Isaiah prophesied: "The virgin shall be with Child, and bear a Son, and shall name Him Immanuel" (Is 7:14; Mt 1:23). No one had ever dreamed that this prophecy meant that a virgin would conceive a child without any sexual relations. Nonetheless, over 700 years after the prophecy, Joseph did dream of the virgin birth. "Suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream and said to him: 'Joseph, son of David, have no fear about taking Mary as your wife. It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived this Child' " (Mt 1:20). After Mary, Joseph was probably the first one to understand and believe Isaiah's ancient prophecy.

After she conceived, Mary no longer had to believe in Isaiah's prophecy. She knew for a fact that she had conceived without sexual relations. However, Joseph knew this only by faith. Throughout his life, only he believed that Isaiah's prophecy was literally fulfilled in the pregnancy of his wife and the birth of his Foster Son. Joseph did not have the Church or the New Testament to confirm his belief. He had only a dream, his relationship with Mary, and primarily his relationship with the Lord.

Joseph made one of the greatest acts of faith in human history. Joseph is the man of faith. We need to have faith like his, for "all depends on faith" (Rm 4:16), especially Christmas.

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, May 28, 2010

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