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RC DAILY MEDITATIONS
RC DAILY MEDITATIONS

March 19, 2026

26-Lent_Day_30

40 Days to Peace and Union with God: Day 30 – Salvation is Born

/ Lent 2026, Regnum Christi, Whole Territory

“What is this wealth of goodness? What is this mystery that touches me? I received the divine image and I did not keep it. He receives my flesh to save the image and grant immortality to the flesh. This, his second communion with us, is far more marvelous than the first.”

- ST. GREGORY NAZIANZEN, ORATION 45

READ: MATTHEW 1:18–25

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a man of honor and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.”

Now all this took place to fulfill the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’ ” When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home and, though he had not had intercourse with her, she gave birth to a son; and he named him Jesus.

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REFLECT

God is all powerful, and He could have saved us in any number of ways. He chose the Incarnation: becoming one of us. Such an uncomfortable choice — at least, it certainly upset Joseph’s plans. But God is not obliged to act within the parameters of our personal comfort zones. He has said as much Himself: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:9, NABRE). Joseph finds his betrothed pregnant. He knows her virtue and can’t imagine what happened. It seems she is not free to tell him, or if she does tell him, he finds it hard to accept, so Mary has to trust that God will work it out. After a period of anxiety and confusion, an angel appears, only to give Joseph some short-term instructions. Why didn’t God simply explain it all beforehand — send a letter with the whole plan mapped out step by step? Why did the ancient prophecies leave so much room for interpretation? God is the Lord; He acts according to His own wisdom and love, and we follow Him “by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7, NABRE). If at times following the Lord was uncomfortable even for Joseph and Mary, we can expect nothing less for ourselves.

RESPOND

Many times I resent when my plans are foiled and my hopes left unfulfilled. When You throw me curve balls, I get nervous, or angry, or doubtful. And yet I know that You are always guiding me with Your infinite wisdom. Teach me to discover Your will in the midst of life’s ups and downs and to be docile, like Joseph and Mary. Thy Kingdom come, Lord — not mine.

REST

So often I depend almost entirely on my own talents and strength to succeed. And yet here You are, teaching me by Your quiet coming to earth, that when it comes to the only success that really matters, success as a human being, as a child of God, I am helpless! I need You, Lord, to be my Savior. I need Your love and Your grace to give meaning and direction to my life. Grant me success, Lord, the kind that lasts forever.

RESOLVE

How can I carry this encounter with me into the day? (Write / Journal)

CLOSING PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Most Blessed and Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thank You for Your love and Your grace in allowing me this time of prayer with You.

The world, the flesh, and the devil will all propose things I should focus on and run after today. I beg You to fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me instead to know and embrace Your will. Help me to see what You desire of me each moment of this day. Give me the wisdom, strength, and fortitude I need to avoid distractions, discern Your will, and focus on and carry out that which Wisdom reveals. Help me to work and live at a pace of peace and prayerfulness, always attentive to You, able to hear Your voice and to say no to anything that hinders my journey to You and a complete yes to every Holy prompting from You.

Help me to humbly and purposefully live, light, and lead others to the path of union with You and to tell everyone about this way of life. Amen.

About the Author

Bartunek-headshotFr. John Bartunek was ordained in 2003. He has taught moral theology at various ecclesiastical institutions at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and has authored many books, including the Gospel companion, The Better Part, and Inside the Passion, the only authorized behind-the-scenes look at the film, for which he provided on-set spiritual support. His online retreat guides are available in multiple formats at RCSpirituality.org. Fr. John currently resides in Atlanta, where he is serving as territorial vicar for the Legionaries of Christ.

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Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Uncle Eddy

St Joseph, Husband of Mary

/ Uncle Eddy

Dear Seth, Have you ever thought about how God would describe you?  If he were to introduce you to the heavenly court, for instance, what would he say?  “Attention everyone! Attention! Here is Seth, the son of Karl and Martha, the architecture student, the…”  What would he say? It’s an odd question I’ll admit. It came to mind as I was reflecting on today’s saint. God describes him to us directly, explicitly, with a one-liner that should knock our socks right off.  God is the principal author of Sacred Scripture, remember, and he insured that although the human authors were real authors, they wrote only and all that which God wanted to be written. So when Scripture describes Joseph (David’s descendant, Mary’s husband, and Jesus’ foster-father), it’s like God is introducing us to him.  And what does he say? “Joseph was an upright man.” (Matthew 1:19) Some translations, say “a just man,” or “a godly man.” If you think about it, that is an amazing statement. It means that God was fully satisfied with St Joseph. God could count on him; he was upright, trustworthy, honest, virtuous – this is God describing him, and God really knows.   But what did Joseph do to receive such a recommendation?  Nothing spectacular from our perspective. Scripture doesn’t even record one word he spoke.  All we know is that he was poor (which is why he and Mary had to offer two doves instead of a lamb when they presented Jesus in the Temple), he was a carpenter (which is the equivalent of town handyman), he followed the Jewish customs, he was devoted to Mary, and he obeyed God’s will.  That above all. On a merely natural level, what God asked of him (marry a pregnant virgin and live as her husband but in perpetual continence; travel and back and forth to Egypt; protect and educate the Son of God…) was uncomfortable, to say the least; it probably didn’t fit too well with his personal plans.  But he was willing to abandon his plans in favor of God’s will whenever the Lord asked him to. In the Lord’s book, that’s what makes someone “upright.” If that’s the case, no wonder St Joseph is Patron of the Universal Church: if we all did what he did, we would all be saints.   Your loving uncle, Eddy

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26-03-19-DM

March 19, 2026 – Joseph, Our Model

/ Daily Meditations

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Now 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.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

Opening Prayer: Lord, you had a loving earthly father who taught and cared for you. Open my heart to learn from him as I reflect on this episode of Joseph’s life.

Encountering Christ:

  1. Joseph’s Discernment: How did Joseph discern that the dream he had was from God? Most of us awakening from a dream would not think, “Now I know what God is asking of me.” Yet, Joseph discerned, then acted upon, his dream, promptly and obediently. Pope Francis declared a “Year of St. Joseph,” from December 8, 2020, through December 8, 2021. In his declaration, he noted that in all the dreams through which God spoke to Joseph, “Joseph declared his own ‘fiat,’ like those of Mary at the Annunciation and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane” (Patris Corde, 3). So often we reflect upon the “yes” of Mary, but Joseph also offered his “yes” to God. We didn’t hear his audible “yes.” His affirmation of what God was asking of him came through prompt, obedient action.

     

  2. Joseph’s Reward: Joseph was rewarded for his virtue with the gift of naming the Messiah. Naming gives authority over the one being named. Joseph must have been awestruck by the gift of earthly authority over the Savior of the world. This delegated authority was a moment of humility for Joseph, and he found the strength to carry out his role knowing that God had called him to this. God always gives us the grace to do his will.

     

  3. Joseph’s Courage: Joseph took Mary and eventually Jesus into his home and into his heart. He had no idea what his future held—Herod wanting to kill Jesus, the flight into Egypt, the Holy Family’s return from Egypt, daily life in the carpentry shop, and teaching Jesus to pray. Pope Francis invited us to meditate on the creative courage of Joseph in every circumstance: “This emerges especially in the way we deal with difficulties. In the face of difficulty, we can either give up and walk away, or somehow engage with it. At times, difficulties bring out resources we did not even think we had” (Patris Corde, 5).

Conversing with Christ:

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.

Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen (Pope Francis, Patris Corde).

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will muster the courage to take up a task that I know needs to be done but I have struggled to undertake.

For Further Reflection: The Apostolic Letter “Patris Corde” (“With a Father’s Heart”), by Pope Francis.

Father Joshua West is a Legionary of Christ priest serving as chaplain at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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Alex Kucera

Atlanta

Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.

In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.

Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.

From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.

Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!