Tuesday 8 September 2026 - Drawn towards mercy

0:00Today is Tuesday 8 September, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the 23rd week of ordinary time. The Gaudetet ensemble sings Arvea Maria by Margaret Ritter. On this feast day, allow your desire to pray to lead you towards the Lord. Ask him to draw you close, to help you release whatever keeps you from him, and to open your heart and soul to his present.

1:11Arvea Maria by Margaret, Arvea Maria by Margaret, Arvea Maria by Margaret, Arvea Maria by Margaret, Arvea Maria by Margaret, Arvea Maria by Margaret and Arvea

3:28Today's reading is from the Gospel of Matthew. Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream

4:31and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet. Look, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God is with us.

5:37Joseph is caught between two goods, the demands of the Lord and mercy towards Mary. His first instinct is to protect her from disgrace rather than expose her. Long before he understands what God is doing, Joseph is already inclined towards compassion. Bear in your life if you found yourself drawn towards mercy, even before you fully understood why.

7:01The angel comes to Joseph in a dream at the very time when he is leased in control, leased able to plan or reason his way through. God's clearest word to him arrives in sleep, in vulnerability, rather than in his own careful deliberation. As God ever spoken to you, most clearly, at a time when you were not in control, or unable to see your way ahead.

8:26As the reading is repeated, listen for whichever word or phrase seems to be addressed to you today. Where does it lead you? Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, found to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream

9:30and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet. Look, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God is with us.

10:37Joseph's obedience is quiet and largely unrecorded. We never hear him speak, yet the whole of the Christmas story depends on his willingness to say yes to something he could not fully understand. Is there an invitation in your own life just now that asks a similar quiet trust? Why to speak to God about it?

12:45Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.