The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-12-19
BETHLEHEM, THE BIRTHPLACE
OF OUR LORD.

Or OUR LORD.
When the wise men came from the
East to Jerusalem they asked;
Where is He that is born, King of
the Jews?" King Herod assembled
the chief priests and the scribes and
inquired of them where the Christ,
the Messiah, should be born. And
they answered him; I'm Bethlehem of
Juda. For so it is written by the
prophet And thou Bethlehem the land
of Juda art not the least among the
princes of Juda; for out of thee shall
come forth the captain that shall rule
my people Israeli" Matt. II, 1-6).
Those Jewish doctors referred to the
prophet Michaeas, but did not quote
his words exactly as they are in the
Old Testament, they gave the substan-
tial sense of them as it was handed
down by the authoritative tradition
OF those who sat in the chair of Moses.
And that Bethlehem was to be the
birthplace of the Messiah, was the
universal belief of the Jews at the
time of Our Lord. Saint John tells
us that on one occasion, after the
Jews had heard some words of our
Lord, some of them said that He must
be the Messiah; but others objected
Doth the Christ come out of Galilee?
Doth not the Scripture say that Christ
cometh of the seed of David, and from
bethlehem the town where David
was?" John VII, 42.)
When the time for the birth of
Christ drew nigh Mary and Joseph
went up from Nazareth to the city
of David, called Bethlehem, as they
were of the house and the family of
David" (St. Luke, II, A. They
went up to be enrolled in accordance
with the decree of the Roman EN-
peror, Augustus Caesar. (St. Luke IL,
1-5) The Angel Gabriel had told
Mary that the Lord God would give
to her Son the throne of David his
father. (St Luke /, 32) The Roman
emperor had no thought of the hum
BILE pair who dwelt in the loWly ham,
let of Nazareth, when he issued his
decree; but his action was over
ruled by Divine Providence to bring
about the fulfllment of promise and
prophecy which had been made
many hundreds of years before. This
is so obvious and so striking fact
that it has always helped men of good
will to see that the religion Of Christ
is true and divine.
More than a thousand years before
the time Of Augustus, Almighty God
spoke to Samuel saying: Fill thy
horn with oil and come that l may
send thee to Isai of Bethlehem; for
l have provided Me king among
his sons q Kings XVI, H. By di-
rect guidance from God, Samuel chose
David the youngest son of Isai, who
had been keeping the sheep. And
Samuel took the horn of oil and
anointed him in the midst of his
brethren. David was type, a living
prophecy, a foreshadowing of Him
Who was born of His royal race.
The greatest events in the history Of
mankind cast their shadows before in
the life and fortunes of the Royal
Psalmist; and in his Psalms he ut
tered some of the most splendid OF
the Messianic prophecies.
1t was fitting therefore that in Beth
Iehem of Juda Christ should be born.
The very name of Bethlehem points
to the mysteries of the New Law;
for Bethlehem means 1.-The house OF
Bread and Saint Gregory and Saint
Thomas Aquinas remind us that it
was Christ Himself Who said: Il am
the Living Bread which came down
from heaven" (St John VI, 42)
Thus men of goodwill seeking to
know the truth and the will of
God, prayerfully and humbly ask
ing for light, have been enabled
to understand the secrets of Gods
word. Bethlehem has many lessons
for us. 1t became the birthplace of
Christ in fulfilment of prophecy, and
by the direct intervention of God;
in Bethlehem as on Calvary the rays
of light that illumined the darkness
of the old world converge and meet
in the new light which enlightens the
whole human race, and from Bethle-
hem we may trace them upward to Him
Who dwells in Light inaccessible.
Bethlehem confirms our faith; there
we learn with the shepherds and the
Magi that Jesus is the Christ the Son
of the living God. Bethlehem reminds
us of the Altar and the Tabernacle,
where day by day the Mysteries of
our Redemption are renewed, where
the living bread daily comes down from
heaven, that we may have life in
us. Bethlehem was lowly insignifi-
cant village, hidden away in the hills
of Judea, unknown to the great
world; yet it is the greatest of all
birthplaces. Thus does God teach us
humility, Indifference to the loud ap-
plause of men, contentment and peace
in whatever humble sphere of life
He may have allotted to us.