Tuesday, December 23, 2008

[MaryVitamin] St. Joseph & the Christmas Mystery

Mary Vitamin for December 23rd

 Topic: St. Joseph & the Christmas Mystery

 Quote:

From John Henry Cardinal Newman's

"Consider the Glories of St. Joseph"

"St. Joseph was the cherub, placed to guard the new terrestrial Paradise from the intrusion of every foe."

(cf. Genesis 3:24*)

 Meditation:

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the New Paradise, the Virgin Earth from which the Tree of Life is born. St. Joseph is an essential part of this mystery of our Faith.

 John Paul II

"Therefore he became a unique guardian of the mystery 'hidden for ages in God' (Eph 3:9), as did Mary, in that decisive moment which St. Paul calls 'the fullness of time,' when 'God sent forth his Son, born of woman...to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons' (Gal 4:4-5)…

Together with Mary, Joseph is the first guardian of this divine mystery. Together with Mary, and in relation to Mary, he shares in this final phase of God's self-revelation in Christ, and he does so from the very beginning. Looking at the gospel texts of both Matthew and Luke, one can also say that Joseph is the first to share in the faith of the Mother of God, and that in doing so he supports his spouse in the faith of the divine annunciation. He is also the first to be placed by God on the path of Mary's 'pilgrimage of faith.' It is a path along which—especially at the time of Calvary and Pentecost—Mary will precede in a perfect way."

Redemptoris Custos (Guardian of the Redeemer)August 15, 1989, par #5.

 Resolution:

 Today, I resolve to think of St. Joseph and to act like St. Joseph, the Guardian of the Holy Family. One time today, in honor of St. Joseph,  I will choose something or someone else over myself in order to protect the place of honor the Infant and Our lady have in my heart. I will think of St. Joseph and ask him to teach me the proper veneration due to the Holy Mother of God and Her Son.

 Marian Vow:

St. Louis de Montfort

"Mary is God's garden of Paradise, his own unspeakable world, into which his Son entered to do wonderful things, to tend it and to take his delight in it." (Secret of Mary, paragraph 19)

I will tap my heart today and reflect on the Paradise of Blessings which I have been given by my Marian Vow. I will ask St. Joseph to defend it.

 I give this resolution to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 Thanks be to God for graces received.

 Related sites: Castle of the Immaculate & AirMaria

 *Genesis 24

"When he expelled the man, he settled him east of the garden of Eden; and he stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword to guard the tree of life."



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