It is the feast of St. Joseph.
The gospel tells us that Joseph was an "upright" or "just" man, depending on the translation.
He discovers his promised wife is pregnant before they have lived together and he does not want to expose her to the law, which required stoning for such an offense.
It is his awareness of her goodness and his own sense of justice that leads him to the decision to divorce her quietly.
But it is something far greater than justice that prompts him to listen to the angel.
The gospel tells us that Joseph was an "upright" or "just" man, depending on the translation.
He discovers his promised wife is pregnant before they have lived together and he does not want to expose her to the law, which required stoning for such an offense.
It is his awareness of her goodness and his own sense of justice that leads him to the decision to divorce her quietly.
But it is something far greater than justice that prompts him to listen to the angel.
It is faith.
In the face of everything his own reason and his own senses tell him, Joseph trusts in a vision that comes to him in a dream.
This is the justice that comes from faith. Paul's letter to the Romans tells us that it is greater than the law and it does not depend on the law.
It is grace, pure gift.
Have there been times in your life when justice required that you trust your own gut instincts the way Joseph originally trusted his?
Have there been times in your life when God has asked you to believe in something that seemed completely unbelievable?
Those are the moments in life when we need to turn to St. Joseph for support.
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