My reflection today comes from Saint Joseph:
“From Joseph
A cave, outskirts of Bethlehem, December 27, 0001
Dear Christmas Friend,
I know my beloved wife already wrote to you. (She read it to me before she sent it.) I will be with you, too – when drabness seems to get you down and other peoples coldness tempt you to doubt your worth.
But I want to add something. Now that Christmas is over, you may be looking into the future… and you may be worried about it. Can you meet all your pressing responsibilities? Will you have your health? Will you have enough money to keep going? If there are changes in your life (there probably will be) how will you handle them?
I know how worries can wear a person down. This very afternoon, I’m having some anxious moments. I am unemployed right now. This makeshift home is hardly a palace we can be proud of. How will I manage the responsibility of caring for my wife and foster-child? I have no money, no friends in high places, no home of my own… no idea about what to do or where to go from here.
I did have a dream last night, and it scared me. It’s fuzzy in my mind, but I think it told me to leave here and start a new life in Egypt. I’ll wait and see. If I dream it again, I will have to obey it. But how will we prosper in a strange land, living with people we don’t know? Will I be able to support Mary and Jesus? What will become of us?
I can only rely on God he has seen me through past perils. He has sustained me when I was so bewildered. (Even when I wondered whether or not I should marry Mary.) Everything turned out so well. There is no doubt in my mind that God will be with me, no matter what the future brings.
The same God will be with you, too. Be of good heart. Remember the joy of Christmas. Remember all your joys… and all the many, many times God has seen you through past difficulties. He will continue to prove his love for you, always.
I am certain of this. I will pray for you – especially when worries come – that you will be certain of it, too.
Relax today. Be easy on yourself. Get a good rest. Have some good dreams. I’ll be praying for you, that your sleep be untroubled and your worries never get so big that you can’t manage them.
All my love,
my Son’s love, too,
Joseph”