In the middle of the night, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream: “Get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

O Lord! What a challenge this must have been for Joseph's faith! His Son, the Son of the Most High, is threatened by a cruel tyrant who swore to kill him. The angel himself seemed alarmed of the impending peril. It seems that terror crept into Heaven before spreading on earth. Joseph obeys immediately, in the utmost compliance: he takes the Child Jesus in his arms and travels to Egypt with him and Mary.

(Source: http://etoilenotredame.org/actualites/un-mois-avec-saint-joseph-10-mars-2017-l-exil)

Like Joseph, dads are in dire need of courage to face the different ordeals they must go through: unemployment, illness, addiction, hardship, relationship issues within their couple or with their children… May our prayers help them be brave, keep faith and hope during these trying times. The Lord does not send challenges to punish us: if He allows them, it is to give us the opportunity to profess our faithfulness to Him in face of adversity. Let us pray so that dads will know that they are always loved by their Father in Heaven!

Lectio divina: Mt 2:13-15;19-23 (NABRE)

When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him”. Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet may be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead”. He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled. “He shall be called a Nazarene”.

Prayer:

Footsteps in the Sand (by Ademar de Barros, Brazilian poet)

One night, I dreamed a dream, I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord. When the last scene of my life shot before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. There was only one set of footprints. I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life. 

This always bothered me and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma. “Lord, You told me when I decided to follow You, You would walk and talk with me all the way. But I'm aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I just don't understand why, when I need You most, You leave me”.

He whispered “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

Practical action:

Today, I will pray for a dad that is currently facing unemployment, hardships within his couple or his family, disease, or addiction. Whether he is baptized or not, may he always remember that God created him and loved him first, and entrusted to his care a wife and children to bear witness to this love.

If I am a dad, I pray to be brave enough and repel the temptation to give into anger and always cultivate peace in my home.