Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Matthew (1: 18-24) which tells of how Jesus came to be born.

Fr Paul says Matthew begins his Gospel with the birth of Jesus, with the Genealogy of Joseph that we heard yesterday.  Joseph is hesitant about adopting Jesus. Joseph thinks he is unworthy to acknowledge the child as his own and unworthy to bond with Mary who is with this child through the Holy Spirit, but the angel insists that only Joseph can do this job.

As soon as the child is born, he is given the name Jesus and it is important to note that it is Joseph who gives this name to him. By naming the child as is customarily done by the father, Joseph makes the child his own. After this we hear little more about Joseph, but he obviously left the example of a loving father embedded in the mind of Jesus.

As we continue our journey towards Christmas, Fr Paul says, particularly today hearing of St Joseph, we might ask St Joseph to pray for us!