By S. Tamra Thomas, December 17, 2025
This Advent, we are delighted to share the prayer, lectio, and work of four Sisters of St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, MN. Just down the road from Saint John’s Abbey, they met regularly to read and pray, using the traditional Benedictine practice of Lectio Divina, with the Sunday Gospel.
Sister Tamra reminds us this week that God doesn’t promise an easy life. Mary and Joseph faced many difficulties because of their willingness to follow God’s plan for them. If we are willing to follow God’s plan for us, we, too, will be faced with difficulties. However, by saying yes to God and setting out on the journey, taking what we know and learning along the way, God will lead us to heights we can’t even see. What is God asking you to say “yes” to today?
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
Sister Tamra is a member of Saint Benedict’s Monastery in Saint Joseph, MN. Her main job is technology but she enjoys cake decorating and leather crafts in her spare time.
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