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Saint Joseph, Pillar of Families

I didn't use to pray novenas.  I always thought that praying directly to God was better.  But I read this passage from the Bible: "The continual prayer of a just man availeth much." - James 5:16 I thought of the matter more and now I see that novenas are a humble way of praying.  It is asking those closest to Jesus (and holiest) people who walked the earth, to pray for me. This is not a new way of doing things as Moses intervened for the Jews when God wanted to punish them for making a bull with their own hands and started worshipping them. I now think God is pleased whenever I pray a novena.    Since then, I have seen so many SIGNS AND WONDERS in myself and in my circumstances because I prayed a novena.   I credit Saint Joseph for my happy home life and also for helping us with our finances though the best thing for me is the way novenas help us to lead holy lives.  The saints want no applause but rather, they will always draw us closer to God.   Instead of idolizing cel

God's Family


Gospel MT 1:1-17 
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, 
the son of David, the son of Abraham. 

Abraham became the father of Isaac, 
Isaac the father of Jacob, 
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. 
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, 
whose mother was Tamar. 
Perez became the father of Hezron, 
Hezron the father of Ram, 
Ram the father of Amminadab. 
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, 
Nahshon the father of Salmon, 
Salmon the father of Boaz, 
whose mother was Rahab. 
Boaz became the father of Obed, 
whose mother was Ruth. 
Obed became the father of Jesse, 
Jesse the father of David the king. 

David became the father of Solomon, 
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. 
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, 
Rehoboam the father of Abijah, 
Abijah the father of Asaph. 
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, 
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, 
Joram the father of Uzziah. 
Uzziah became the father of Jotham, 
Jotham the father of Ahaz, 
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, 
Manasseh the father of Amos, 
Amos the father of Josiah. 
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers 
at the time of the Babylonian exile. 

After the Babylonian exile, 
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, 
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. 
Abiud became the father of Eliakim, 
Eliakim the father of Azor, 
Azor the father of Zadok. 
Zadok became the father of Achim, 
Achim the father of Eliud, 
Eliud the father of Eleazar. 
Eleazar became the father of Matthan, 
Matthan the father of Jacob, 
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. 
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.



Jesus' lineage is marked by the Babylonian exile. It is a significant time in the life of God's people. Despite being away from their homeland, they still bore children and God still allowed them to be part of Jesus' bloodline. Through Jesus, we have been adopted into this family- God's own bloodline. He does not look at our past. He has allowed incest, murder, paganism, lust, new converts, prostitution etc. to stain His bloodline. If we think about it, this could be anyone's family tree.

Also if you think about it, this was Josephs' lineage and he was the foster father of Jesus.  Joseph adopted Jesus as his own, just like God adopted us to be His own. It speaks about how important the father's role is-even if he is a father by adoption only.

So what does this word mean for us? 

- Our lives are marked by our -relationship to God. we may have our own Babylonian exile days or months or years-and God marks the days until we come back to Him.

- Our past does is not forgotten but it doesn't define our future. God can use any kind of sinner to bring about His plans. He used imperfect people to bring about a PERFECT man into the world.

-I am a part of something big whether I am aware of it or not. Throughout every generation, God calls His people to Himself not just for their sake but for the sake of other souls groping in the darkness searching for the truth. 

- We are a part of God's family and we are in possession of all the grace, abundance and boundless love that God has for all His children. Hallelujah!

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