By Msgr. Joseph Prior • Posted December 19, 2025

(See the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent)

Advent is the season of hope. It provides the Christian community a period of time to bolster our hope and to be strengthened by this virtue for our continued journey through life. The four Sundays of Advent provide us an opportunity to reflect on several aspects of our faith that help bolster our hope: vigilance, repentance, transformation and reliance. Today we consider reliance.

Joseph “did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.” You may notice something remarkable in these words, or rather what is missing. Joseph did not think about it, he just did it. His “thinking,” so to speak, was done well before this moment for he was a “righteous man.”

His life was built on a faithfulness to God and His law. He was steeped in the covenant and lived accordingly. When he was asked to take on this incredible responsibility, his response was immediate and wholehearted for he was reliant on God. He trusted in God’s faithfulness.

The same can be said of Mary. In the account by St. Luke of the annunciation, after Gabriel delivers his message, Mary’s response is immediate: “‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word’” (Luke 1:38).

Like Joseph, she was a child of Israel, a child of the covenant. She would rely on the Lord and trust in His faithfulness. That reliance would see their hopes for a child fulfilled when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Reliance on the Lord bolsters our hope until all is fulfilled. We live in the in-between time. God’s promise of salvation has been accomplished through the advent of the Christ. We live awaiting His return.

This has been one of the themes we have been reflecting on during the Advent season. We now prepare to celebrate that first coming when Christ took flesh and was born of Mary. That event reminds us of God’s faithfulness to the promise. In this “in-between” time, we continue to rely on Him who is “God with us.”

Mary and Joseph both give us examples and so does their son Jesus. Throughout the ministry, when Jesus is an adult, we often hear Him speak of His relationship with the Father. He listens to the Father in prayer and He puts his faith in His fidelity.

We hear that Jesus takes time for prayer. Sometimes He goes away from the 12 apostles to be alone in prayer. His reliance on the Father is most pronounced during the passion. At one point, He prays: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). And before Jesus breaths his last breath he says: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Jesus is reliant on the Father and places His hope in Him for resurrection.

At different times in life, we face situations or challenges or obstacles that seem so large we do not possibly know how to deal with them. Sometimes this happens when the values of this world come in conflict with our beliefs. Sometimes it is when we face a crisis or a danger. Sometimes it is when we face a fear. We ask ourselves, “How can I possibly get through this?”

On the one hand, that is a natural response. We want to do our best to face challenges and see our way through them. It is one aspect of being responsible. On the other hand, something is missing, which is our reliance on the Lord for help and assistance. In those moments it would also be good to turn to our compassionate Lord who is there to help and to see us through not only those challenges but also life itself.

Building our reliance comes through an active faith life. That life is nourished by prayer and the sacraments. Spending time in prayer, going to Mass, receiving reconciliation, doing penance, caring for the poor and suffering, all contribute to the life of “righteousness.” This way of life helps build our reliance on God for we encounter Him ever present with us. We hear his voice and we walk in His way.

Joseph — when he heard that Mary, his espoused, was with child — knew that child was not his. Talk about a challenge! He must have been devastated. His love for Mary is genuine and pure as seen in his desire not to shame her or embarrass her. He would break the betrothal quietly to avoid this. Then the angel tells him that Mary has conceived by the Holy Spirit and that the child to be born will be the savior of the world.

The announcement is huge. A messiah had been hoped for but to actually hear it is going to happen and that he, Joseph, would have a significant role in the savior’s life is a tremendous responsibility. Yet, as mentioned above, Joseph readily responds because he has built his life on faith; he relies on the Lord. As he does so, will help his wife parent Emmanuel, who is “God with us.”

Christmas will be here in a few days. In these last few days of Advent we are encouraged to renew our commitment to rely on the Lord, not just in Advent but in every season. Reliance on the Lord builds our hope because He on whom we rely is “Emmanuel,” God with us.

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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Penndel and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Read more reflections by Msgr. Prior here.