Ave Maria Meditations
Luke 2:11: For Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord
As I was putting up my nativity set these three words sprung out at me “For unto you”. Yes, Lord, how I need Your holy Nativity. Look how low the Son of God stoops to make our salvation possible. A cave and a manger for the Lord of glory to visit this sin-cursed world. A cave that only allows me to bow before His presence to enter in. I held the twig-twisted manger that was to be the Lord’s bed. Even for me, divested of all this world holds dear, is welcome to kneel and adore Jesus.
The two little lambs pointed their faces at the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Our Jesus offers us the sacrifice of the Mass so that we will never forget the high cost of our redemption. The donkey in the corner of the manger gladly bore the weight of the Blessed Mother to carry her to Bethlehem that means “House of bread”. Yes, Jesus is our living Bread that came down from Heaven to heal our sinful souls and prepare us to enter heaven.
There is Joseph who suffered much to see God’s holy will fulfilled in the birth of God’s Son. Our life, like Joseph, is mixed with buffeting and blessings. God gave Joseph great graces to carry life’s challenges and that grace and mercy is renewed to us each day. There is the Blessed Mother dressed in blue; God graced her to be the door that will open God’s Heaven to those that love her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray the joyful mysteries before the manger and I felt my sorrows fly away like little birds.
There was a little boy kneeling before the baby Jesus and the wonder of the angel song still fills the air. The angel announces, “Glory to God in the highest” and indeed the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father shines brightly in the dark of night.
There is the cow providing much-needed heat for the newborn Christ Child. To the left are three camels and the three wise kings with their gifts, kneeling and worshiping before the Savior. To the right are the shepherds, the common working men who labor to provide for their family’s needs. They saw the heavens light up with the angels from the throne room of God’s Heaven and heard the gospel proclaimed. God’s love was wrapped in the Babe of Bethlehem for people of every kindred, tongue and nation of the world.
Glory to God in the highest!
+Fr. Joseph B.
