Thursday A Day of Change

Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Prayer of Fathers

Heavenly Father, You have been pleased to let me be called by the name that is yours from all eternity. Help me to be worthy of that name. May I always be for my children a source of life---phisical, intellectual, and spiritual. Help me to always contribute in great part to their physical growth by my work, to their mental advancement by good education and to their spiritual life by my prayer and example, so that they may become complete human beings and true children of their heavenly Father.
Let me be conscious that my actions are far more important than my words. May I always give my children a good example in all the situations of life. May I wear my successes modestly, and may my failures find me undaunted; may I be temperate in time of joy and steadfast in time of sorrow. May I remain humble after doing good and contrite after doing wrong.
Above all, may I scrupulously respect my children's rights as human persons and their freedom to follow a rightly-formed conscience, while at the same time fulfilling my duty to guide them in the way given us by your Son Jesus. Amen.