Today is my favorite day!

“I ALWAYS GET TO WHERE I’M GOING BY WALKING AWAY FROM WHERE I HAVE BEEN.” – POOH

The Little Jesus

Everyone knows he was born 2000+ years ago already, right?  Still, we celebrate his Nativity and the mysteries surrounding the Incarnation and Birth of the Lord every year at this time.  Likewise, faith prompts us to keep ourselves ready and to anticipate his final coming - Catholics know that and do that at every Mass.

Nevertheless, we prepare for the Holy Nativity, anticipating the solemnity with great care, and sometimes, anxious cares.  We have wants and needs.  I think we forget God already knows that however - hence our anxiety.  Yet he gives little favors, little signs of his loving providence all the time - to increase our hope, our desire.  Sadly, we fail to thank him for the little stuff - most times we don't even notice them.  Fr. Solanus reminded me of that this morning.

Try to notice the little signs, the little lights twinkling in your life, albeit reflected in a darkened window, as it were.  Treasure these little signs in your heart with thankfulness - give thanks more than you give things...

Keep thanking God and the Little Jesus will be so thrilled with our prayers of thanksgiving he's sure to give increase - in abundance. I thought I should tell people that.  Wrap, swaddle the Little Jesus in warm, loving prayers of thanksgiving.  Let us welcome him into our heart and care for him there - carry him there.  The poorer we are, the more grateful we are.

The Birth of Christ in art.

Sarcophagus of Stilicho, 4th century, Basilica of St. Ambrogio, Milan

(source)

 

 

 

By whose authority?

Obviously there are some reviews of the Pope's new book which really annoy me - my earlier post on the subject was meant in jest.  What I hate is how journalists and critics will isolate a quote out of context, manipulate it and present it as the whole story.  For instance, "Pope says there were no animals at the Nativity."   I haven't read the book yet, but it surely must be that the Holy Father discussed how the Gospels do not recount details such as the presence of animals...  Not to worry.  As I said in my earlier post, a lot of stuff isn't mentioned in the Gospels.

That said, artistic narratives from as early as the 2nd century, have illustrated the Gospels on sarcophagi, illuminated manuscripts, icons, frescoes, and in medieval times, stained glass windows, and so on, up to our day. (In Rome, Christmas wasn't really celebrated until the 4th century - the bas-relief shown at top is a 4th century example of the Nativity.)  Common sense, human experience and understanding 'flesh out' the probable realities not mentioned in the Gospels.

As I implied in a comment on my earlier post, my problem isn't with the Pope's book - it is with the commentators and critics of the work.  One journalist's main objection seems to be "by whose authority" does the Pope speak? 

So the Pope is writing a book on the life of Jesus as reported at the Vatican to complete his three volume opus. So what? Was the Pope there when Jesus was born/ Does he have some special insight into the life of Jesus? As a continuation from Peter the First Pope is there some special relationship when Jesus supposedly gave Peter the keys to the kingdom ... David Crammer

Obviously the author has issues with the Pope - not so much with the Infancy narratives. Benedict XVI, the 'theologian', joins other scholars who are no doubt in agreement with the theological and historical speculation found in the Holy Father's third volume on the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

The Nativity of the Lord
Over the centuries, the Nativity image tends to resist change in subject matter and even in composition. The changes that do occur help us to understand the underlying doctrinal principles.

The Ox and the Ass

No animals attend Christ's birth in the gospels of Matthew (cached) or Luke (cached), but an ox and ass appear in the images very early on -- for example, in the Nativity block at left from a 6th-century Palestinian icon. The reason is the influence of the Pseudo-Gospel of Matthew (cached), in which an ox and ass adore the child in fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah1:3 (cached). Jesus' fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies is a central theme of Christian doctrine, so Nativity iconography stays with the ox and ass all the way into modern times (viz. the 20th-century Nativity portal of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona). This is true even when Mary herself has been left out (example).

Cave or Stable?

The doctrine of fulfillment of prophecy is also behind an often noticed difference between Nativities in the Greek East and the Latin West. By the Renaissance, western art always places the birth of Christ in a stable, whereas eastern images put it in a cave. We see the cave mentioned as early as the 2nd century by Justin Martyr, and even he appears to be working with an old received narrative. Yet the cave is not in the Gospels, nor does it seem consistent with the manger in Luke, which would imply a stable. So why was it made a part of the story, and why did it disappear in the West?

Justin saw the cave as a fulfillment of Isaiah 33:16, which in his Greek text read, "he shall dwell in the lofty cave of the strong rock." But there is no cave in Latin Vulgate of that verse (which reads "the fortifications of rocks shall be his highness"), so in the West there was no prophecy to fulfill. Both Pseudo-Matthew and the influential Protevangelium of James try to combine cave and stable by having Mary relocate the baby from the former to the latter a few days after the birth, but eventually the cave disappeared from western thinking about the Nativity. By the time of the Golden Legend (13th century) the cave is gone and the baby is simply born in a stable "upon the hay that lay in the rack."

Images in the West follow this changing venue. A12th-century French relief uses an ambiguous design to accommodate both the stable and the cave traditions. The child's woven basket only suggests a manger and thus a stable. The disposition of the figures follows that of the 6th-century icon but puts them in a square, recessed space that could be either a cave or a built structure. A13th century mosaic in Rome puts Mary in a cave and the child in a stable! In an early 14th-century Nativity, Duccio di Buon Insegna effects a compromise between cave and stable: The figures and even the star are arranged just as in the earlier works, but the space is now a stable that has been inserted into a mountain. - Source

The Christmas story... for cats.

Now this is the role cats played in the birth of Jesus. (The story I tell my cats every Christmas after we finish the Rosary and before we venerate the Infant Jesus.)

On the first Christmas eve - that is, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of the holy Virgin Mary - and before anyone else knew about it, even the shepherds, the stray cats of Bethlehem gathered around the stable. They were hiding in the hay and behind the sleepy ox, one kitty slept on the back of donkey because it was warm, a couple of others rubbed up against St. Joseph who seemed to be asleep - although he was really in ecstasy.

The holy Virgin was kneeling upon a fleece mat laid over the straw in a corner of the stable, protected from view by the large sleeping ox and a low wall. The Blessed Virgin was in ecstasy as well, when suddenly a great light shone, and upon the fleece was a lovely newborn Infant, glistening as if bathed in star dust. No sooner had He appeared than the Blessed Mother swiftly wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in the manger nearby. As if from nowhere, the tiniest angels appeared, about the size of bees, encircling the newborn in the manger, while strains of heavenly music could be heard, along with the gentle singing of heavenly choirs.

Joseph walked very slowly into the enclosure, his head bowed, tears streaming down a face made radiant by the light emanating from the Holy Child and his Blessed Mother. He knelt next to his wife, adoring the Holy Infant. The ox noticed and rose partially, although just enough to kneel, facing the Holy Family. The donkey did likewise. The cats, naturally shy and accustomed to being shooed away, kept their distance until they noticed all the other little animals; mice, chipmunks, rabbits, gathering in awe at the foot of the manger, completely unselfconscious of any danger.

Now, as you know, stray cats are always hungry and always looking for prey - which is why many people who dislike cats, tolerated them in the first place, since they kept their homes free of vermin. As the cats watched all the critters assembling, it seemed to them it was a living banquet being laid out before their eyes. However, the grandpa cat whispered that this was not the moment or place for feasting. He proceeded to explain to the other cats that they had all just witnessed a miracle, that God Himself, our Creator, had come down that night to live amongst men. Grandpa cat pointed to all the little animals, particularly the mice, and reminded the other cats of the scriptures which referred to the Christ when it foretold, "In that day the kitty cat will lie down with the mouse." (Grandpa cat knew the scriptures because he sneaked into Temple every Sabbath. He quickly related how the Virgin would be found with Child, that her Child is the Redeemer and Saviour, who brings peace to all the world, renewing nature itself, and so on.)

With renewed confidence all the cats crept out of their hiding places, their attention rapt upon the Divine Child. The kitties were neither distracted by the mice and other animals, nor were they a bit perturbed when the shepherd's dogs arrived... the atmosphere being so permeated with peace and joy that silent night. A few of the older cats cuddled near the Madonna and the feet of St. Joseph to warm them. As it was a very cold night that first Christmas, Our Lady picked up a very fat cat and another beautiful Siamese cat, placing them gently near the Child Jesus, to keep Him warm too. [This is when I ask my cats, "And do you know who these kitties were, so privileged to keep watch over the Holy Infant? They were your great, great, great, great, (almost too many greats to count!), great grandmothers!"]

The End.

So this is the Christmas story I tell my cats every year, and when I'm finished, they roll around for a long time afterwards, purring and stretching, as if they had nibbled upon catnip, and I always seem to be able to see a twinkle in their eyes, with a smile upon their little mouths. After some time, they then go over and adore the Bambino Jesu, sitting alongside Him into the wee hours of the morning.