This quote comes from a beautiful reflection by Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis—also known as Father Simeon—regarding Joseph’s faithful obedience as the foster father of Jesus. The full context is (emphasis added):
Joseph has plunged into the mystery God has held out before him. There are moments when the mind and spirit of a man become an empty stage where he must witness the conflict between the thoughts and actions of God, and the thoughts and actions of man, even the most pious and righteous. How many of us dare descend like him into this inner theater or courtroom, where we allow God’s superior wisdom and justice to triumph over our own poor wisdom and our private sense of justice? What openness to God on Joseph’s part, what willingness to start again at zero and build his life according to God’s latest designs!
Suddenly, from the heart of eternity, the lightning of divine revelation interrupts Joseph’s human cogitations. By keeping the stage of his soul as empty as possible of all personal accoutrements, Joseph has allowed God to enter in as principal actor. Human meditation—protracted, labored, anguished—and divine illumination—sudden, intense, incontestable—go well with one another, call out to one another. Joseph’s dark puzzlement, in piety before God, unwittingly invites illumination to come to his soul. Sadness and confusion, presented to God, invite his coming. Persevere in darkness without rebelling and without lighting some trembling candle, and God’s healing light will invade you.—Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word: Meditations on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew, Vol. One
