We are close to Christmas, and the Gospel talks about Joseph's vocation to be the foster father of the child Jesus. The situation of Mary and Joseph is complicated. Mary will give birth. She is not married yet. Then, the baby is special. Mary knows that the child comes from the Holy Spirit. According to the law of Moses, Joseph could reject Mary openly, but the Gospel said, "being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly” (Mat 1:19 NRS).

Joseph is willing to love his neighbor: he protects and takes care of Mary, despite the difficulties. But Joseph is also faithful to God's will. The Gospel said, " an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Mat 1:20 NRS). God speaks through the angel's voice in the dream, and Joseph suddenly obeys God's will: "When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife” (Mat 1:24 NRS).

Joseph's example is amazing. There is little information about Joseph in the Gospel, and we do not have the report of any word pronounced by him, but we know that Joseph loved others and God. And he became an example of how to obey God's will.

His trust in God is solid. Joseph is ready to do God's will because he knows God is our Father, and whatever he wills, it is for our good. The will of God is full of love for all of us. Sometimes God's will is not clear and we must walk in the dark, but Joseph believes that God's plan is for the good of him, the child and Mary. That is why he listens to the angel and does what the angel tells him to do. And by doing the will of God, Joseph collaborates to realize God’s plan of salvation for the world.

We too, must live the will of God like Joseph. We need to believe that the will of God is the only way we have to make our lives meaningful and to collaborate to the salvation of the world. Doing God's will is the most intelligent way of living.

How can we obey God's will? How do we hear God's voice so that we know what God's plan is? We need to listen to this voice in our hearts, especially if we must decide between two choices. For example, often we have to decide between studying or watching youtube, cleaning our room or listening to music, forgiving or taking revenge, being corrupted or being honest, working hard or being lazy, listening to someone who is facing a problem or having time for ourselves,... While making all these decisions, if we pay attention carefully, we can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts saying what to do. And, of course, at the same time, we can also listen to another voice, the word of the devil, saying: be selfish, do your will, and do not obey God’s will, which is deceiving.

One day, I was about to make a negative comment about a person. Before I spoke, I put myself in the disposition to do the will of God by repeating a prayer that I learned in a meditation, "for You, Lord." After pronouncing this short prayer, I heard a voice inside me saying, "If you really want to do my will, please, don't express this criticism." I, therefore, let it go and did not speak. Thanks to the disposition to do God’s will, I was able to overcome a temptation. I was very happy about this victory over my selfishness.