(Source from “The Word Among Us”)

When Joseph awoke, he . . . took his wife into his home. (Matthew 1:24)

Joseph was a “righteous man,” a faithful Jew who knew the history of his people (Matthew 1:19). He knew that God had miraculously freed the Israelites from slavery and had rescued them time and again over the centuries. He knew the many signs that God had performed and the many battles he had won for them.

So when an angel told Joseph that it was through the Holy Spirit that his wife, Mary, had conceived a child, he must have recalled the many great things God had done in the past. If God could do all that, then surely this was possible as well.

Joseph was able to trust because he believed in God’s power and goodness. Though he probably considered himself an ordinary man, Joseph knew that God could act just as marvellously in his own life as he had in the lives of his forefathers. That helped him believe that God had brought him and Mary together for a special purpose, one that would unfold day by day. So he agreed to take Mary into his home and prepare to be a father to her child.

Trust: this is our call as well. It’s not easy, especially when there is no angel or dream to guide us! But unlike Joseph, we know the purpose behind God’s great plan for us: Jesus, God incarnate, died and rose from the dead so that he could give us new life.

This knowledge can be our strong foundation when we are tempted to doubt. When we are walking in the dark, when we don’t see a way forward or a way out, we can choose to believe that God will find a way for us. He has a good plan for us, and he will carry it out in his own perfect time. And when our trust is flagging, let’s remember Joseph, the righteous man whose trust in God helped bring salvation to the world.

“St. Joseph, pray for me to trust in God as you did.”