NOTES for Mat 1:18-23

Having learned that Mary was pregnant, Joseph decides to release her quietly so as not to disgrace her. He does not disclose her secret, does not accuse her, but seeks to protect her. He is so sensitive to other people and their needs that his ear was able to discern the voice of the angel saying that "that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." Hearing this, Joseph obeyed and took Mary into his house, even though she was expecting a child.

Addressing Joseph, the angel speaks in words from Isaiah: "Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son." Perhaps it was precisely these words from Holy Scripture that finally convinced the saint to heed God's messenger. Words of prophecy that lived in his heart, that had taken root in him beforehand, became support at the necessary moment in making a decision.

Sometimes, when making a decision, we want an angel to come and show us what to do and how to do it. But if we are not deeply rooted in Holy Scripture, in what language will he speak to us?..