The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-12-20

THE STORY OF THE BIRTH OF
CHRIST.

y
is with thee. Blessed art thou
amongst women" the angel, Gabriel,
addressed Mary when he appeared to-
her one day while she was praying.
She was only little Jewish maiden
less than sixteen years of age, and
had been espoused to ST. Joseph, who
was a carpenter in the little town of
Nazareth.
Mary was startled by the angels
appearance and puzzled by his words.
She gazed at him wonderingly, think
ing that he was mistaken in address
ing her in such manner. And the an
gel, reading her thoughts, continued:
Fear not, Mary, for thou hast
found grace with God. Behold thou
shalt bring forth Son, and thou
shall call His name Jesus. He shall
be great and shall be called the Son
of the Most High, and the Lord, God,
shall give unto Him the throne of
David, His Father, and He shall reign
in the house of Jacob forever, and of
his Kingdom there shall be no end"
The Messiah had been promised for
four thousand years, and Mary knew
that the entire Jewish race was ex-
pecting His coming at any time. She
had heard that the Messiah was to be
born of the house of David, in the little
town of Bethlehem. And remembering
this, slowly and gradually she grasped
the significance of the angels words.
She was to be the mother OF this
Messiah!
Surely she must have been glad and
joyous at such an honor, but the
prophets had foretold that the life of
the Messiah was to be a life of sorrow
and pain-naturally His Mother would
share His pain and His sorrow, and
she was afraid-not for herself, but
for her Son.
The angel still knelt before her. He
was waiting for her answer and she
must speak. How could she form
words grateful enough to satisfy the
great honor shown her. In her per-
plexity, falling on her knees, she cried:
Behold the mandmaid of the Lord;
be it done unto me, according to thy
word" When she arose the angel had
vanished. He had gone to deliver her
answer to God.
Three months passed, during which
time Mary had made visit to her
cousin, Elizabeth. God had sent a
messenger to st. Elizabeth, informing
her of Mary's sanctity, and when
Mary arrived at the house of St.
| int n11f RI crr00t
her and, falling down before her, re-
peated the words of the angel:
Blessed are thou amongst women, .
and added, "And blessed is the
Fruit of thy Womb, Jesus"
Mary remained with her cousin
Elizabeth three months and at the
end of that time she returned to st.
Joseph. And he, knowing naught OF
the great honor that had been be
slowed on his spouse, Mary having
kept all things to herself, doubted; but
while he thought on these things an
angel of the Lord appeared to him
telling him who she was that haG
been espoused to him. And knowing
he believed. Mary was glad that he
knew, and together they prayed unit
the time drew near when the Saviour
was to be born.
About this time, Augustus Caesar
Emperor of Rome, and ruler O.
most of the known world, sent ou
an edict, ordering all his subjects tt
be enrolled and take out an oath o.
allegiance to him. The Jews under
his jurisdiction were ordered to re
turn to the home town of their an
cestors, and an official of the Roman
government went from town to town
enforcing these orders. st. Joseph
was ordered to go to the town OF
Bethlehem. In due time he set out
upon the journey taking Mary with
him. For five days they were com
PEELED to travel. On the way they
met with many other travellers, and
St Joseph learned from them that
they, too, had been ordered to return
to Bethlehem, and learning this, he
feared that before they could reach
the town all the inns would be filled
and fastened on as quickly as posi-
BILE. Upon their arrival ST. Joseph
made inquiries at several inns, only
to be informed that there was nc
place wherein they might spend the
night. All day they travelled, inquir
ing here and there for shelter, only
to be refused; and as night overlook
them, being tired out and weary, they
sought shelter in a sort of cave on
hillside, place used as stable tc
shelter the cattle from the winters
cold. However, the stable was quite
warm, and fearing they could find nc
better shelter, they arranged to spend
the night here. And this was the
place that God had chosen for the
birthplace of his Son, for at midnight
Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ
was born And Mary and JOSEPH
worshiped Him. This was the Son o.
the Most High, and while Mary wor
SHIPPED Him as such, yet to her HI
was her own little Son, her own little
helpless Baby.
While Mary and Joseph knelt, gaz
ing on Him lovingly, the shepherd
from the neighboring hillside, who
had been tending their sheep, ant
having been directed to the stable
by an angel of God, entered and
f falling down, also worshiped Him
! And in the midst of their joy tn
J stable was illumed and Gods owl
messengers came to minister unit,