Saint Joseph awoke from his dream. “He did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him.” Those words could very well describe much of his life.

In God we trust. It must be true: We print it on our money! It’s interesting that we confer this sentiment on currency—the one thing we’re tempted to trust more than God. Maybe it was originally put there as a warning: Don’t trust the dollar over the giver of all good gifts.

The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.

“This is what I believe to be true. . . You have to do everything you can, you have to work your hardest, and if you do, if you stay positive, you have a shot at a silver lining.” That is the newly formed philosophy of Pat Solatano, the main character in the movie Silver Linings Playbook, which tells the story of a man suffering from bipolar disorder who is struggling to get his impulses and emotions under control. 

Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.

Signs have a complicated history in the Jewish and Christian stories. At times they produced faith, as when one of Jesus’ healings caused its witnesses to believe. Other times, however, signs indicated lack of faith or misunderstanding, creating exasperation on the part of the resident divinity or its representative.

The O Antiphons can be thought of as Jesus’ spiritual autobiography. They connect the events of the past with the reality of his birth, life, ministry, and death. Today’s O Antiphon prayer, “O Flower of Jesse’s Stem,” reminds us of God’s promise to send a messiah through the family of Jesse.

I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. —Maya Angelou