(Fourth Sunday of Advent (A): This homily was given on December 20, 1998 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Matthew 1: 18-25.)

"Does God speak to us through dreams?"

"If you are interested in dreams, dream interpretation, dream analysis, dream therapy, the psychology of dreams or the meaning of dreams, or you want information about dream dictionaries, journals, nightmares, prophetic dreams, dream themes, symbols, and more--then . . . Welcome to Tiger's Nest: Dream Interpretation, Spirituality, Products and Services."

Earlier this week, as I was reflecting on this Gospel passage from Matthew 1, the thought occurred to me to preach a homily on dreams. This is a topic that I've never touched on before, but I think it needs to be addressed, because apparently many people today do put a great deal of faith in the "messages" they think they receive through their dreams. That fact was confirmed for me the other day when I was "on line." I got over a half million hits, when I typed in the words "dream-interpretation" and did a web search. Imagine--there are over 500,000 places on the world wide web where a person can find out information on dreams and how to interpret them. Amazing! What I read to you a few moments ago was from the cover page of one of those sights--a sight called "Tiger's Nest." And lest you think that all these "dream obsessed people" are backward and uneducated, let me read to you an advertisement that I found on the internet for a book on dream interpretation. The author is Alex Lukeman:

This excellent book presents all the fundamental tools you need to interpret your own dreams in an easy to read style. It was designed specifically to aid the beginner but also holds powerful lessons for the experienced dream interpreter. "Key Points" highlight important tools and steps to remember. Includes an easy to follow worksheet to assist you in discovering the unique meaning of your dream. Reveals 3 successively deeper layers of meaning in dreams. Talks about an innovative technique of contacting "the dreamer within" who already knows what your dreams mean. Contains many true life examples covering a range of dream themes. If you love to work with dreams, you'll find this book rewarding and stimulating. If you are new to dreamwork, this book will give you all you need to know to get started.

All this having been said, what is the proper Catholic Christian perspective on dreams? Does God really speak to us in this way? Should we focus on dreams as people like Dr. Lukeman would tell us to?

Well, first of all, we've got to admit that it is possible for God to communicate with human beings in this manner. For example, we heard in today's Gospel that an angel appeared to St. Joseph in a dream, telling him that he should have no fear about taking Mary as his wife. Later on an angel appeared to him in another dream, telling him to take Mary and the baby Jesus and flee to Egypt away from King Herod. Then later on, after Herod had died, God once again instructed Joseph through a dream and told him to return to the land of Israel.

But St. Joseph wasn't the only biblical figure whose relationship with God was influenced by dreams. Joseph the patriarch was called "that master dreamer" by his brothers. Both he and Daniel the prophet were considered to be great interpreters of dreams. Because he interpreted Pharoah's dream correctly and predicted the 7 years of plenty and the 7 years of famine, Joseph the patriarch became the number 2 man in all of Egypt and saved the world from starvation. In Numbers 12 God told Aaron and Miriam that he would speak to Moses face to face, but to other prophets he would speak in visions and dreams. These are just a few of the Scriptural references that you could use to support the thesis that God frequently uses dreams to instruct and guide people.

But that's only half the story. Not surprisingly, you can also find passages in the Bible where we're warned about the dangers of thinking that all dreams are packed with messages from heaven. Jeremiah, for example, warns us about people who "prophesy lying dreams." (Jer. 23: 32) And then we have this powerful text from the book of Sirach:

"Empty and false are the hopes of the senseless, and fools are borne aloft by dreams. Like a man who catches at shadows or chases the wind, is the one who believes in dreams. What is seen in dreams is to reality what the reflection of a face is to the face itself. Can the unclean produce the clean? Can the liar ever speak the truth? Divination, omens and dreams all are unreal; what you already expect, the mind depicts. Unless it be a vision specially sent by the Most High, fix not your heart on it; for dreams have led many astray, and those who believed in them have perished." (Sirach 34: 1-7)

So what's the bottom line? What is the proper Catholic attitude toward dreams? Believe it or not, I think that St. Joseph tells us what our attitude should be by his conduct in today's gospel scene. After reading this text from Matthew 1, some of us might be tempted to say that St. Joseph lived his life based on his dreams, and that that's how we should live our lives. But nothing could be further from the truth: Joseph did not live his life based on his dreams, he lived his life according to the commandments contained in the Word of God. God's Word as he knew it, guided his actions--not dreams. That's clear from the details of this story. We're told here that Joseph was "an upright man." That means that he was a devout observer of God's Word as it had been revealed to the Jews of his time. Which is precisely why he was ready to divorce Mary. It was because of his deep commitment to living the Word. Matthew tells us that Joseph and Mary were "betrothed" to one another at the time. By our standards, that means they were more than just engaged. It means that they were considered to be legally married, although they were not yet living together as husband and wife. Well, when Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant during this customary year of betrothal, he obviously knew the child wasn't his. What was he to do? Here, as always, Joseph was guided by God's Word; in this case God's Word as found in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 22. According to that Old Testament law, Joseph had the option of accusing Mary of adultery publicly--in which case our Blessed Mother would have been stoned to death. But Joseph was a man of mercy as well as justice--consequently he made the decision to divorce Mary quietly. So where does the dream fit into all this? The dream simply made Joseph aware of the fact that Mary had actually not sinned and violated the Law. Therefore, according to God's Word, Joseph was free to take her into his home as his wife--which is precisely what he did. But the important point to note is that it was the Word of God--and not the dream--that formed the basis for everything he did here.