All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.

All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that is was vanity.   But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. - T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia): 1888 - 1935 - was a British archaeologist, military officer, and diplomat

Gospel Text: (MT 1:18-25)

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. 
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.

We all dream at night, but we usually forget our dreams as soon as we wake up. But have you ever had a dream that stayed with you for a long time—possibly for years? When he was nine years old, John Bosco had one of these dreams, and it led him to minister to poor and neglected boys of Turin, Italy, and launch an international order of priests. Bosco continued to have prophetic dreams throughout his life, prompting Pope Pius IX to insist that he write them down to inspire and encourage others.

As we see in today’s Gospel, Joseph also felt God directing him through a dream. We don’t know exactly what this dream was like. Perhaps he was already wavering toward accepting Mary, and God just gave him a reassuring sense that things would work out. Perhaps he saw a bright light or heard an angelic choir or an audible voice. It really doesn’t matter. Scripture tells us that God intervened while Joseph slept, and that’s all we need to know.

If you’ve had a memorable dream recently, what is it telling you?

The Holy Spirit may be prompting you to do something that can change your life or profoundly bless someone else. God wants to direct our steps, and sometimes he chooses very creative ways to do it!