23 My Monologues with the Mighty King Herod the Great

23 My Monologues with the King Herod

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

When the Blessed Babe of Bethlehem was born you must have already crossed seventy and must have been a king for more than thirty years, right?

Besides the enormous landed property and wealth your father had amassed, on your own, you had acquired much wealth, power, position, and pelf.

Your unbounded ambition, your astute political wheelings and dealings along with your seemingly untiring hard work helped you to become the governor of Galilee at the age of twenty five!

No small an achievement to be sneezed at, right?

Oh, Mighty King Herod,

Through your sheer military and political skills, you became the King of Jews at the age of thirty seven.

You did expand and enlarge the territory of your kingdom more than twice the size of Kingdom of Judah which you had inherited.

You worked hard to usher in relative peace and prosperity thought out your Kingdom.

You built a safe sea-port at Caesarea.

You erected mighty fortresses like Fort Masada, Antonia Fortress in Jerusalem to control the crowd, to put down possible rebellions, and to expel the enemies who may dare to attack.

You constructed magnificent palaces all across your land.

You patronized sports and became the president of the Olympic Games!

You did rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, enlarged it, beautified it beyond compare and widened it's premises into an area of about 35 acres of land.

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

You were a war veteran and had a very powerful, an ever ready ruthless army at your command assisted by the Romans.

Hardly was there any king or ruler around your neighborhood who could neither pose a threat nor throw a challenge to your royal throne and to your position, right?  

Your marriage alliances with  a number of neighboring kingdoms and royal families made sure that they would not rise up against you.

Besides, as long as, you kept the Caesars of Rome in good humor which you had been doing so successfully and tactfully, you didn't have to worry about any threat to your throne.

You claimed to be the Patron of the pagans and the Protector of the Jews.

In every way, you made your throne secure and your life luxurious.

You were a success story, indeed!

Oh, Mighty King Herod,

despite all these marvellous achievements:

How could you ever feel challenged by a newborn Babe?

How could you, ever feel threatened by a Babe born in nearby Bethlehem?

Oh, Mighty  King Herod,

Isn't it ironic that a mighty king as yourself was worried about a newborn weakling Babe, born somewhere in Bethlehem?

How could you ever think of this newborn Babe as a threat?

It would have taken at least a quarter of a century for the newborn Babe even to appear as a challenge to you, right?

There was no rhyme or reason for your fear!

It was unfounded, unreal, and exaggerated!

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

The Babe was neither born into a family of powerful warlord chieftain as you did.

Nor was the Babe born into a rival royal ruling class.

Unlike your father Antipater who was a self made Idumean war lord chieftain, the newborn Babe had no such military family background.

Yet, how could you be so dead scared of the newborn Babe of Bethlehem?

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

Did you have any inkling in your innermost  recesses of  your being of anything extraordinary about the Babe of Bethlehem,

so as to scare you into panic?

Did you feel any vibes about some sort of a foreboding mysteriousness about the newborn Babe?

Did you fantasize at least for a fraction of a second whether the newborn Babe could be some sort of a divine being?

Were you obsessed with an apparent threat by the newborn Babe?

Or, were you just paranoid?

Oh, Mighty King Herod,

Whatever might have been the reasons for your obsession with an imaginary threat, you took it real serious, or else you would never ever have ordered the wild, violent, and spine chilling, macabre massacre of those innocent babies in and around Bethlehem, right?

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

How could you bring yourself to perpetrate such a gruesome act of gross Infanticide?

Did you have a morbid mind and a monstrous will to maximize your sadistic pleasure of the worst kind?

It seems you were constantly haunted by unfounded fear,weren't you?

Remember, how exaggerated was your suspicions of your wife, Marimne, plotting against you and doubting her sincerity and allegiance to you?

Though you had professed several times your love for her, you had no qualms of conscience to plot and have her killed,right?

Remember, how gruesomely you murdered her after having made love to her and after having sex with her on the previous night?

And then you wept in depression!

Pathetic Indeed! Sick you are!

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

Remember, years ago, as a young adventurous king you put away Doris, your first wife, as you desired to have Mariamne, the beautiful Hasmonean princess, never ever you did imagine that someday you would be mercilessly murdering her!

How evil can be the schemings of our human mind!

How paranoid you must have been to have murdered two your sons born of her, her own mother, i,e, your mother-in-law, and her grand father!

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

You have had as many as ten wives and fourteen children.

And at least two of your wives and two of your sons had met with calculated and cold blooded murder, didn't they?

Your paranoid and the exaggerated threat to yourself appeared so real to you, Right?

All that mattered to you was your own,

Egocentric Ego, right?

Sad Indeed!

Oh, Mighty King Herod,

On the one hand, you were a dazzling success in terms of military conquests, territorial expansion, enlarging and beautifying the Temple, constructing Palaces, and putting up Fortresses.

Your unbounded ambition and sheer force of your will power helped  you to accomplish the above successful achievements.

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

On the other hand your family life and personal relationships were marred by jealousy, envy, intrigues, suspicion, and paranoia, which ended up in heinous crimes of  torture, murder, unjust imprisonment and banishment.

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

You are a paradox!

You are an enigma!

You are a riddle!

So am I !

Well, many a times, that's very true of Me too!

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

The more senior a king you became the less saner a person you ended up to be, right?

As the Babe of Bethlehem was born,

you, Oh, the Mighty King were dying, dying of various diseases of both body and mind, right?

As the New Light of Life was being lit by the Babe,

the Flame of death, destruction and corruption  fanned by you was being put out, right?

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

As they say, the last phase of your life was plagued by sickness of all sorts.

You were afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis, arteriosclerosis, as well as venereal diseases.  

Besides:

You were mentally confused,  

You were paranoid with unfounded fears,

You had bouts of depression,

You had frequent flaring up of rage.

You became a bitter lonely loony man!

You even attempted to commit suicide!

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

Your last days were spent in Herodium near Bethlehem,  a place you had prepared in advance.The top crest of a hill was chopped off and excavated  inside and took the mud out from the center and then  built  inside a fortified Palace and a tomb for you.

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

As they say, one of the main causes of your delusion and paranoia was your almost innate feeling of being an inferior Jew, or a half Jew at best.

You were constantly aware of the fact that your father was never a born Jew,  but a converted Idumean Jew! Once upon a time, the neighboring Idumeans were forcefully converted into Judaism.

So the upper class Jews as well as the priestly classes neither accepted you as a pure bred nor respected you.

On the contrary, they held you in contempt.

They had total a disregard for you and only pretended to be respectful towards you as they were scared of you.

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

The validation you craved for and the recognition you sought after, never came by! You knew fully well that they were waiting to celebrate your death.  

To avoid that, around seventy religious leaders who were opposed you, had been  imprisoned and were to be executed the moment you die. The Jews would rather mourn the massacre of these elderly religious men rather than celebrate your death!

Strange indeed!

Oh, boy,  if these records were correct,  

Oh, Mighty  King Herod,  your sick mind saw to it that besides slaughtering the Innocent Infants, the orthodox elders and  priests were also massacred by your evil designs!

Sad Indeed!

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

I have been very harsh in tearing you apart and exposing the inborn contradictions in you.

I keep on asking myself as to why does the mere thought of you ignite so much of repulsive and revulsive feelings in Me?

Oh,  Mighty King Herod,

I do identify a  Miniature, Midget version of a Mighty King Herod very much alive in Me!

He acts up often and plays havoc in my life.

And at times he gets out of my control causing much harm to myself and to many others around  Me!

Oh,  Blessed  Babe of Bethlehem,

Help me to be constantly aware of the presence of:

A Miniature  Midget  of a Mighty  Herod in Me!

In a sense:

I have been often an assassin like King Herod.

There have been times when I engaged myself

in the cruel Acts of Character Assassinations!

I have done it:

as a sibling,

as a student,

as a seminarian,

as a young priest,

and I continue doing it even as a senior priest!

I have cut many of my companions, co-workers, confreres, seniors, superiors, and many others,

I have cut them to seize

with Character Assassinations!

just because I saw in them either an unreal or of an exaggerated threat to my Selfish Ego!  

In hindsight, I have had even some of my so called accomplishments and achievements,  be it academic or pastoral, I have done it just to give a boost to my Ego and get validation and recognition for my Ego!

I am afraid, I have  been carrying

a  version of a 'Herod the Small' in me!

Oh, Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

I want to admit and acknowledge the presence of the 'Herod  the Small' in me.

I want to be constantly aware of his presence in me.

I want to keep cutting him to seize and some day, I want to rout him and root him out of my life.

Until I succeed in uprooting him and banish him out of myself...

I will keep trying and trying, until I succeed!

And with hard work coupled with your help, 

Succeed,  I shall!

Oh, Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

I want to remain some time in Silence,

Gazing at you with my glazed eyes!

Amen

JoAchen

Sunday, December, 28, 2014

joachenmonologues@gmail.com

Dear Reader,

Wish you a very

Happy and Peacefilled and Prosperous New Year!

PS

These Reflections are neither pure scientific exegesis nor are they any highly theological speculations. They are my devotional meditations mainly meant for my personal renewal and spiritual growth. They are a part of my, 'Prodigal  Priest's' journaling on my Pilgrimage to the Home of our Heavenly Father.

I plan on uploading a Reflection each on 7th, 14th, 21st and on 28th of every month.

Dear Reader, as I keep you holding up in my daily prayers, I request you to include me too in yours.

If you do not want get these Reflections via email, please send a note and your email id will be deleted.

Thank you! 

22 My Monologues with the Babe of Bethlehem (Lk 2)

22 My Monologues with the Blessed Babe of Bethlehem (Lk 2)

Oh, the Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

The cute little Adorable Prince,

Happy Birthday to you, Oh, Holy Infant!

You are an Adorable Prince of Peace indeed!

As you know, ages ago, about Two thousand  plus years ago, your parents started a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, right?

They had to cover a pretty good distance of about a hundred and thirty or so kilometers/around eighty miles of dusty and dangerous roads.It must have taken some three days or so for your parents to complete this tedious,trying trip and reach Bethlehem.

Oh, the Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

They were not just two of them travelling.

As they set out, they had you along with them, you were with them, don't you remember?

Oh, Blessed Babe, you were comfortably cosying right with your Mom in the most natural and warm, 'Baby Sleeping Bag' which the Creator had gifted your Mom the moment she was formed and fashioned by Him.

Oh, the Blessed Babe of  Bethlehem,

As you know, He does gift everyone of His daughters with it, if and when they want become mothers, they would necessarily need it. It is inbuilt, custom made, self contained, fully equipped, fully automatic, and it comes loaded with full option.You get your food delivered right there, you are also provided with an instant self cleaning toilet system.The Creator has gifted and entrusted it every one of his daughters to own, operate, and use if and when she becomes a Mom, You know it all,

Don't you?

Can't imagine a better place to begin one's life, Can you?

Oh, Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

Our Moms take real good care of us, right? During the initial days and weeks of our existence we spend most of our time sleeping in those 'Baby Sleeping Bags', it's comfortable!

As you have been using it constantly for the last nine or so months, what do you think of it?

Don't you like it?

Oh, Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

Like any other human being, you too had made your home in it for last nine months or so. We humans, all of us, have been there and normally have enjoyed our sojourn there for the first nine plus months of our lives! May be it is  one of the best of times of our lives without any worries or weariness. So much so, when faced with troubles and trials, many have wished to be back in it. Even, a few holy men and prophets had expressed their wish to go back to those 'Baby Sleeping Bags,' and hide unperturbed!  Me too have wished at times to get back there and escape, as a part of running away from rough realities of life!

How loving is our Creator!

How farsighted is our Maker!

How caring our are Moms!

How blessed are we, to have Them Both!

How honoured are we to have you as one of us Oh, Blessed Babe of Bethlehem!

Oh, Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

Right after you had found your way into the 'Baby Sleeping Bags'  about some nine months or so ago, your Mom had wanted to visit your elderly yet expecting Aunt Elizabeth in Eine Kareem. It was less than day's journey from Jerusalem.Your Mom did go and you were with her too as an Embryonic Baby right there within your Mom, inside the 'Baby Sleeping Bag.' You and your Mom lived for about three months or so with your Aunt Elizabeth to help her out. When your Mom reached Eine Kareem and greeted your Aunt Elizabeth, your cousin JB, though he too was still in his 'Baby Sleeping Bag' leapt with joy as he felt your presence as well as your love for him!

Don't you remember?

Probably, it was from Eine Kareem, Joseph, your Foster Father, took you and your Mom to Nazareth.You were safely carried all way in the 'Baby Sleeping Bag.'

Oh, Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

Speaking of your Mom and Foster Father,

their respective families wanted them to get married and they liked each other.

So they got themselves Betrothed.

They had a very normal, happy, and optimistic head start and did begin planning, dreaming!

Oh,  Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

But the sudden, drastic unfolding of events, beginning with the appearance and the announcement of Angel Gabriel about your Mom being chosen as 'highly favored', turned everything topsy-turvy in their lives for a time.You Mom became pregnant with you,

as a result of the active involvement of the "Power of the Most High."

It was something hitherto unheard of a thing! Your Foster Father could not unravel the mysterious happening as he grappled with it. No human being ever can!

Finally he decided to leave your Mom!

You know the whole story, don't you?

Oh,  Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

Sure, you were the saddest and most hit!

You never ever wanted them to separate, right?

Though only for a few days together,

in between you and your Mom a deep love  bond had already been forged.

Similarly, you struck a chord with your Foster Father as he was a''Just Man", right?

You wanted both of them to be together and never ever wanted them to get separated and never wanted them to live apart from each other,right?

Oh, Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

I guess, you had ideas! Oh, boy!

right away,

You swung into action, didn't you?

You used the 'hot-line' connection, didn't you?  

You, for sure, got in touch with

the "Power of the Most High", didn't you?

and right came the Angel Gabriel,

reassured your Foster Father,

he dropped the plan to drop your Mom off!

Oh, Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

I am sure, you silently, smartly, yet effectively

pushed the right button, pulled the right strings

thus got your Mom and Foster Father together

never to suspect each other, never to separate,

together they took care for each other,

together they lived and loved each other,

together they loved you and took care of you!

Oh,  Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

I believe you were the brain behind getting  Gabriel to go to your Foster Father,right?

You did it rightly, you did it promptly,

You did it while still in the 'Baby Sleeping Bag',

Sure, you do have real good live connections  with your Father high up in the Heavens, right?

Great indeed!, Oh, Babe of Bethlehem! Great!

Oh,  Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

We travelled almost nine months back on the Memory Lane, right?  You were on the road to Bethlehem, when we took a U turn and travelled back on the Memory Lane.

Oh, Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

Finally, after days of tedious trip,

there you were!

at the outskirts of the ancient and tiny royal city of Bethlehem!

On a cold and crispy December Night lit with

Twinkling Stars in the skies above the ancient tiny little city of Bethlehem, you along with your Mom and Foster Father, were at the outskirts of the tiny city of Bethlehem.

Oh, boy, Oh, boy, the moment you heard your Foster Father telling your almost exhausted Mom something like,

"there we are!  That's Bethlehem..

We will be there in a short time.."

Oh, Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

hearing it, you got all excited..  Didn't you?

You started pressing and pushing your Mom to let you peep out..

She was feeling your push...

and she got all worried..

and told your Foster Father to hurry up to find a room as you could, at any moment, be born!"

The tiny city was packed with residents,  travellers and pilgrims, its narrow streets and lanes were humming with noisy nightlife.

From house to house he went,  

From door to door, he knocked..

No rooms..

No place in the Inn...

Your Foster Father was frantic...

failing to find a the privacy of room

for you to be born, he was terrified!

Finally, he could find only a stable

as a quiet and convenient place..

and hurried he did, huddling your Mom

ushered her to the stable turned

into a makeshift 'labour room'

As they say, he sought and got a midwife helper to assist your Mom.

Waiting patiently, praying fervently,

finally your Foster Father smiled as he heard

the cry of a newborn!

"It's a Boy!"

Sure, your Mom and Foster Father knew

already nine months ago,

that you would be a Baby Boy!

It was you, Oh Babe of Bethlehem!

Finally you came, Oh, Emmanuel!

At last you arrived, Oh, Prince of Peace!

Your Mom wrapped you in swaddling clothes and huddled you closer closer to her.

And both of you slipped into a peaceful nap. As your Foster Father heaving a sigh of relief

sat with glazed eyes watching you both.

Up from High Heavens there descended

the soothing Sound of Heavenly Silence!

Indeed, it was, "a Silent Night....a Holy Night!"

Oh,  Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

Let me take peek of you!

Let me glance your serenely smiling face!

How could you ever be a helpless infant baby!

How could you ever be born a mortal like us!  

How could you ever be born so pauper poor!

How could you ever be hiding your Divine Nature, oh, Blessed Babe of Bethlehem!

Oh, Blessed Babe of Bethlehem,

We humans shall never know the depth of Your love for us!  a love that is Inexhaustible!

A love so Unconditional, Unrequited, Unending!

Oh, Emmanuel! Oh, Emmanuel, Oh, Emmanuel!

I bow before Thee, Oh, Babe of Bethlehem,

I bow before Thee, Oh, Emmanuel!

In Silence, in Wonder, in  Joy, in Thanksgiving!

I bow before Thee, Oh,  Babe of Bethlehem!

Amen

Dear Reader,  Wish you and your loved ones

A very Blessed and Merry Christmas!

May the Peace, the Joy, and the Simplicity of the Babe of Bethlehem, of the Emmanuel

Be yours to experience and relish every day!

Gloria in Excelsis Deo !!!!!!!

JoAchen

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Joachenmonologues@gmail.com

PS

These Reflections are neither pure scientific exegesis nor are they any theological speculations. They are my devotional meditations mainly meant for my personal renewal and spiritual growth. They are a part of my, a Prodigal Priest's, journaling on my way of the Pilgrimage to the Home of our Heavenly Father.

I plan on uploading a Reflection each on the 7th, 14th, 21st and on the 28th of every month.

Dear Reader, I keep holding you in my prayers and I request you to include me in yours.

Thank you.

JoAchen

For Previous Reflections:

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21 My Monologues with Joseph, the Just, the Silent, (Mt1)

Oh, dear Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

Volumes have been written about you in the  initial years of New Testament times as well as in the distant and recent past, trying to speculate and figure out:

about you,

about your age,

about ancestry,

about your immediate family of origin,

about the probability of a previous marriage, about fathering children in an earlier marriage,

about getting betrothed to Mary of Nazareth,

about the nature of your relationship with her,

about the type of your relationship with Jesus,

about the time and place of your death, etc.,

Getting a glimpse of all these human hoopla might give you a chuckle of delight, Doesn't it?

Oh, dear Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

Writings and discussions about you and on these issues will keep on happening.

Let the scholars, the pundits, and the pupils of all sorts, continue their earnest search for you and carry on their creative research on you and on these issues so as to provide us  with a better grasp of you and of your life.

May they find joy and success in their work!

Oh, dear Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

In the meantime, along with millions of ordinary humans, I strongly feel the push and pull within myself to reflect on you and on the already available texts, and on the hitherto collected informations, which are sure to help me in my daily struggle, trying to live a semi-solitude way of life and at the same time, dreaming of and striving after, nibbling on the "life in abundance."

Oh, dear Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

Whenever I read the scanty and the skeleton  references about you from the pages of the Gospel Narratives, what irresistibly attracts me and dauntlessly draws me to you, is your melodious and mesmerising Sound of Silence! Isn't it true that not a single syllable of your spoken words has found a place in the Gospel Narratives? Yet the live vibrations of your deep thoughts of agony and ecstasy and the conspicuously unspoken words are ever present in between the few relevant lines.These vibes can be strongly felt by any attentive reader from the initial chapters of Matthean and Lucan Narratives, right?

Oh, dear Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

You can never ever forget the moment when you came to know about horrendous news of the shockingly unbelievable and totally unacceptable pregnancy of your Fiancee,

Can you?

Could you have ever imagined this  scenario,  the happening of the unexpected, in your life?

Weren't you hurt to the core of your heart?

Weren't you hurt to every fiber of your Being?

Oh, dear Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

Who broke the shocking news to you?  

Her parents?, Her relatives?, Herself?

After hearing the disastrous news,

How did you react?

Did you freeze?

Did you pale and pass out for a moment?

Did you feel rage boiling up deep within?

Did you feel revenge welling up within you?   Did you feel cuss and curses frothing within?

Did you feel seething with vengeance?

Did you feel taking her to the court?

You might have had at least a fleeting experience of these or similar feelings, right?

Oh, dear Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

If you have not had any of the above retaliatory feelings and emotional reactions,

I am envious of you, indeed!

Because, if I were in a similar situation

I would have yielded to almost all the above mentioned retaliatory and vengeful emotions. I would have been very furious and ferocious, vicious and vindictive until the last penny is paid up, that's an yet to be untamed part of me.

On different occasions and for various reasons

many of these emotions continue to keep popping up in my daily life causing concern.

That's a part of me, I keep struggling with!

Oh, dear, Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

You are far, far ahead of many of us!  

I wish! I could be like you, keeping cool

in my tensed situations, struggles and perils!

How wish to be cool, calm, and composed like you!  Oh, Joseph, the patient and persevering!

At least, once in a while, then, often,  and then, once a day, how I wish to be cool like you! Someday, may it become a major part of me!

For me, may this be:

a dream to be paddled,

a wish to be pursued, and

a goal to be achieved

for the rest of the last phase of my life!

Oh, dear Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

Do keep on inspiring and imbibing me!

Oh, dear Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

Had you experienced any of those emotions,

humanly speaking, it would have been natural.

It is quite probable and quite natural for any fiancé to feel very hurt, angry and betrayed!

I guess, you met your pregnant fiancee face to face and then, either you did talk your heart out to her or you did say to her something similar to the following lines, or a bit of both:

"Mary, how could you, ever do this to me?"

"By the way, who is the guy responsible?"

"After having blandly betrayed me, how could you come up with this cock and bull story?"

"Tell me, Mary, who really is, this guy who has fathered the Unborn Life within you?"

"Mary, I find myself at a loss: since your childhood on, you had been very innocent and quite angelic in your life and behaviour."

"Mary, I never ever, even in my wildest of imaginations, can doubt your faithfulness,

your virginity...you know it,  Don't you? "

"Mary, you are not that type... I know it."

"Mary, I am confused...., I am going crazy,

Mary, I just can't bring myself to buy your so-called, "Power of the Most High"  explanation."

"Mary, equally, I just can't bring myself to believe that you deliberately can or did cheat me, No, Never,  you can do such a Thing!

Mary, don't you or can't you see my dilemma?

"Mary, I know, for certain, you would never do it to me or to anyone for that matter."

"Mary, I know you so well, you are not that sort of a girl."

"Mary, you can never bring yourself to do such a terrible Thing. I am certain of it! "

" At the same, Mary, I just can't figure out your explanation, it's  never heard of such a Thing!"

"Mary, I am real scared, if I were to let my family and my community know of this mess, they are sure to force me to sue you.

They can either get you excommunicated or they can push you into prostitution or get you stoned, even stoned to death or even burned at stake!, The least, they can and they will do is  to get us separated."

"Mary, honestly, this is what I am scared of!"

"I just can't imagine this happening to you!"

"Though deeply hurt and angry, I shall never let this happen to you."

"Mary, I will not lodge any legal or official complaint against you.. "

"I shall quietly cancel the Betrothal Agreement and thus painfully put you away, though I hate to do it, I got to.....

Mary, that's only least harmful way out for us,  especially for you!"

"Mary our lives will never ever be same,

We will never have it as we had talked, prayed,  planned and even dreamed,  right, Mary?"

"Mary, this our 'Agony in the Garden of our Dreamed of Married Life,' right, Mary? "

With broken our dreams and bleeding hearts,        Mary, let us part our ways!"

"Mary, I am soulfully sad!"

Oh, dear Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

You, are "a just man", Indeed!

You are the "Rarest of the Rare" who has completely controlled and have overcome your anger, hate, revenge filled feelings, and rancor towards your Fiancee, the pregnant Fiancee.

Oh, dear Joseph, you wanted to cause her the least minimum misery, though as per the Law,     you could have easily got your Mary convicted of unfaithfulness and near adultery, right?

Oh, Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

You must have grappled with the powerfully destructive emotions of anger, hate, and revenge filled retaliation, right?

You must have groped in the darkness of your sadness and confusion, right?

You did get the better of those deadly feelings

You did  survive them, you did overcome them.

Oh, Joseph,  the Just, the Silent,

You took the painful decision to put away, your Fiancee quietly without any negative publicity, you did it on you own, unaided,

unprompted neither by angels nor by humans!

You are genuine, you are a gem of a person!

Oh, dear Joseph, so truly, you are a Just Man!

Oh, dear Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

Then came the very same Gabriel,

whose visit with your Fiancee started all  these commotions and confusions, causing lots of heartaches for both of you, right?

He comes to you at the most critical times of your life, he comes:

to  guide you through the difficult times,

to assure you of Mary's moral integrity,

to reaffirm her faithfulness to the Betrothal

to persuade you to reconsider your decision

to cancel the Betrothal and to leave her,

to nudge you to accept Mary as your wife,   

to lead you step by step, stage by stage and

to help you to accept the Divine Plans for you.

Oh, dear Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

Whenever the Angel Gabriel  warned you,  

Whenever the Angel Gabriel prompted you,

be it about the cruel scheming of King Herod,

be it about the suggestion to flee to Egypt,

be it about the prompting to return from Egypt,

be it about the suggestion to go to Nazareth,

You listened carefully and obeyed cheerfully

You did it without  a whimper or a whine,

You did it without uttering a word of dissent!

You did it in Silence, willfully and willingly!

Oh, dear Joseph, the Silent One! You are Just!

Oh, dear Joseph, the Just, the Silent,

You said your "Fiat" loud and clear, in Silence!

Let the Sound of your Silence in saying your "Fiat"  at every critical moment in your life!

Let that melodious, mesmerising and  soft

Sound of your Silence, the sound of your "Fiat"

Keep ringing in my ears for years and years!

Until I enter the Heavenly Home and hear, "Gloria in Excelsis Deo... Gloria in Excelsis Deo.

Oh, My Lord and My God,

Until then, in my own minute ways, inspired by

the" Fiats"of your Mother and Foster Father,

Let me keep saying every day of my life "fiat"

"fiat.. fiat.. fiat..fiat.. fiat..fiat...Voluntas Tua"

Oh, My Lord and My God,

I wish to spend some time in silence in Your Presence.

"Speak Lord, your servant is listening... "

Amen

JoAchen

Sunday, December, 14, 2014

PS

These Reflections are neither pure scientific exegesis nor are they any highly theological speculations. They are my devotional meditations mainly meant for my personal renewal and spiritual growth. They are a part of my journaling on my Pilgrimage to the Home of our Heavenly Father.

Dear Reader, as I keep you holding up in my daily prayers, I request you to include me in yours.

Thank you!

JoAchen

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