Today we will fall asleep with the help of the intercession of St.
Joseph.
The earthly father of Jesus,
Joseph is also considered the patron of fathers and workers.
While he never speaks in the Gospels,
God communicates with him through dreams.
Let us ask him to pray for a peaceful sleep and good dreams.
Lay down on your back in your bed.
Let your arms rest at your sides and your legs comfortably straight.
Make sure your head and neck are supported.
Gently close your eyes and we will take some deep breaths together.
In and out.
In and out.
Let your exhale grow longer than your inhale.
This practice calms your nervous system.
We will do it to a count.
In 2 3 Hold 2 3 Out 2 3 4 In 2 3 Hold 2 3 Out 2 3 4 In 2 3 Hold 2 3 Out 2 3 4 And now we will increase our count.
In 2 3 4 Hold 2 3 4 Out 2 3 4 5 In 2 3 4 Hold 2 3 4 Out 2 3 4 5 In 2 3 4 Hold 2 3 4 Out 2 3 4 5 In 2 3 4 Hold 2 3 4 Out 2 3 4 5 Allow your breath to settle into a natural rhythm.
You have calmed the parts of your body that function unconsciously.
Now we will turn to the parts of your body that require thought.
Imagine a golden light hovering over your head.
It is similar to the gold halo surrounding the head of St.
Joseph in paintings and icons.
It represents the light of heaven and the holiness he brought to the world around him.
This light brings peace and goodness to you.
You feel this warm golden light settle on the top of your head,
Relaxing your scalp.
It starts to soak down your head,
Letting the muscles of your forehead relax,
Around your ears,
Where your skull meets your neck,
And finally your jaw.
Take a moment to loosen your jaw,
Move it if you need to,
And let that golden light fill the tense spots and release.
Take a breath and enjoy your relaxed face and head.
The golden light travels down to your neck and lingers,
Getting into each fiber and relaxing it.
This may take a moment.
Our necks work so hard every moment holding up our heads.
You find with each breath these muscles relax a little more,
Until finally the golden light moves on,
Satisfied its work is done.
Now the golden light hovers around your shoulders,
Letting those big muscles relax.
You let your shoulder blades drop and fall to the middle,
Expanding your chest and allowing the light to release the tension held between your shoulders.
The warm,
Relaxing feeling trickles down into your biceps,
Triceps,
Forearms,
Hands,
And fingers.
You make fists,
Letting your hands tense,
And then relax them,
Letting the light work out any tension they were holding.
Take a breath and enjoy your relaxed shoulders,
Arms,
And hands.
The golden light begins to descend to your chest,
Letting your lungs feel open and relaxing your back muscles.
You feel your stomach get warm and let go of any distress.
Your large back muscles revel in the permission to relax,
And you feel them melt into your bed beneath you.
Like your stomach,
You feel your lower organs function without tension.
Take a breath and enjoy feeling your torso relaxed.
Now the golden light settles in your pelvis.
It works here to knead away any tension in your glutes so used to supporting every move you make.
You let it take the time it needs so that every bit of your pelvis is relaxed.
With every breath,
You feel more and more tension releasing.
Take a deep breath.
Most of your body is now completely relaxed,
And you can enjoy this feeling.
The golden light moves on to your legs.
You can feel the light warming and releasing your thighs and hamstrings,
The strength there giving way to peace.
The light moves over your knees,
And they relax.
Now it warms your calves and shins,
Relaxing them.
Then the light hovers around your ankles,
Then feet,
Then toes.
You stretch your toes and then relax them.
Having moved throughout your whole body,
The light now enters and fills you,
Making the relaxation even more blissful.
Take a deep breath.
Enjoy the sensation of being completely relaxed.
Take another deep breath.
You deserve this.
Not because you have accomplished so much or so little today,
But because every body deserves rest.
As you breathe in,
Say to yourself,
I claim this.
And as you exhale,
Say,
This is mine.
I claim this.
This is mine.
Now that you are in this relaxed state,
You may want to move into your favorite sleeping position.
You can also stay on your back if you like.
As you fall asleep,
Listen to the story of his first visit from an angel.
If you are struggling with a decision,
You are welcome to ask for St.
Joseph's help.
Imagine yourself in the home of St.
Joseph.
It is in the first century in Nazareth,
And Joseph keeps a simple home.
Traditionally,
He is thought of as an older man and a well-established carpenter.
You look around the room and it is full of tools for building,
Saws,
Hammers,
Nails.
It is evening and the lamp is lit.
Joseph has a friend over and they are discussing Torah.
You listen and realize Joseph is troubled.
He is soon to be married to a young woman and he has just found out she is with child.
His trusted friend is helping him decide what is the right thing to do.
Joseph is a respected pillar of the community.
He wants to do the right thing for God,
For Mary,
And for himself.
Leaving her would be a scandal,
But marrying a woman carrying someone else's child is unthinkable.
How can he trust Mary?
And who was the man who did this to her?
Mary herself is a conundrum.
He expected this news to be accompanied by tears and apologies and shame.
Instead,
Mary was as peaceful and determined as ever.
She seemed certain their marriage would continue.
She assured him that she was not unfaithful to him and that all would become clear in time.
Joseph was shocked by this and a little unnerved.
Joseph's friend cannot understand it either and recommends he extricate himself from the union with this strange woman.
The problem,
Of course,
Is that this behavior fascinates him even more.
Mary is lovely,
Good-hearted,
And hard-working.
What else could he look for in a wife?
Now,
However,
Her mystery has increased exponentially.
Who,
In the face of this situation,
Maintains their current path so determinedly?
Part of him wants to marry her just to get to the bottom of this.
He knows,
However,
His friend is right.
They work out a plan to make as little fuss as possible.
He wants to protect Mary and her unborn child how he can,
Even if he cannot be associated with them.
He has seen what happens to women in her condition and the thought of it happening to Mary is horrific.
No,
These things can be done.
He will be free of scandal and Joachim and Anne will send her away for her confinement and no one will be the wiser.
His friend leaves and Joseph readies for bed.
Though he knows this is the correct path forward,
Something tugs at the back of his mind.
He fully expects to sleep poorly tonight.
As he lays down,
He sends out a plea to God to lead him down the correct path.
With that,
He slips into a deep sleep.
Joseph begins to dream.
At first he cannot tell where he is.
Perhaps the stage has been influenced by his earlier conversation on the Torah.
But soon the backdrop fades in importance as it feels both familiar and unfamiliar,
Like visiting as an adult someplace you knew well as a child.
That's when he sees a bright light and hears the sound of flapping wings.
He cannot quite comprehend the vision in front of him.
There are eyes,
There are wings,
There is light,
But he cannot make out a shape.
This now feels less like a dream and more like he is wide awake.
This whatever-it-is bears a presence unlike any person he has known.
There is power and otherworldliness radiating from it.
He thinks he should be terrified,
But a voice says his name.
Joseph.
There is not a way to describe this voice.
It is like the ringing of bells and the sound of thunder,
Like soft whispers and tasting too spicy food.
It is overwhelming.
He knows now it is an angel visiting him with a message from God.
Joseph,
Son of David,
The angel says,
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.
Joseph is speechless.
He never imagined being visited by an angel,
Much less that angel talking to him about his domestic matters.
He gasps to find his voice and calls,
Wait,
But how?
And the angel is gone.
The eyes,
The voice,
The wings,
The presence are gone.
Joseph sits up in his bed,
Hugging his knees.
He is not sure he can fall back asleep tonight.
Best to start planning how to make this wedding and marriage work with Mary.
You,
However,
Know the rest of the story.
Joseph does get married to Mary and welcomes her divine son.
You take a deep breath,
Thankful Joseph could listen to an angel in a dream.
These events from so long ago gift us courage,
Comfort,
Joy,
And hope.
You take a deep breath in,
And with your exhale,
You relax in the knowledge of divine love.
