This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
—Matthew 1:18-24
And what then overshadowed you,
what sorrow at her word?
Yet from its darkness, ringing true,
another voice you heard:
“O righteous man, be not afraid:
This child within her grown
was by the Holy Spirit placed;
his place is David’s throne.”
So deeper than the ring of words,
yet scribed for all to see,
you echoed Mary in your works:
“Let it be done to me.”
For something more than righteousness,
O Joseph, you conceived,
a love beyond the law to bless
the love that you received.
In silence, then, you took her in
to wait the child to come,
and ever after you have been
in wonder stricken dumb.
Then pray for us without a word
that we may welcome him
and hear the infant cry you heard
that night in Bethlehem.
Federico Barocci – Saint Joseph – Livre De la Renaissance à l’Âge baroque : une collection de dessins italiens pour les musées de France. Exposition présentée au Musée du Louvre, salle de la Chapelle, du 8 juin au 29 août 2005. Paris : Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2005. ISBN 9782711849758, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8315055
Kate Bluett 