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Here are this week’s must-reads:

+ “Joseph’s prayerful silence was the primacy of his interior life. Scripture doesn’t  record a single word of St. Joseph. In a world that is so noisy, St. Joseph reminds us of how important it is to cultivate interior silence. St. Joseph’s prayerful silence enabled him to respond generously to God… St. Joseph was docile to God’s will. He responded to the demands and needs of the Holy family at every twist and turn. He fulfilled the needs of Mary and Jesus and never forced his own will on other people. He didn’t cling to his own dreams or plans, he surrendered entirely to the will of God. He was flexible and always put his freedom at the service of the Divine plan. We should also aim to always respond to the needs of others in the moment.” — Dr. Edward Sri

+ We’re finishing the St. Joseph Novena soon — I’ve been sharing a reflection each day during the novena over on my Instagram page, reflecting on the very human qualities about St. Joseph… imaging how he might have offered to help Mary do housework, thinking about what sort of family traditions Joseph and Mary each brought into their marriage, and dreaming of what sort of treats Mary might have liked to make for Joseph. 🙂 I love to think about these qualities in St. Joseph and Mary — in all the saints, really.

+ This is one of our favorite talks on St. Joseph by Pete Burak:

There’s a lot of different ways to describe a disciple – but one of the most fundamental ways is a disciple hears what the master is saying, and does it. And another way of putting it is: What is God telling you, and what are you going to do about it? A disciple lives in those realities, and a disciple is constantly asking themselves “What is God telling me?” And then “What am I going to do about it?” And Saint Joseph was an incredible disciple when it came to this, because every time God asked him to do something, he did something about it. Not only did he do something about it, but first he heard, he listened, he paid attention, he received, and then he actually did something about it.”

+ “St. Joseph was a father who was a master of an interior life. His silence was not just a silence, it was an active way of listening to the Father, was an active way of saying “I’m open, Lord, and I want to hear Your voice.”John Kinuthia

+ “When you’re living God’s will, the joy is palpable. It doesn’t mean it’s always perfect and happy, it means in the messy chaos hovers the true calling of your life and everything you were created to be is working.” — Tabitha, House of Joppa

+ Books about suffering (through the lens of faith)

+ “Jesus demands a choice from us. “Once we have encountered Christ,” Archbishop Vigneron writes in Marker 9.1 of Unleash the Gospel, “from that point forward we are either all in or all out.” After an encounter with Jesus, the light of the world, how could we ever turn back to the darkness? When we live as disciples in the truth, our works are magnified in his light, serving as a beacon to those in our lives who don’t know Jesus, who haven’t yet been faced with this choice. We have the opportunity to witness our faith to those around us, so that they can see the true and perfect joy that can only come from a life of following Jesus. We can only come to this light through Jesus, and others can come to Jesus through us. How can you bring others closer to him his week?” Unleash the Gospel

+ “Well, the incapacity to forgive comes from one place: a false sense of the substantial self. If my life belongs to me, then I will cling to resentment, anger, and self-righteousness when my dignity has been compromised. But when we realize that our life is not about us—when we put our forgiveness of others in relation to God’s forgiveness of us—then we find that real forgiveness is possible.” — Bishop Barron

+ Praying when it’s hard: praying when trying to forgive myself

+ Lastly, here’s what’s featured in this week’s Catholic Wife, Catholic Life NewsletterI share these every Monday and they always include: two gluten-free recipes, a reflection & prayer based on Sunday’s Mass readings (this week, it’s about overcoming shame), and links to budget-friendly fashion & home decor.

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