The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-12-25
ASxloII 49,
l0oc1RfNaE. s. n7JRsicRL.l
speaking of the lowest of the Bethle


"And so it was that, while they
we're there, the days were accom-
plished that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her first-born
son, and wrapped him in swaddling
clothes, and laid him in a Manager;
because there was no room for them
in the inn"
She who had conceived as virgin
brought forth as a virgin; the Gospel
implies that she did not know either
the weakness or the prostration of
our mothers. She herself received the
child and laid him to rest in the make
shift cradle. Christian faith kneels
forever before this woman and the
child upon her breast; it has learned,
in gazing on them, gentleness, poverty
and sacrifice; it has constructed ever
new visions of that ineffable scene,
without firing, and without exhausting
its beauty, its power or it's charm.
This happened on December
night, in the month of Tebeth, accord
ing to the Jewish calendar, unknown
by anyone, without other witness than
Mary and Joseph. The little town lay
asleep, unsuspecting the birth of Him,
Who, rather than David, was to rem.
der it immortal. = But the Spirit of
God was fully poured out on this cave
and the neglected cradle; and was to
draw thither the elect. All the initia-
tive is from God; they whom He en-.
lightens, see; they whom He calls,
hear; they whom He does not touch,
stay dead in their ignorance and dark
ness.
At the foot of Bethlehem, a little
beyond Beit-Saour, in the very plain
where Boaz once had fields of wheat
and barley, and where Ruth had come
to CLEAN, shepherds were keeping
their flocks. Shepherds, in the East,
represent the lowest class of the agri-
cultural population; they are the serv-
ants of servants. The farmer does
no work; he has his laborers, work
men, and shepherds. They may be
seen at the present day, their head
covered with a long black veil, a.
OILCNp0h1A Oh lnCAl
feet either naked or shod with san
dals, a staff of oak or sycamore in
their hand, and they watch from dark
to dawn, seated ON some rock, round
large fires. The earth, sown later in
the year, is covered, from the first
rains, with grass and flowers, and the
fiocks live on this early heritage.
While the shepherds of Beit-Saour
watched their flocks by night, "Lo,
the angel of the Lord came upon
them and the glory of the Lord shone
round about them, and they were sore
afraid. And the angel said unto them,
Fear not: for, behold, bring YOU
good tidings of great joy, which, shall
be to all people. For unto you is
born this day in the city of David a
Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And
this shall be sign unto you; Ye
shall find the babe wrapped in swad-
ding clothes, lying in manger. And
suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host prais-
ing God, and saying, Glory to God in
the highest, and on earth peace to
men of good will"
The unseen world thrilled at the
birth of Jesus. Nothing is accom-
plished here below but what is de-
creed on high; terrestrial phenomena
are the effects of heavenly and i'm
penetrable causes; all the future, all
the mystery of this cradle, were in
the two words which were to fill
space and time: Glory and Peace;
glory to God, peace to man. Hence
forward the earth, which knew not
God, had Son Who was to teach us
His name and establish His kingdom:
mankind, given over to the brute law
of destruction in her struggle for ex-
istence, was to know the law of
peace, because she would be ruled by
the law of love.
And it came to pass, as the angels
were gone away from them into
heaven, the shepherds said one to an
other, Let us, now go even unto Beth
lehem, and see this thing which has
come to pass, which the Lord hath
made known unto us. And they came
with haste, and found Mary and Jo-
seph, and the Babe lying in manger
And when they had seen it, they made
known abroad the saying which was
told them concerning the child
Simple souls whom God enlightens
see far: they foresee what the sages
with all their philosophy are unable
to understand. Faith alone knows
God and His designs; if reason dis
cusses them they escape and blind it;
if it determine to bend them to its
own needs and narrow formulate, it
results often in denying them, and
generally in disfiguring or minimizing
them.
The shepherds returned to their
flocks and told the wondrous tale of
what they had seen, clarifying and.
praising God. 1t does not seem, how.
ever, that the testimony of these poor
people either stirred Bethlehem or
troubled the peaceful Iowliness of
Jesus cradle: He remained unknown
with His Mother and Joseph, but
Mary kept all these sayings in her
heart; like all mothers, she made her.
memories treasure, sort of inward.
book, which she read over and over
tenderly.
The field of the shepherds is still
there; flocks feed in winter under the
olives, as in the days of Jesus, in the
fields where the grass still grows