Mornings with Mary

Mornings with Mary - Joseph, Earthly Father

St Joseph, earthly father of the Divine Child :
 symbol of humility and positive fatherly values,
faith and trust in the Will of God
even when we do not know what the outcome will be
nor what is waiting for us :
 living with an open heart
and a surrendered mind
 without the need to first understand
before we accept our path
as it is laid out in front of us.

St Joseph shrine - The  Mary Oracle Deck
by Hettienne Grobler

 The Feast of the Annunciation focuses on Mary's
first initiation into the Joyful Divine Mysteries.

Humility, obedience and service are the
qualities of the handmaid who
sacrifices everything to fulfill

the Divine Plan for humanity.

Just as much as this was Mary's initiation,
it was also Joseph's initiation
into fulfilling the Divine Plan.

For him too, it was an initiation
of humility, obedience and service.

The ancient esoteric legend tells us the following
about the betrothal and marriage of

Mary and Joseph:

She saw in your soul's garden

The virgin lilies stand,

And knew God made you worthy

To touch her virgin hand.

'It came to pass when they were gathered together,
Joseph was found with them, and as they were

waiting, behold, a snow white dove
went forth from the Sanctuary and alighted upon the top of

Joseph's staff (which had spring into blossom) and then flew upon his head.

The holy virgin heart of Mary could be wedded

only to another holy virgin heart.  

St Ambrose writes that theirs was the perfect love match
as the great saint was

betrothed to the Lily of Israel.

St Joseph, the Earthly Father of the Christ child,

went through his own journey of initiation, of joy and
sorrow, sacrifice, loss and love.

 Joseph  had to accept in humble willingness a task
so great and so painful : he sacrificed his
personal life for that of one of the highest service;
he had to withstand his society's
scorn and disdain when he married a young girl
pregnant by the Holy Spirit;
he had to father and love a child
whom he had to surrender to the Greater Mystery.

The contemplative seeker realizes that there are many
esoteric layers of symbolism hidden and stored in the
Lesser and Greater Divine Mysteries.

Joseph is, amongst others,
a symbol of the 'positive' father within.

He is the inner masculine self whom has to act
on our inner inspiration.
Inspiration (in spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit)
is in itself an immaculate conception.
Inspiration finds us, borne on the wings of the angel,
in the same way
that the Archangel Gabriel delivered the news to Mary
and Elizabeth.
But it is not always easy to act on inspiration.
We may be inspired to start a new project,
 to write a book, to get involved in our community,
to give up a bad habit, to make lifestyle changes,
but it is not always that easy to make work of our new ideas
We may be faced with many obstacles and
challenges in manifesting
our dreams and visions,
the biggest one being our own doubts.

And this is where the positive inner father steps in.
That aspect of ourselves
which is represented by the 'upright' St Joseph;
that part who has to to guide and protect the inner child,
the enthusiasm (being filled with the passionate spirit of God) of a new
undertaking, or an inner unfolding of the heart.

The inner father who overcomes the inner critic;  

the inner voice who encourages, 

supports and that part of the self that takes right action
to help us stay motivated 

and inspired and steadfast to our own dreams
and our vulnerable inner child.

Please join in with Mornings with Mary
at http://corazon.typepad.com/recuerda_mi_corazon/2013/05/mornings-with-mary-practicing-peace.html

Blessings