When the magi 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 might 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 Nazorean."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are here with me and that you want me to spend this time of prayer in heart-to-heart dialogue with you. I hope to be with you someday in heaven, and I trust that you will give me the graces I need to take one step closer to my eternal home today. I want to be your agent of love to everyone I meet today.

Petition: Let me accept that difficulties are necessary and an opportunity for me to grow in maturity and holiness.

1. "Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt." The birth of Jesus defied logic. The Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son, came into the world as a helpless baby. Like us, he needed to be fed and protected. God the Son, through whom the universe was made, put himself under the protection of an earthly father. And here, it was up to Joseph to guard Mary and Jesus from the wrath of a power-crazed Herod.

Just as God gave a mission to Joseph, so he gives each of us a special task. In a sense, God relies on us and on our fidelity, to guard that corner of the world that he entrusts to us. This guarding can take many forms. We might be called to support the faith of our siblings or our classmates. We might be called to dissuade them from a negative habit or influence. The important thing is to do something. Too often, people complain about the state of the world, but do little to offer a solution. God wants to send help. He normally doesn't rely on angels to carry out his work; rather, he relies on ordinary people. More to the point: God sends me, he has chosen to need me and he counts on my generosity.

2. "What the Lord had said through the prophet." The flight of Joseph, Mary and the child Jesus into Egypt was no accident. It was something planned from all eternity and it had its part in his plan. How would they make it to Egypt in safety? How would they pay their way? He does not intervene, he inspires Joseph and entrusts the work to him. How large the gifts of the Magi had been and how much they helped in this undertaking we don't know. We do know that Joseph was a man God could depend upon. He doesn't seem to have said much, but he did a lot.

Hardship had a mysterious place in God's plans. He used that hardship to fulfill his special designs for Joseph, Mary and Jesus. We sometimes think that hardship is a sign God has forgotten about us, or the path we have chosen is the wrong one. But that is not the case. God loves each of us, cares for each of us. He didn't bring pain and suffering into the world, the sin of Adam did but God can bring good out of evil. It was Herod who caused the suffering, but God would use it to show it is ultimately he who governs history. It was also a test of Joseph's and Mary's faith and trust, which continued to deepen. So our moments of hardships can be moments of courage, charity, a deeper trust in God's providence. Is that how I confront times of trouble?

3. "Because he had been warned in a dream." The Holy Family seemed to be bounced around, ping-pong style, from Judea to Egypt and then to Galilee. How did Joseph know what to do at each turn? He knew by being attentive to the working of divine Providence. In Joseph's case, that meant being alert to his dreams. God might never speak to us in a dream. But he does speak to us in many other ways. He speaks to us through nature. We can sense an inkling of his beauty when we see a fiery sunset or behold a range of majestic mountains. God also can speak to us through other people. He gives parents and legitimate authority figures a grace of state, which enables them to carry out their responsibilities. "Whoever listens to you listens to me," Jesus tells his disciples (Luke 10:16).

Above all, God speaks to us in our heart through his Holy Spirit. The heart is that hidden center where we live, "beyond the grasp of our reason and of others" (Catechism, 2563). Only the Spirit of God can reach this secret core. There, he speaks to us, nudges us to do better, reminds us to avoid evil. He speaks to us, not arbitrarily but according to a well-formed conscience, through the objective truths he revealed through natural law and Christ's example in the Gospel, and through those in whose hands he placed his Church. Sometimes he barely whispers. In order to hear him, we need to tune out the noise that surrounds us. If we can't find a time and place for quiet, we likely won't hear Our Lord. That is why it is so important to make time for prayer. We would feel bad if someone who said he loved us didn't take time to listen to us. Shouldn't we take time to listen to the God whom we say we love?

Conversation: Lord, help me to face the hardships of life with trust in your providence and fidelity. Let me never be deterred by them from doing the good you inspire in my heart. Let me never be discouraged by them, even by the ill-will of some who do not know you or understand your followers. Grant me a horror of leaving good undone. Let me accept hardships are a golden opportunity to mature and to grow in trust and confidence in your grace and to show you the depth of my love.

Questionnaire:

1. What do I think is my mission in life, what explains all the goodness God has shown me?

2. What hardships am I facing in trying to do what God wants of me, what fruit should I really be getting from them? Have they caused me to give up?

3. What has God been trying to tell me recently? Where is he nudging me to do better? Through whom might he be speaking to me?