He was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame

18 DECEMBER (Mt 1,18-24)

The Virgin Mary, betrothed to Joseph, conceives in her womb the Son of the Most Mighty through the Holy Spirit, not knowing man. She is the Virgin Mother and the Mother Virgin. She is the most chaste and pure woman in her body, in her soul, in her mind, in her thoughts, desires, wishes and aspirations. She is completely and forever of her God and Lord. This is the truth of Mary.

Joseph knows nothing of this mystery. He is in the greatest ignorance. He gets to know that his future wife is already pregnant. Such a thing had never occurred before in the Old Testament. Joseph is without historical memory. There are no events of the past that they can come to the aid of his faith. He thinks that Mary conceived as all other women. It is precisely now that his justice is revealed.

He does not want to expose Mary to public ridicule. He wishes for her the greatest good and for this he thinks of repudiating her secretly. Nobody must enter into this story. It must not belong to any evil and wicked mind. No judgment must attack Maria. Joseph is a wise man. His wisdom teaches him that every person must be wrapped by him in the greatest mercy, compassion, piety, consolation and peace. Justice consists to him in not doing evil and not allowing evil to be done through one of his actions even in compliance with the law. The righteous knows that justice is beyond any law. Perfect justice is a law unto itself. Perfect justice is to always find the greatest good for all.

Now 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 be with child 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.

The Lord sees the purity of heart and mind of every desire of Joseph. Whoever has to fulfill a divine, supernatural mission cannot have but thoughts of most pure goodness, justice, truth and holiness. God now knows that he can trust this man. He can entrust him with Mary and the Child she carries in her womb. Joseph will always act towards them according to the most holy justice. Never will he do them anything not perfectly holy, good, right, true, according to the truth of God.

The salvation of the world passes also through the human heart. An unjust, corrupt, greedy, lustful, dishonest, evil, wicked, foolish, stupid heart; unable to think of the greater good for others; will always be a disaster concerning the mission it has to carry out. Never might a not correct, a distracted, inattentive, not delicate heart with regard to the practice of greater justice be used by God to operate redemption in this world. This heart is an instrument of sin and not of grace, of scandal and not of perfect exemplarity, of driving away and not of approach to God.

The salvation of the world needs our honesty, justice, truth, holiness, faith, hope, wisdom, intelligence and great ability to do greater good. God cannot entrust his justice to an unjust nor his holiness a sinner. He cannot deliver the work of his mercy to those who are ruthless of heart and mind. Joseph must pass another test: that of obedience. He brilliantly passes it and becomes the most chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints make us righteous in heart and mind.