The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-12-29
NATIVITY PLAYS IN ST. PAUL

are longer and serve to instruct as
well as to inspire the audience. And
yet this is done with grace and dis
cretion so as to maintain the har
mony of the whole play. AS the title
indicates, the play emphasizes the
prophetic foreshadowing of the Incar
nation and then continues to show
how 'the desire of all nations" is to
be obtained.
Bethlehem on the other hand, is
a mystical, idealized presentation OF
the subject. According to the word
of the author himself, the play is not
intended to be ''naturalistic or reals
TIC; it is rather an endeavor to con-
centrate in a symbolic drama "all the
love and delight and wonder that has
come to be associated with Christ
mas" Hence, this play is less con-
cerned with accuracy in historical de-
tails; it rather represents a concep-
ton such as the devout and poetic
Christian mind of after-ages might
have of the wondrously beautiful story
of Christ's coming. Its lines are of
great depth and power, and yet kept
sweet and childlike by tender touches
of human feeling. The play is strong
ly Catholic; thus, for example, it
brings out clearly the Divinity of our
Lord and the universal Motherhood of
Mary and her intercessory power
Two Plays Compared.
Some details may be pointed out
here as illustration of the difference
in the character of the two plays. In
THE Desire of All Nations" the three
Kings do not appear, because in actual
fact, according to the Gospel account,
the Kings and the Shepherds did not
come to Bethlehem at the same time.
In Bethlehem" they do appear at the
same time because the author does
not intend to adhere so closely to the
historical fact, but rather presents the
subject as we are wont to think of
it when we think of the Nativity. For
the same reason the appearance of
Gabriel to warn st. Joseph of Herod's
plot is omitted in one play and intro
duced in the other.
Again, in "The Desire of All Ma
TONS the Blessed Virgin does not
speak at all in the scene of Bethlehem
This is in accord with reverence to
ward her, anu il is in accord with
what, we may well believe, was the
attitude of the lowly handmade of the
Lord in actual fact, For the Gospels
do not record any words spoken by
her to the Kings and to the Shepherds.
But in Bethlehem she does speak
and in lines of wonderful beauty; she
scene of Bethlehem. This is because
the author presents her, not historic
ally, as she no doubt did appear at
Bethlehem; heypresents her rather as
she appears to the Christian of today
not only as the lowly handmade of
the Lord but as the Mother of God
the Queen of Heaven, who has reigned
in Christian hearts for ages, who is a
tender and powerful Mother to us all
and who therefore may well appear
in symbolic drama as the mouthpiece
of the Most High, worthy to give the
blessing of the newborn Saviour tC
high and low, to Kings and Shepherds
Hopeful Signs.
These two Nativity plays, presented
this year in st. Pau, may, we hope
be taken as promises of great thing:
to come in the following years. Pre-
scented as they were, without attemp
at elaborate setting, they deserved tt
draw an audience, at least of all the
Catholics of st. Paul. May we no
hope that this will be the fact mex
year? Bethlehem" which was ono,
presented with all the wealth of ar
in the Crystal Palace in London, il
worthy of all the setting that coult
be given it in our municipal audi
torium
May we not hope, then, that in year,
to come we shall all count the Ma
tivity Play as an understood featurt
of our celebration of Christmas; tha
next to recalling Christ's coming b,
welcoming Him in the Holy Mass an,
by approaching His real, abiding
Eucharistic Presence, we may ais,
recall the blessed. scenes of Bethle
hem, represented to eye and ear il
the Nativity Play? For surely thi
will help to make it plain that ou
| joy in Christ is not hidden in tn
depths of our heart alone, but that
oyerfiows from one to another an
ola ddanS all h1Ir,a an society