"divorce proceedings"
"Joseph her husband, an upright man unwilling to expose her to the law, decided to divorce her quietly." —Matthew 1:19
When Joseph did not divorce Mary, he made one of the greatest acts of faith in history. Humanly speaking, he had every reason to divorce her. The only thing dissuading Joseph from the divorce was a dream he had in which an angel told him to take Mary as his wife (Mt 1:20). Enlightened by this dream, Joseph did not divorce Mary (Mt 1:24). Thus he did not divorce Jesus, the Baby in Mary's womb.
Like Joseph, we all have occasions to get a divorce. Some divorce their spouses legally. Others divorce them by ignoring them. Some parents divorce their children by surrendering them to the TV or by not correcting them after they seem incorrigible. Many Christians have divorced their church families. They may still go to church on Sunday, but don't get involved. Many mothers even divorce themselves from the babies in their wombs. Instead of bonding with these children, they abort them.
Jesus is the most divorced Person of all. When we divorce others, we divorce Him (see Lk 10:16; Mt 25:40). He hates divorce (Mal 2:16) but still loves those who are divorced and even those who do the divorcing. He will never divorce us.
Prayer: Father, like Joseph may I never divorce Jesus by divorcing someone else.
Promise: "Hoping against hope, Abraham believed and so became the father of many nations." —Rm 4:18
Praise: St. Joseph had to deal with scandal, homelessness, persecution, and exile, but accepted all gladly for Mary and Jesus.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our tape on Divine Love on audio AV 52-3 or video V-52.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, August 3, 2006 & September 18, 2006
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