The Twelve Days begin on Christmas Day and end on January 5, the day before the traditional date for Epiphany. On these 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany, we'll look at some images of Mary and Joseph and Jesus. For previous entries, click here. Twelve Days 2012
The Fourth of the Twelve Days of Christmas: December 28
This wall relief by Timothy P. Schmalz presents us with a tender moment all father's must know: cradling a sleeping child and wondering, "What will become of the little one I hold in my arms?"
Joseph found himself with a child not his own in the natural sense and yet a child who was his to care for.
In a real way, all our loves are like this... Love invites me to share in the life of the beloved but never to own the other... The ones we love are ours - and at the same time, not ours...
Joseph, you hold in your arms
the son your beloved, Mary, has brought to life...
He is not yours - but he is yours
to care for, to nurture,
to shelter, to love...
Teach us, Joseph, to hold one another
as you held Jesus:
faithfully, carefully and gently...
Teach us the love
whose embrace never fails
to free the ones
we hold as our own...
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