Putnam patriot., 1919-12-12

GIN ALL HISTORY no lovelier. n,
 more eloquent drama has beer ~ recorded than that of the Nativ ity.
 n city of GaliIee called Nazareth dwelt Mary, humble maid of tn. people. Picture her going about ths homely tasks of her household, pre- p@ing the meals. keeping the rooms h order, engaged with needle-work nesting after the days toll in the gar. 6n, fragrant with grape and pome granite, with jasmine and many flow. ers, drowsy with the hum of bee and insect. Here, perhaps, as her eyes followed scripture or teaching of fa- niliar scroll, or while she completed some embroidered fabric for the tenn pie, or fashioned linen for herself, in all the prosaic simplicity of her daily life, the angel appeared unto her.
 It is still evening, quiet, serene. She is tranquil. Her hands are folded calmly in her lap. while her work falls beside her to the bench on which she sits. Her mind is pure, her heart is young, her thoughts,-her dreams-are gentle and placid.
 To such an one, the angel came, saying:-
 Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."
 And when she saw him she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be-"
 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God"
 Thus was the unknown Jewish girl exalted out of her uneventful life. She feared, but her race was one that has ever lived with vision. Moreover. revelation was a sacred thing. Obedi- ence to authority was instinctive.
 "With God,' said the angel, moth ing shall be impossible"
 And Mary, quieting her bursting heart, and summoning all the courage of an heroic people, schooled in sacri- flee, at last found voice, and said;
 "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord: be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
 No Christmas anthem ever written can compare with that wondrous song of praise that, later, burst forth from the heart of Mary in her glorifcation. 'My soul doth magnify the Lord,
 "And my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Saviour.
 "For he hath regarded the low es- tate of his handmaiden; for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
 "For he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to genera tion.
 .He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud In the imagination of their hearts.
 s"He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
 aHe hath filled the hungry with posd things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
 "He hath solpen his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy;
 .As he spake to our forefathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.
 Meekest and loveliest of women in all history, thus is Mary revealed to us in two sacred moments: the visieation .of the Angel of the Lord, and, later in her celestial outburst of reloicihs hefore her cousin Elizabeth. Out or th. obscurity of her girlhood, she .emerges, fawless, supremacy que quate.
 Again Mary is shown to us IL i' The Night. A long journey has peer accomplished. It is cold and dark. ih' inn is full in Bethlehem of Judea There is no place there for Mary tn' mother. Words cannot picture he .exaltation now, in this supreme hour Rut all of human experience has con tr;buted to render eloquent the re strained words of St. Luke:-
 "she brought forth her firstborl son and wrapped him in swaddhn' clothes. and laid him in manager; pc .anse there was no room for them I the inn"
 So came the Prince of Peace earth. Thus was born into the wori such love as passeth understanding