Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.
- Hamilton Wright Mabie
Merry Christmas from the Sisters
May the moments of Christmas,
open hearts wider to love and kindness,
softly whispering hope
for a gentler New Year.
May this Christmas season
fill your heart with peace,
wrapping you and your loved ones
in the warmth of love,
flowing gently
into all the days ahead in 2026.
-The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada
Image: Kenny Eliason/Unsplash
4th Sunday of Advent
The Hands that First Held Mary’s Child
Every year I look forward to this fourth Sunday of Advent. The readings finally bring us closer to the mystery of God being born among us. Some years there are only one or two days of preparation for the Great Feast. Very rarely do we have the opportunity to enjoy the full week of expectation.
On Friday of Week Three we began reading the account of the birth of Jesus according to St. Luke. That day we heard of the plight of Zechariah and Elizabeth as the angel announced they would birth a child in their old age. Luke continues in the Saturday reading announcing that Mary of Nazareth will also conceive – a child who will be holy and called the Son of God. There is a hint her of the man Joseph to whom she was engaged. Now, here we come to the Fourth Sunday of Advent, with a return to the gospel of Matthew and who do we find – a sleeping Joseph! The angel appears and settles Joseph’s concern about publicly dismissing the pregnant Mary. Joseph awakes from his sleep and takes Mary as his wife.
There is such a burst of surprise, wonder and awe in these birthing announcements. Frequently my prayer focuses on the feelings Elizabeth and Mary experienced in facing these wondrous events. More recently my thoughts are turning to Zechariah and Joseph in the midst of their struggles to believe. I share with you a hymn I have grown to love. Perhaps it will also help you move into the human reality of this mystery. Thomas Troeger the hymn text writer muses on what Joseph as man, as father may have felt, feelings that well-up as he cradles the child, as he is overwhelmed by the dream memory, as he gently holds the tiny form in his palms.
The tune that is suggested for this hymn text is RESIGNATION. You can find that in most hymn books. In Catholic Book of Worship III it is number 538.
-Sister Loretta Manzara, CSJ
The Hands that First Held Mary’s Child
1. The hands that first held Mary’s child
Were hard from working wood,
From boards they sawed and planed and filed
And splinters they withstood.
This day they gripped no tool of steel,
They drove no iron nail,
But cradled from the head to heel
Our Lord, newborn and frail.
2. When Joseph marveled at the size
Of that small breathing frame,
And gazed upon those bright new eyes
And spoke the infant’s name,
The angel’s words he once had dreamed
Poured down from heaven’s height,
And like the host of stars that beamed
Blessed earth with welcome light.
3. “This child shall be Emmanuel,
Not God upon the throne,
But God with us, Emmanuel,
As close as blood and bone.”
The tiny form in Joseph’s palms
Confirmed what he had heard,
And from his heart rose hymns and psalms
For heaven’s human word.
4. The tools which Joseph laid aside
A mob would later lift
And use with anger, fear, and pride
To crucify God’s gift.
Let us, O Lord, not only hold
The Child who’s born today,
But charged with faith may we be bold
To follow in his way.
Text: Thomas H. Troeger, b.1945, © 1985, Oxford University Press
Reprinted under OneLicense #A-711091
Image: ian borg/Unsplash
Weekly Pause and Ponder
The Third Sunday of Advent
The Responsorial Psalm for the liturgy of the Third Sunday of Advent carries the theme for the day. In fact, Psalm 146 outlines the reason for this holy season because we are promised one who will teach us about the transformation of all the ills of a society. Today, more than ever we need to cry out again and again, “Lord, come and save us.”
“It is the Lord who keeps faith forever,
Who executes justice for the oppressed;
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind
And lifts up those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous
And watches over the strangers.
The Lord upholds the orphan and the widow,
But the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, for all generations.”
Lord, come and save us.
-Sister Elaine Cole, CSJ
Image: Vidar Nordli-Mathisen/Unsplash
Psalm 146 is a powerful declaration of God's character and compassionate actions, emphasizing His faithfulness, justice for the oppressed, provision for the hungry, liberation for prisoners, healing for the blind, support for the weak, love for the righteous, protection for foreigners, and care for the vulnerable (widows/orphans), concluding with His eternal reign and a call to praise Him. (AI Summary)