Presence

Lord God, give me a quiet, gentle and receptive spirit as I spend these few moments in prayer with You today.

Freedom

Lord, You created me to live in freedom. May Your Holy Spirit guide me to follow You freely. Instil in my heart a desire to know and love You more each day.

Consciousness

Life is busy, Lord.
Often my best intentions are left undone,
but I know that You are with me in all I say and do,
and in everyone I meet with daily.

The Word of God

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. ²⁰But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²²All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

²³“Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means, “God is with us.”

Inspiration

I have the greatest admiration for St Joseph, and he’s really one of my ‘go to’ assets when it comes to prayers of petition. Why do I like him so much? Well, he seems to find himself regularly in impossible situations, but he never appears to make a drama out of a crisis. Lord, teach me to have some of Joseph’s calmness, not only for myself, but for those who come to me looking for support.

Conversation

“Stay and watch with me.”
These were Your words, Lord, to the disciples,
before Your suffering and death.
I know, Lord, You will stay and watch over me
all the days of my life.

Conclusion

I thank God for these few moments we have spent alone together and for any insights I may have been given concerning the text.

Amen