Friday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Mass in the Morning
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
FRIDAY, Dec. 24th Lk. 1:67-79 “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David.”
Let us walk once again with St. Joseph and Mary carrying the Baby Jesus within her…
Part One: CHRISTMAS CONTEMPLATION by Fr. Ed Broom
Part Two: Christmas Eve and Mary. What was going on the Heart of Mary? by Father Sertillanges
PART ONE
CHRISTMAS CONTEMPLATION TO LIFT UP OUR HEARTS! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
All that which surrounds the true reality of Christmas—meaning the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ—is hardship, trial and suffering for these two basic reasons: obedience to the will of the heavenly Father, and love for the salvation of all of humanity, as well as for each and every one of us individually! Let us briefly contemplate the many hardships of good Saint Joseph, as well as the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the Mystery of the birth of the Lord Jesus.
1. THE TRAVEL. Mary and good Saint Joseph had to travel many miles to arrive at their destination—Bethlehem, the city of David, which translated actually means “the house of bread”. How interesting and meaningful it is that He who would call Himself “The Bread of Life” would be born in Bethlehem “The House of Bread”. Contemplate this painful, but all too true scene of a young pregnant woman—already in her ninth month—traveling many miles mounted on a donkey! How uncomfortable, burdensome, and downright painful to travel as such! The weather? The Gospels do not tell us about the weather, nor the climate. However, we can imagine the cold; we can imagine the searing and cutting winds; we can imagine the real possibility of precipitation, at least some rain. All of this would have added to the suffering of the young maiden and her loving spouse, good Saint Joseph. Obviously the traveling was not done in one day, but would have taken several days. Where would they sleep at night? We really do not know, but possibly some place on the route; no real comfortable shelter to say the least. Bandits along the way, thieves looking for an easy prey, and other suspicious individuals could have been present on this long trek to Bethlehem. Do you think this crossed the mind of good Saint Joseph?
2. ARRIVAL. After we have traveled and arrived at our destiny, we normally await a warm greeting from relatives or at least friends. This is common courtesy! None of this happened when Saint Joseph arrived with his pregnant wife, mounted on a donkey. Good Saint Joseph made the most sincere efforts to find shelter, but all seemed to be an exercise in futility. After knocking at the door of the inn, or most likely several inns, the response was the same: “There is no room for you in the inn.” In a word, Joseph and Mary with the baby Jesus in her womb received a cold and harsh rejection! All of us know the pain involved in having a door shut in our face, the pain of being rejected! The Holy Family was rejected and this inflicted much pain. However, there was no bitterness on the part of Mary and good Saint Joseph. Despite the pain of rejection, they submitted humbly to will of the Heavenly Father. “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (The Our Father)
3. BIRTHPLACE OF JESUS. Jesus is both God and man. He is the Creator of the entire universe. All belongs to Him and all flows from His loving and creative power. Ven. Archbishop Fulton Sheen expresses the painful truth most eloquently: “The Creator of the universe had nowhere to be born in His own creation.” Where was He born? Not in a castle, nor in a palace, nor in a luxurious mansion. He was afforded none of these luxuries! He was born in a stable in Bethlehem. This stable was actually a refuge for animals where they could find shelter and rest from inclement weather conditions. Should there be rain or sleet, or the wind kicking up its powerful force—this stable would serve as a sure and secure refuge. What animals might find refuge in this stable? Sheep, lambs, cows, and oxen. The climate and environment? Cold, dirty, musty, damp, smelly from animal remains, to be perfectly blunt and honest. Often I have contemplated good Saint Joseph, once he had safely reached the stable with Mary and gently taken her off the donkey, thinking about how he might heat up the little place. In your contemplation, imagine good Saint Joseph gathering up branches and sticks so as to at least start a small fire to provide Mary and the Baby to be born with some warmth. In your contemplation lend good St. Joseph a hand! All of this, once again, speaks of the great suffering that Mary and Joseph experienced for love of you and me.
4. BIRTH OF JESUS. Then in the quiet of the night, that Silent Night, as the angels contemplated from heaven, and as the Eternal Father decreed from all eternity, Jesus was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was a sweet, peaceful, calm birth in which the ever Blessed Virgin Mary did not lose the glory of her virginity but was indeed Mother—the Mother of God, the Mother of the future Church, and the Mother of each and every one of us in the realm of the spirit. Even though Jesus was born of Mary in the cold, in the night, in the musty damp air, with only hay and a blanket to cover the hard floor of the cave, the overflowing joy of Mary was intense. She who said Yes to the angel in the Annunciation, now brought forth Jesus, the fruit of her womb, the Savior of the entire universe!
5. THE THREAT OF HEROD. Involved in the Christmas mystery is the person of the wicked King Herod. Insecure, proud and vain, ruthless in intent—the wicked King Herod planned to eliminate the little Child Jesus. Warned by an angel, imagine the suffering of good Saint Joseph and Mary the Mother of Jesus, knowing that this wicked King planned on murdering their Child! Traveling toward Egypt at night, possibly they heard the horses’ hooves of those avidly searching for Jesus. What incredible, almost unspeakable suffering both good Saint Joseph and Mary experienced in this critical moment of the life of the Child Jesus. As we know, the little Jesus was saved. However, the wicked King Herod sent out soldiers who brutally massacred all the holy and innocent little boys two years and under, in and around Bethlehem!
In conclusion, it can be of immense profit for all of us who seek to really live Christmas—the birth of the Lord Jesus—to the fullest extent possible, to contemplate the pain, sufferings, and afflictions that St. Joseph and Mary, the Mother of Jesus, had to undergo to carry out the will of the heavenly Father for our salvation. May the Lord Jesus who was born in the city of Bethlehem be born in the very depths of your mind, heart, and soul this Christmas!
PART TWO: Christmas Eve and the Heart of Mary by Father Sertillanges
So there are Mary and Joseph without a lodging, wandering through the streets of Bethlehem, urged on by the fall of night and by the time – which is drawing near. It is not difficult to imagine Joseph’s anxiety; who can describe his earnestness and his distress? It was so unexpected, this reception, and so cruel…
As for Mary, the touching preparations mothers make for the birth of their babies should give us some idea of how it must have hurt her. Yet not even the shadow of anxiety could skim the surface of her soul.
She bore within her the Ordainer of all things, Him who knows all, who can do all. To be worried in His regard would have been childish. As for herself, what did it matter to her? Did she not possess all things, having such a treasure?
When she considered the lot that had been given her, could she envy mothers who were wealthy or comfortable? To suffer, with Jesus under her heart, was a twofold joy to her: it meant sharing the role of the Savior before He entered upon it Himself; it meant carrying the Cross, while carrying Him who would be stretched upon it…
So she went through the winding lanes of Bethlehem without fear, without anxiety. She was waiting upon the will of God; and God poured into her soul, drop by drop, His tranquility, greater far than that of the night rising from the plain and slowly enveloping the lovely slope of the hill.
Meanwhile the ineffable exchange went on: Mary giving to Jesus her blood, her life, the pulsations of her heart; Jesus giving to Mary light, strength, love, patience, and the peace of one possessing God.
