Joseph and a Word From God
When Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant during their engagement, he was "just crushed," says Father Gerald Kleba, a Roman Catholic priest in St. Louis who wrote the historical novel Joseph Remembered. Assuming that she had committed adultery, Joseph figured he would have to leave her. But an angel visited him in a dream, according to the Bible, and told him not to be afraid. Mary had conceived through the Holy Spirit and would bear a special child. That "huge aha moment" shaped the rest of Joseph's life, says Kleba, and still speaks to many Christians of the power of faith.
This story appears in the May 15, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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