Hey, everybody. This is Father John Ricardo with Acts 29. And in the middle of all the craziness

and the uncertainty that's going on right now, it seems from our perspective as a team that it's

worth using these days to reflect in a more deliberate way on the scriptures every day, which

for many of us now is the only spiritual food that we're receiving. And so we're going to do a special podcast series simply entitled,

Be Not Afraid, God's Word in Uncertain Times.

And we'll try to post something every day, usually reflecting on the scriptures,

so that we can listen in on what God is trying to say to us in these days.

So what do you do when all of your plans get turned upside down?

What do you do when your whole life gets thrown out of whack?

Does that sound relevant and timely to anybody?

Because it sure seems so to me, given all that's going on in the

country and in the world and in the church that we're living in right now. And I would suggest

that the feast of St. Joseph that we're celebrating today has much to teach us about how we are to

live our lives right now as many of our plans get turned upside down and we find ourselves

living trying to continually ask the question, what should I do next? So let's look at Joseph.

Let's apply him to our situation right now. Before we look at Joseph, let's look at Mary, the woman to whom he is betrothed in the

scriptures, but understand that the fact that Mary and Joseph are betrothed does not mean that they're

engaged. They're actually already married. But back in the Jewish culture, at the time of which

Joseph and Mary lived, marriage was kind of a two-step process.

First, you were betrothed. You were legally married, and only later did you begin to live together.

So go back, if you will, in your mind to Luke chapter 1 and the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary, telling her that she's going to have a child. And remember

Mary's response is how? Well, she asks how because clearly Mary and Joseph have made a decision

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