Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons,
for he was the child of his old age;
and he had made him a long tunic.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons,
they hated him so much that they would not even greet him.

One day, when his brothers had gone
to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem,
Israel said to Joseph,
“Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem.
Get ready; I will send you to them.”

So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan.
They noticed him from a distance,
and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him.
They said to one another: “Here comes that master dreamer!
Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here;
we could say that a wild beast devoured him.
We shall then see what comes of his dreams.”

Genesis 37: 3-4; 12-20

Here are the complete readings for Friday, March 21, 2025

(“Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors” by Selma Hurwitz)

Admit it, Joseph of the Technicolor Dreamcoat could be a spoiled brat. His brothers had every right to be upset with him and their father Jacob, for the shameless favoritism and the way Joseph flaunted his status in front of them while they were out working to make a living. Here is a question-all of us have been the position of the brothers. So what do we do with our righteous anger so that it does not fester into corrosive envy or violent rage? How can we reflect on the source of our anger? How shall we then act to correct an injustice, but equally difficult, how shall we process the possibility that our discontent is revealing something deeper within that troubles us? During this season of Lent, consider how we can take our quiet moments to own our anger and accept that this what we are feeling, without judgment. Some may pray for patience. Others ask for clarity. Then, how do we turn towards, rather than away from the source of what is wounding us?

Friend,
I give you a new commandment:
Love one another.
Just as I have loved you,
you also must love one another.
By this love you have for one another,
everyone will know that you are my disciples.
Your life with your brothers and sisters,
centered on the word and worship of God,
is a sharing
in the memory of Christ.
You are called
to be of one heart and one mind with them
so that you can participate
in the building up of the reign of God. – The Fundamental Principles of the Xaverian Brothers

God, you do not ask, but command us to love one another. Give us the courage to pursue peace that is rooted in justice, and the honesty to know the difference between wanting to right a wrong and demanding satisfaction or vengeance. God, we thank you for the gift of our feelings and emotions. They remind us of the how powerful you have made us. On this day, may we direct our actions, even when they require conflict, to see the heart in our neighbors and be true to the heart you have blessed us with and which gives us life.

Amen