While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a son. You shall call him ‘Jesus’ for he will save his people from their sins.”
All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Emmanuel, which means: God-with-us. When Joseph awoke, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do, and he took his wife to his home.
REFLECTION:
READ: Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.
REFLECT: Joseph knew that Jesus had been conceived by the Holy Spirit, but he was so humble that he could not imagine himself playing a role in the history of salvation—until an angel enlightened him on that score.
PRAY: Let us earnestly ask God to make us as humble and as flexible as Joseph.
ACT: Today let us courageously listen to God’s call and embrace the responsibilities of our state of life.