“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David,” (Jer 23:5) And indeed those days are upon us. Today our gospel is the story of the angel’s message to Joseph as he ponders what to do now that he knows Mary “was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph…since he was a righteous man, [was] unwilling to expose her to shame, [and so] decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.” (Mt 1:18-20) It was not the way he hoped to start their life together. Continue reading →