Matthew 2:13-15. An angel appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him to get up, get Mary and Jesus, and flee to Egypt. They are to remain there until the angel tells them to return, "for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." So Joseph gets up, gets Jesus and Mary, and departs for Egypt in the middle of the night. They remain there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill the prophecy that God's son would be brought up out of Egypt.

I had such an amazing epiphany-like dream last night. I got up and wrote in my journal about it this morning, I told my husband, I texted my friend, and I talked about it after Mass with another friend. It really affected me, and then I got this reminder of the power of dreams!

God often uses our dreams to speak to us, but just as with everything else, we have to be careful to discern whether they are coming from God or from elsewhere. Joseph was such a holy man that God was able to communicate a matter of such great urgency to him in a dream and Joseph acted immediately. Joseph had no need for discernment, he knew what God's messages sounded and felt like. Can you imagine?! Having a dream and immediately waking up, in the middle of the night, gathering your wife and your just-born son, and setting off for a long walk to a foreign land where you were to live indefinitely? All because of a dream? That is understanding God's voice and obeying. That is the holiness.

When I first started getting the messages and dreams I have been getting, I was so uncertain as to whether it was God or the devil or just dreams. As I struggled with this, God put Saint Ignatius in my path and my mind was blown when I learned that he had written a formula for discernment of spirits! God is amazing! (And so are his saints ... thanks Saint Ignatius!). I began doing Ignatian discernment and I learned a lot. I'm still learning, I am not as "there" as Joseph was (because I am not as holy as Joseph!), but I am getting there! As I get there, my dreams get more meaningful.

When we open ourselves to him, God teaches us slowly to be able to hear his voice. Once we are able to hear him, once we know what he sounds like, then the fun starts! That is when he can really begin making use of us!