| Wed Mar 19 | am: 72 pm: 119:73-96 | Jere 3:6-18 | Rom 1:28-2:11 | John 5:1-18 |
SECOND WEDNESDAY OF LENT St. Joseph the Worker, 1st Century
LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: St. Joseph has two feast days on the liturgical calendar. The first is March 19—Joseph, the Husband of Mary. The second is May 1—Joseph, the Worker. There is very little about the life of Joseph in Scripture but still, we know that he was the chaste husband of Mary, the foster father of Jesus, a carpenter and a man who was not wealthy. We also know that he came from the royal lineage of King David.
MEDITATION OF THE DAY: The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah is worthy of daily reading especially in Lent. In this third Chapter we hear again despite Jeremiah’s initial reluctance, profoundly gracious invitations and encouragements given to the Hebrew people to return and repent.
In the 3rd Chapter and the sections appointed for today we are reminded that these invitations for a change of heart come on the heels of great disobedience and we meet a God that engages a people where sin abounded but grace abounds more. When one reads this chapter one cannot help but think how unfaithful they had been and how they deserved to abandoned, and yet God was willing to receive them into his grace upon their repentance (Jer 3:1-5). The impenitence of Judah, and their persisting in sin, are aggravated from the judgments of God upon Israel, which they should have taken warning by (Jer 3:6-11). Such lessons are not just about a lost people of a bygone age, they speak to our own times and people, where in the West more and more people turn away from the God and the faith that they have known to explore and embrace their own ways and wants which only appear to be life giving but in fact are less than that.
PRAYER OF THE DAY: “God our Father, Creator and Ruler of the universe, in every age you call people to develop and use gifts for the good of others. Blessed Joseph your foster father responded faithfully and so we as that you help us to do the work you have asked of us and come to the rewards you have promised. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “The Lord has arrayed Joseph, like with a sun, in all which the saints possess together in regard to light and splendor. – St Gregory of Nazianzus
Lenten Discipline – Mindful of the festival day celebrate with a treat associated for the day with a cavazune, which is somewhat like a deep fried filled cookie. Another favorite is the puff pastry filled with ricotta and chocolate, and sometimes just a well-stuffed cream puff.Song For The Season- Joseph Song by Michael Card.