Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1919-12-25
Eloquent Sermon on Nativity
Preached BY Father Phelon;
Recalls Meaning of Yulctde

! visions The caravans in which
the women journeyed apart from the
men stopped from time to time un-
der the shade of tree or near a fount-
ain, and to protect themselves from
the heat of the sun, they took refuge
IN an enclosure Of rough stones, which
afforded miserable retreat for way
farers and beasts of burden.
AT the rise of the sun, the caravans
began to move again. Mary and Joseph
accompanying them, and passing
through Jerusalem, continued on their
way to Bethlehem. The country around
there is all broken; there are
hills and knobs and valleys, and on
two of these hills Bethlehem is situa-
ted. Mary and Joseph must have ar
rived there at about the setting of
the sun. The inns at Bethlehem were
crowded, and there was no room for
these two poor wayfarers. As the
evangelist says, "there was no room
for them in the inn
SHELTER FOR THE NIGHT
In the sides of the mountains and
hills in Palestine, nature sometimes
opened up gaping assures, and some
times the hand of man dug deep ex-
cavation into the bowels of the earth,
and in one of these, the two wayfar-
rers, footsore and weary, found a shell
ter.
Here We see two persons, Joseph and
Mary, the hottest that ever lived on
this earth, obeying a foreign emperor
and he a pagan. And not only that,
but we also see the Son of God, Him
self, the Savior of the world, in His
mother s womb, now about to be born
obeying the same command and at
what cost you, yourself can imagine,
for your faith teaches you that Jesus
Christ, from the first instant of His
Incarnation, had a perfect knowledge
of everything, and lived in the Beati-
fic Vision Here is the Model for us
to regulate our conduct in all things
PERTAINING to constituted authority he
it civil or political.
If ever there were any who night
exempt themselves from obedience to
such authority, these were Joseph and
Mary, and. above all the Son of God,
who was now about to be born, the Sn-
preme Legislator of heaven and earth.
We Catholics should always follow
this great example. Our Interchangeable
rule should be that of st. Paul who,
speaking to the Christians of Rome,
saws: "Let every soul be subjected to
higher powers, for there is no power
but from God, and those that are or
dained of God. Therefore he that re-
siseth the power, ressteth the ordi-
nance of God. And this is one of the
many reasons why Catholics must
obev lawful constituted authority. No
man can be true son of the
Catholic church, who is disloyal to the
constituted authority of his country.
The voice of authority is the voice of
our country, the voice of God. Obedi-
ence to authority is patriotism in
the highest sense, and he who recogni-
yes in the voice of constituted author
itv the voice of God, is the truest
American patriot.
TRAVEL TO BETHLEHEM
Consider for moment with the eyes
of faith these two wayfarers going up
from Nazareth to Bethlehem; these
two spouses are not separated for
Affectionately they travel
side by side, meditating, not on the
things of earth, but of those of heaven
They have no fear. They trust in
God for their guidance and safety.
Amiable and courteous to all they
neither seek nor shun the company of
those about them, happy to do for
others whatever they can. How peace
full thew are, how modest, how humble.
Their fellow travellers gaze upon them
with amazement, with respect and with
reverence. As we have said, these two
pilqrims went to one of these caves or
grottos. and there sought shelter dur
ing the night.
The bright eastern sky was studded
with stars. The confused hum, the
hustle and hustle of the busy day was
dvino AWAY. Here and there in the
hints on the hillside, and in the houses
of Bethlehem, lights appeared and dis
appeared Night had shrouded every
thing in darkness, and a deep |
and solemn silence reigned throughout
tho valley and about the grotto. Let |
ns with bowed heads reverently enter
and see what is taking place in that
cave. soon to be converted into a par
adise.
In one corner is Joseph, praying and
Close by, is Mary, with |
yves uplifted to heaven, wholly an
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