Mass Readings for : Tuesday, 19th March, 2024

Liturgical Readings for : Tuesday, 19th March, 2024

03-19-St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Joseph was a person of faith and obedience to God’s will and salvific plan for humanity,
He showed great fortitude in times of trial, chaste spousal love of Mary and dutiful protector to Jesus.

FIRST READING

A reading from the second book of Samuel 7:4-5. 12-14. 16
The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David

The word of the Lord came to Nathan:
‘Go and tell my servant David,
“Thus the Lord speaks:
Are you the man to build me a house to dwell in? And when your days are ended and you are laid to rest with your ancestors, I will preserve the offspring of your body after you and make his sovereignty secure. (It is he who shall build a house for my name, and I will make his royal throne secure for ever.) I will be a father to him and he a son to me; if he does evil, I will punish him with the rod such as men use, with strokes such as mankind gives.
“Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne be established for ever.”‘

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm Ps 88:2-5, 27, 29
Response His dynasty shall last for ever.

1. I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord; through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever, that your truth is firmly established as the heavens. Response

2. ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your dynasty for ever and set up your throne through all ages.’ Response

3. He will say to me: ‘You are my father, my God, the rock who saves me.’
I will keep my love for him always; for him my covenant shall endure. Response

SECOND READING

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans 4:13. 16-18.22
Though it seemed Abraham’s hope could not be fulfilled, he hoped and he believed.

The promise of inheriting the world was not made to Abraham and his descendants on account of any law but on account of the righteousness which consists in faith. That is why what fulfils the promise depends on faith, so that it may be a free gift and be available to all of Abraham’s descendants, not only those who belong to the Law but also those who belong to the faith of Abraham who is the father of all of us.

As scripture says:
I have made you the ancestor of many nations, Abraham is our father in the eyes of God, in whom he put his faith, and who brings the dead to life and calls into being what does not exist.

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.
This is the faith that was ‘considered as justifying him.’

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

Gospel Acclamation James 1 :21
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
They are happy who dwell in your house, O Lord, forever singing your praise.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 1:16. 18-21. 24 Glory to you, O Lord
When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home.

Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’
When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Gospel Reflection March 19th Feast of Saint Joseph Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24

One of the gospel readings for the feast of Saint Joseph is the story of the birth of Jesus, according to Matthew. It is a little less familiar to us than the story of the birth of Jesus as we find it in Luke’s gospel and which we read on Christmas night. The gospel reading portrays Joseph at a moment of crisis. It could be termed a crisis of intimacy. Joseph tends to be depicted in religious art as an elderly man, more like Jesus’ grandfather than father. In reality, at the time of Jesus’ birth, he must have been a vigorous young man, perhaps still in his teens. The gospel reading describes him as betrothed to Mary. Betrothal is more than what we refer to as an ‘engagement’. As betrothed, he and Mary were legally husband and wife, but they would only live together as husband and wife after their marriage ceremony. The future happiness of this young man is suddenly clouded by an event of which he can make little sense, Mary’s pregnancy. What is he to do in this unexpected and confusing situation? The Jewish Law would have required him to take a course of action that went against all his natural feelings for Mary. In that moment of personal crisis, according to the gospel reading, Joseph experienced God as Emmanuel, God with him. God communicated with Joseph at this difficult time in his life and Joseph was open to hearing God’s word to him, a word that directed him beyond what the Law required, prompting him to marry his betrothed, to take her home as his wife. The story of Joseph reminds us that God continues to communicate with us in the challenging situations of our own lives, including crises of intimacy. There is no personal dilemma that need cut us off from God. God speaks a word of love and wisdom to us even in the most unpromising moments of our life’s journey. Jesus reveals God to be Emmanuel, God with us, and God is with us, guiding us and supporting us, especially in our own difficult family experiences. The gospel reading also suggests that Joseph was not only open to God’s presence but revealed God’s presence to Mary, showing her great care and sensitivity in a disturbing and unsettling moment. Joseph inspires us not only to be open to God’s presence in difficult family moments, but to reveal God’s loving and tender presence to each other, to look out for one another, when events come along that are disruptive and disturbing. Joseph’s care for the pregnant Mary, and later for Mary and his young son when faced with exile, is an inspiration to us all.