24 December 2012 Novena for Christmas: Day 9 What we ought to be Our mind is always busy, often of idle thoughts. Let us try to avoid this today and focus on the coming great feast. Think of the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Let us accompany in spirit Mary and Joseph during their three days travel, share in their fatigue and difficulties. Look at Our Lady, and admire her calm serenity in enduring all the incidents, even the affronts she receives at Bethlehem where they refuse her hospitality. Jesus in her womb made up for everything. Let us entertain today the proper feelings, as Christmas draws near: 1) admiration at the thought of a God made man, a little infant, for us; 2) desire His spiritual birth in our hearts; 3) fear lest we fail to give Him worthy hospitality. Our laborious life spares few free moments. This day must be an exception so that we might meditate on the great events we are about to celebrate. Unfortunately, the eves of great feasts are days of great labor. Let us convert this apparent distraction into a spirit of penance through pious affections for Our Lady who had to bear hard trials on this day. Refused accommodation, she was obliged to bring into the world her Divine Son in a stable at midnight. We shall prepare for the Infant Jesus a proper hospitality in our hearts. Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, p810 Waiting for Jesus Jesus is the 'Dawn' who gives light to our existence. If we want everything we do to have any meaning, it must be done with reference to him. In a very extraordinary way Our Lady’s life centers around Jesus especially so on the eve of her son’s birth. What was the spirit of recollection like within her soul? She was always recollected. That is how we must learn to be. We, whose thoughts are so dissipated and distracted by trivial things! Only one thing is really important in our lives: Jesus, and what refers to him. Mary is always at prayer. She does everything with reference to her Son: when she talks to Jesus she prays “for prayer is to ‘talk to God’.” She prays each time she looks at Him. ‘That is prayer too, to look with faith at Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, truly present in the tabernacle.’ She prays when she asks him for something or whenever she smiles at him ‘so often!’ Or when she thinks about him. Her life was determined by Jesus, and her thoughts were set permanently on him. Our Lady encourages us, on this eve of her Son’s birth, never to neglect prayer which is conversation with Our Lord. Without prayer we are lost; with it we are strong and are able to carry out our tasks. We have to come closer to Our Lord through mental prayer: those moments which we dedicate to talking to him quietly about our concerns, thanking him, asking for his help. Simply being with Him! Through vocal prayer, too; perhaps, sometimes through prayers we learned as children. Prayer always enriches us -- even in that silent dialogue before the tabernacle in which we do not use any words. It is enough to watch and to feel ourselves watched. “From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Mt 12:34) If our heart is empty, what can our lips say? Nobody in this world has known how to talk to Jesus as his Mother did and, next to her, St Joseph who must have spent long hours gazing on him, talking to him, simply being in his company and adoring Him. “So, if anyone cannot find a teacher to teach him how to pray, let him take this glorious saint as his teacher and he will not stray from the path.” (St Theresa of Avila, “Life”, 4:7) As we finish our prayer, we contemplate Joseph very close to Mary. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:213-9 ‘Virgin most prudent. Pray for us.’ Jesus lies in a manger amid utter poverty Everything at Bethlehem that night spoke a language that the whole world could understand. In this mysterious event we bow in adoration before this crib. We look into the eyes of the divine Infant as they look into the distance, as if he sees all the peoples of the earth passing before Him, one after the other. He recognizes and identifies them all; and greets each one with a smile: Jews, Romans, Greeks, Indians, Chinese, the peoples of Africa, [Filipinos, too] and of every region of the universe, of every age in history. It matters not if the regions be far distant, solitary, remote, secret, and unexplored; past, present, or future. We commend to the newborn Jesus all the babies born during the preceding twenty-four hours everywhere. All, whether baptized or not, belong by right to Him, to this Babe in Bethlehem. Ref: Cf Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p60 Into Enemy Territory The fighting was fierce just before Christmas during World War I. A German soldier emerged from his trench. He tried to advance, but was hit by gunfire and got severely wounded. Crawling back to safety, he got caught in barbed wire. His screams turned to moans. An American climbed out of his trench and inched his way to the injured man. The two opposing commanders saw what was happening and ordered their troops to cease fire. In the eerie silence the American comforted, as he freed, the wounded German, then carried him to the waiting arms of his comrades. The guns remained silent till he returned to his trench. Inspiring! Even more dramatic is how Jesus crossed into ‘enemy territory’ to rescue us from spiritual death. We deserved to die, but He unselfishly accepted the humiliation, pain, and death of the cross to pay the price for our sin. “When we were still powerless, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom 5:6) Ref: Cf D C Egner, “Our Daily Bread”, Volume 6, 24 December • Celebration of the virginal marriage of Our Lady and St. Joseph, kept as a festival for a long time at Sens and in several churches of France.—(Saussey, Martyrologium Gallicum) “Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar (www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Vigil of the Nativity. ["Celebration of the virginal marriage of Our Lady and St Joseph, kept as a festival for a long time at Sens and several churches of France. (Saussey, “Martyrologium Gallicum”)"] (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Marriage of Mary and St Joseph. By festival chronology, Mary was betrothed to Joseph in January. By Jewish law, they were husband and wife, though couples typically held a public marriage ceremony later. Mary became pregnant with Jesus on March 25. Shortly thereafter, when she tells Joseph, he is called "Joseph her husband". (Mt 1:19). Paintings of the ceremony, ABC Gallery website's Virgin Mary page: Fra Angelico Annunciation. The Wedding of the Virgin. Giotto The Marriage Procession of the Virgin. Marriage of the Virgin; “El Greco” Marriage of the Virgin; Pietro Perugino Marriage of the Virgin; Nicolas Poussin. The Marriage of the Virgin. ... Fulton Sheen on the marriage. John Paul II on St Joseph. ... (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Nuptials of Our Lady with St. Joseph (Sens, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (http://mariedenazareth.com) • Our Lady of the Pilgrims. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)