He stopped before the sight as if hit by lightning

(In the cave) the light became increasingly brighter, impossible for the eye to sustain it. Now the Virgin is enveloped by it, as if absorbed by a veil of incandescent light. The Virgin disappears, and the Mother emerges... I see Mary with her newborn Son in her arms...

Joseph, who, as if in ecstasy, prayed with such intensity that he had ceased to become aware of his surroundings, came back to his senses, and between his fingers covering his face, saw the strange light. He uncovered his face, raised his head, and turned around. The standing ox concealed Mary from him, but she called out: "Joseph, come!"

Joseph moved towards her, but seeing the scene, stopped in his tracks, unable to move further, as if hit by a thunderbolt of reverence. He fell to his knees where he was standing. Mary insisted: "Come, Joseph." She pressed her left hand on the hay, holding the Child in her right hand and clinging him to her heart, to get up. She went herself to Joseph who walked hesitantly, caught between the desire to move closer and the fear of being disrespectful.

The spouses met at the foot of the makeshift bed and looked at each other, weeping with happiness. "Come," said Mary, "and offer Jesus to the Father."

Maria Valtorta

L’Evangile tel qu’il m’a été révélé (The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me), vol. 1, pp 171-172. Diffusion Pierre Téqui, Paris