1 When Mary reached the fifth month of her pregnancy, Joseph left Bethlehem, his hometown, after having built a house, and returned to his house in Nazareth, to continue his carpentry work. Mary went to meet him, and prostrated herself before him. And Joseph asked him: How are you doing? You are happy? Has something happened to you? And María replied: I’m doing well. And, after having prepared the table, they both ate in good peace and company. And Joseph, having stretched out on a pallet, wanted to rest a little. But, as he looked at Mary, he saw that his altered countenance went through all the colors. And she tried to hide her confusion, but failed.
2 Joseph looked at her sadly, and rising from where he was lying, he said to her: It seems to me, my daughter, that You don’t have your usual childish grace, because I find you somewhat changed. And María answered: What do you want to tell me, with that observation and with that examination? And Joseph warned: I admire your words and your pretexts. Why are you clumsy, depressed, sad and with the features of your physiognomy altered? Has anyone spoken to you? That would make me dissatisfied. Has any illness or disease befallen you? Or have you undergone some trial, or suffered the intrigues of men? Maria responded: There is nothing like that. And Joseph said: Then why don’t you answer me frankly? Maria said: What do you want me to answer? And Joseph said, I will not believe your words before I have seen. Make yourself plainly evident to me, so that I may be sure that you speak the truth. And Mary, internally troubled, did not know what to do. But Joseph, taking a close look at Mary, saw that she was pregnant with child. And, giving a loud cry, he exclaimed: Ah, what a criminal action you have committed, unfortunate woman!
3 And Joseph fell from his seat and laid his face against the ground, and struck his forehead with his hand, He rubbed his beard and the white hair on his head, and dragged his face in the dust, crying: Damn me! Curse on my sad old age! What has happened here? What disaster has befallen my house? With what face will he look, from now on, at the faces of men? What will he answer to the priests and all the people of Israel? How will you stop a judicial persecution? And with what artifice will I be able to appease public opinion? What will I do at this juncture, and how will I alleviate the fact of having received this virgin, holy and blameless, from the temple, and not having known how to keep her in the observance of the law, according to the tradition of my parents? If I am asked why I have allowed the immaculate purity of my pupil to be deflowered, what answer will I give to the priests and all the people? What is the enemy that has set this trap for me? What bandit has taken this girl’s virginity from me? Who has committed such a crime in my house, and made me an object of ridicule and reproach among the children of Israel? Will the fault of the one who, through the perfidy of the serpent, lost his happy state fall on me?
4 And, speaking thus, Joseph beat his chest, with moans mixed with tears. Afterwards, he made Mary appear again, and said to her: Oh soul worthy of perpetual crying, who has sunk into the most monstrous error, tell me what forbidden action you have performed! Because you have forgotten the Lord your God, who formed you in your mother’s womb, you, whom your parents obtained from the Most High, by dint of suffering and crying, and who offered you to Him religiously and according to the law; that you were supported and educated in time; that you continually heard the praises of the Eternal and the song of the angels that you lent an attentive ear to the reading of the sacred books, and you listened to their words with anointing and with respect And, upon the death of their parents, you remained in guardianship in the temple , until the moment in which you were corrected of all sinful inclinations. Educated and versed in divine laws, you received, with great honor, the blessing of the priests. And, after you were entrusted to me, by command of the Lord and with the approval of the priests and all the people, I piously accepted you, and established you in my house, providing for all your material needs, and recommending that you be prudent, and to look after yourself until my return. What then is it that you have done, say? Why don’t you answer a word, and refuse to defend yourself? Why, unfortunate and unfortunate, have you sunk into such disorder, and become an object of universal shame, among men, women and the entire human race?
5 And Mary, lowering her head, wept and sobbed. At last she said: Do not judge me lightly, and do not slanderously suspect my virginity, for I am pure from all sin, and I know no man at all. José said: In that case, explain to me what your pregnancy comes from. Mary said: By the life of the Lord, I do not know what you require of me. Joseph said: I do not speak to you with violence and anger, but I want to question you in a friendly manner. Tell me which man has entered or has been introduced near you, or to which house you have imprudently gone. Mary said: I have never gone anywhere, nor have I left this house. Joseph said: Behold something marvelous! You know nothing, and I see with certainty that you are pregnant. Who has ever heard that a woman can conceive and give birth without the intervention of a man? I don’t believe in such speeches. Mary said: How then can I satisfy you? Since you question me with all sincerity on the matter, I testify, for my part, that I am pure from all sin, and that I know no man at all. And if you judge me rashly, you will have to answer to God for me.
6 When Joseph heard these words, he was surprised, and he was greatly afraid. And, beginning to reflect, he said: A fearful and wonderful thing! I understand nothing of the course of these events, so strange in themselves, and so beyond all conception, from everything we have heard with our own ears, from everything we have learned from our ancestors. Stupor constricts my spirit. Who will I turn to? Who will I consult about this business? Because I hesitate at the thought that the fact, still secret, will be disclosed and told everywhere, and that those who know it will mock us. Mary said: How long will you feel enraged against me, and condemn me in thoughtless terms? Won’t you just overwhelm me with your outrages? Joseph said: I cannot resist the affliction and sadness that have come upon my heart. What will I do with you, and what answer will I give to anyone who asks me about you? And I fear that, if the fact is shown to be ostentatious, and is carried back and forth with scandal in the public streets, my gray hair will be disgraced among the children of Israel.
7 And Joseph burst into bitter tears, exclaiming: Sad and unhappy old man, why did you accept your role as guardian? Why did you obey the priests and all the people, to, in your old age and about to die, see your gray hair dishonored? And, since he did not know which side to take, he began to reflect, and he said to himself: What will I do with this girl? Because I will not know what happens to her, as long as the Lord does not reveal the events that are being prepared, and I, in all of this, have not acted of my own will. But I know with certainty that, if the trial to which I am subjected comes from God, it will be for my good, and that if, on the contrary, my suffering is the work of the evil enemy, the Lord will deliver me from him. However, I don’t know how to proceed. If I condemn Mary, this will be, on my part, a great fault, and if I speak ill of her, she will be justly punished by God. I will take it, then, secretly tonight. She will take her out of the house, and I will let her go in peace wherever she wants.
8 Then he called Mary and said to her: All that you have explained to me, whether true or false, I have I heard it, I believed it. I will not do you any harm, but tonight I will take you out of the house and I will say goodbye to you, so that you can go wherever you want. Mary, who heard this, burst into tears. Joseph sadly left his house, left there without a fixed destination, and, having sat down, he cried and beat his chest.
9 And Mary, prostrating her face to the ground, spoke in this manner: God of my fathers, God of Israel, in your mercy, look at the torments of your servant and the desolation of my soul! Do not hand me over, Lord, to the shame and slander of the vulgar. Since you know that the hearts of men are unbelieving, declare your name before everyone, so that they may confess that you alone are the Lord God, and that your name has been pronounced over us by yourself. And, having said this, Mary shed copious tears before the Lord. And, at the same moment, an angel addressed her word to him, saying: Do not be afraid for behold, I am with you to save you from all your tribulations. Be courageous, and rejoice. And having thus spoken, the angel left her. And Mary, rising, gave thanks to the Lord.
10 At the end of the afternoon, José returned home in silence. And sitting down, and looking at Mary, he saw her very happy and with the features of her face dilated. And Joseph said to her: My daughter, because I find you on the verge of separating from me, and going wherever you want, I seem to find you excessively rejoicing and with his countenance he was too reindeer and jubilant. And Mary replied: It is not that, but that I thank God at all times, because he has the power to do whatever is asked of him, and because the Lord himself, who scrutinizes consciences and souls, has the will and plan to manifest, before everyone and before each one in particular, the actions of men.
11 And, having said these words, María remained silent. And Joseph continued in the grip of sadness from dusk until dawn, and did not eat or drink. And, as he had fallen asleep, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a night vision, and said to him: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to keep Mary your wife under your guardianship, because what she has conceived from the Holy Spirit is . And she will bring a son into the world, and you will call her name Jesus. And Joseph awoke, and arose, and prayed, and spoke thus: God of my fathers, God of Israel, I thank thee, Lord, and glorify thy holy name, O thou that hast heeded the voice of my supplications, and that you have not abandoned me in the time of my old age, on the contrary, you have made me hope for consolation and health, you have dispelled mourning and sorrow from my heart, and you have kept the Holy Virgin pure from all defilement. terrestrial, so that, from this night, it appears to my eyes radiant like light. And, after expressing himself in this way, Joseph was filled with joy, and praised the Creator of the universe.