, may die in their company. GOSPEL READING | MATTHEW 2:19 – 23; LUKE 2:40 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
REFLECTION “In the different circumstances of his life, St Joseph never refuses to think, never neglects his responsibilities. On the contrary, he puts his human experience at the service of faith. When he returns from Egypt, ‘learning that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judea, he was afraid to go there’ (Mt 2:22). In other words, he had learned to work within the divine plan. And to confirm that he was doing the right thing, Joseph received an instruction to return to Galilee. “That’s the way St Joseph’s faith was: full, confident, complete. And it expressed itself in an effective dedication to the will of God and an intelligent obedience. With the faith went love. His faith nurtured his love of God, who was fulfilling the promises made to Abraham, Jacob and Moses, and his affection for Mary his wife and her Son. This faith, hope and love would further the great mission which God was beginning in the world through, among others, a carpenter in Galilee: the redemption of man” (Christ is Passing By, no. 42). Conclude by praying the Litany of St. Joseph Litany of St Joseph
Lord, have mercy… Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy… Christ, have mercy.
Holy Trinity, one God… Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary… Pray for us.
St. Joseph…
Noble son of the House of David…
Light of patriarchs…
Husband of the Mother of God…
Guardian of the Virgin…
Foster father of the Son of God…
Faithful guardian of Christ…
Head of the holy family…
Joseph, chaste and just…
Joseph, prudent and brave…
Joseph, obedient and loyal…
Pattern of patience…
Lover of poverty…
Model of workers…
Example to parents…
Guardian of virgins…
Pillar of family life…
Comfort of the troubled…
Hope of the sick…
Patron of the dying…
Terror of evil spirits…
Protector of the Church…
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world… Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world… Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world… Have mercy on us.
God made him master of his household… And put him in charge of all that he owned.