Mystery

Tamer of Horses St. Macrina the Younger (c. 327 – 19 July 379), an early Christian consecrated virgin, is remembered for her sanctity and asceticism. She played a significant role in shaping the lives of her brothers, including Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa. But why is she referred to as the “Tamer of Horses”? The title “Tamer of Horses” is metaphorical and carries deeper spiritual meaning. Despite being betrothed, Macrina chose not to marry another man, considering Christ as her eternal bridegroom. The title “Tamer of Horses” symbolizes Macrina’s mastery over worldly desires and passions. Just as a skilled horse tamer controls powerful steeds, Macrina exercised discipline over her own desires. By choosing Christ over earthly attachments, she “tamed” the wild horses of human passions, directing them toward spiritual pursuits. Macrina’s ascetic life exemplified victory over the unruly “horses” within—the inner struggles and temptations. Her unwavering commitment to Christ allowed her to ride the chariot of virtue, transcending earthly distractions. She set the standard for holy Early Christian women (article). In the 4th century, amidst the grief of losing his brother, St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nyssa turned to his sister, St. Macrina, for solace. During this period of mourning, he found himself grappling with questions about the soul. Dating back to the 4th century, her response anticipated concepts that were only comprehended and demonstrated within the realm of 20th-century quantum physics, especially in the exploration of atomic and subatomic particles. Quantum physics demonstrates that once linked, elements remain connected and continue to affect each other even when separated by great distances, illustrating non-local influences. Nonlocality refers to the impossibility to attribute the behavior of a subject to a physical cause. The notion of the recombining potential of interconnected elements may appear to embody an intrinsic principle of resurrection willed in the ongoing act of Creation itself. A profound conversation unfolded, bridging the wisdom of two revered saints – St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Macrina. Their dialogue revolved around the enigmatic subject of the soul. As the words flowed between them, a sacred symphony of knowledge and insight resonated in the air. St. Gregory, with his astute intellect and profound spiritual understanding, engaged in a spirited exchange with St. Macrina, whose wisdom and gentle demeanor mirrored the serenity of a tranquil lake. ‘‘All I have been shown by your argument is that it is not anything material; and I do not yet know the fitting name for it. I wanted especially to know what it is, not what it is not’’, asked St. Gregory. ‘’We do learn, St. Macrina replied, much about many things by this very same method, inasmuch as, in the very act of saying a thing is “not so and so,” we by implication interpret the very nature of the thing in question. For instance, when we say a “guileless,” we indicate a good man; when we say “unmanly,” we have expressed that a man is a coward. The question is — What are we to think of Mind in its very essence?’’… …Well, then, St. Gregory retorted, we only exchange one paradox for another by arguing in this way; for our reason will be reduced to the conclusion that the Deity and the Mind of man are identical, if it be true that neither can be thought of, except by the withdrawal of all the data of sense. Say not so, she replied; to talk so also is blasphemous… there is nothing strange in the soul’s separate existence as a substance (whatever we may think that substance to be) being no hindrance to her actual existence, in spite of the elemental atoms of the world not harmonizing with her in the definition of her being. In the case of our living bodies, composed as they are from the blending of these atoms, there is no sort of communion, as has been just said, on the score of substance, between the simplicity and invisibility of the soul, and the grossness of those bodies; but, notwithstanding that, there is not a doubt that there is in them the soul’s vivifying influence exerted by a law which it is beyond the human understanding to comprehend. Not even then, when those atoms have again been dissolved into themselves, has that bond of a vivifying influence vanished… And should in no way be sundered from a union once formed. For it does not follow that because the composite is dissolved the incomposite must be dissolved with it. But once these atoms, St. Gregory rejoined, are separated from each other, and have gone whither their nature impels them, what is to become of the soul when her vessel is thus scattered in many directions? In locality, in peculiar qualities, she replied, these elemental atoms are held to be far removed from each other; but an undimensional nature finds it no labour to cling to what is locally divided, seeing that even now it is possible for the mind at once to contemplate the heavens above us and to extend its busy scrutiny beyond the horizon, nor is its contemplative power at all distracted by these excursions into distances so great. However far from each other their natural propensity and their inherent forces of repulsion urge them, and debar each from mingling with its opposite, none the less will the soul be near each by its power of recognition, and will persistently cling to the familiar atoms, until their concourse after this division again takes place in the same way, for that fresh formation of the dissolved body which will properly be, and be called, resurrection. There is nothing, then, to hinder the soul’s presence in the body’s atoms, whether fused in union or decomposed in dissolution. Therefore the soul exists in the actual atoms which she has once animated, and there is no force to tear her away from her cohesion with them. What cause for melancholy, then, is there herein, that the visible is exchanged for the invisible; and wherefore is

The Apparitions Of The Blessed Holy Virgin Mary To Millions In The Coptic Orthodox Church Named After Her, In Zeitoun, Cairo, Egypt (1968-1970) Quoting from Flynn M. Fernandes, The Cosmic Mystery of Mary and the Action of the Holy Spirit, PHD Dissertation, 2019 At the end of their work shift, Farouk Mohammed Atwa, Hussein Awwad, and Yacout Ali Mocamoun were leaving the transportation garage across Tomanbey Street from St. Mary’s (Orthodox) Coptic Church in Zeitoun, a suburb of Cairo. Atwa, a Muslim mechanic, was startled to see a stunning young woman standing on the church’s roof. Atwa believed that she was about to commit suicide, pointed a bandaged finger at the figure persuading her, “Lady, be careful, you’ll slip and get killed.” and hurried to seek assistance. Soon, a crowd of bystanders had gathered around the church, but the mysterious woman had disappeared as quickly as she had appeared. Thenext day Atwa was to have his finger amputated because gangrene had set in, but his doctor found it healed, making this the first record of a miraculous cure by God in the presence of the Virgin. Crowd control soon became a civic issue. The government ordered the demolition of the garage across the church and the felling of trees in the church’s vicinity so that people would not climb, fall and hurt themselves.Millions of Egyptians, along with a multitude of foreigners, saw a luminous female figure, leading to the manifestation being referred to as the Transfiguration of St. Mary and the Lady of Light atop the church’s roof. One described Mary as “bright as a million suns.” These apparitions occurred most frequently on feast days, with some lasting several minutes and the longest enduring for up to nine hours. Many witnesses vividly remember Mary holding an olive branch, symbolizing the much-needed peace in the Middle East, blessing the crowds, bowing in front of a cross, and walking across the church’s domes. The initial witnesses were clear that the luminous figure was that of a woman, but the dazzling light made it difficult to recognize her features or to determine what she was wearing. As crowds gathered, they recognized the figure as the Virgin wearing a robe-like garment similar to common artistic depictions of Mary. Shouts of praise to the Virgin erupted spontaneously, and the apparitional figure acknowledged these shouts by bowing to the crowds. The Coptic Synaxarium records the apparition of April 2 as follows: Since that night [in Zeitoun on 2 April 1968] the pure Virgin transfigured in different spiritual views in front of thousands of masses, Egyptians and foreigners, Christians and non-Christians, men, women, and children. Spiritual beings formed like doves would appear before, during, and after the transfiguration zooming through the sky in a way raising the human from a materialistic to a heavenly atmosphere In general, her facial features were not visible to most of the witnesses because the form was too luminous, but some testified to having glimpsed outlines of a nose and mouth, or of her robes swaying in the breeze. The Virgin is reported to have appeared over the domes of the church, moving from one side to the other for people all round to see her. She appeared through the windows of the large dome and between trees in the courtyard in front of the church. https://youtu.be/SAmHXjtfk24?si=H8lGz_nIIZdjEXFj Anglican correspondent, Ronald Bullivant, recalled the atmosphere during his pilgrimage to Zeitoun at the time of the apparitions. He described the surroundings of the church as filled with singing and chanting of litanies and prayers by groups of Copts, Greeks, Latins, and Muslims. Most people held lighted candles. The pastor and church officials were on hand to care for many of the sick who filled the church, praying in groups, or sitting or sleeping in the pews. These officials enthusiastically talked about the apparitions and the healings that were taking place. Bullivant writes,There was an air of deep spirituality and it felt like one was back in the days of our Lord who was often surrounded by those who had been healed of diseases or other ailments. Outside the church, hymns and prayers were relayed over a loudspeaker system. Long lists of the names of the sick were read. The heavy, jarring sound of Coptic chants were heard periodically, while Muslim calls to prayer by the muezzin from the minarets of surrounding mosques provided a continuous background. Francis Johnston writes that Wadie Shumbo, a Protestant, employed at the engineering department of Mobil Oil Company testified: I have seen the Virgin, I tell you. I have seen her in full body. I have not seen shadows. Thousands and thousands of people, fifty, a hundred thousand from villages and towns around, put their sheets on the street and sang hymns to the Virgin. We never did this before, not publicly. Pearl Zaki, an American Protestant from Minneapolis traveled with her son to Cairo to witness the apparitions after news of their serial nature reached her. She writes: We went home tired but very happy. Truly, I had seen for myself a mystery of God that He had displayed in all of its glory for thousands to witness. Before my eyes, apart from myself, an external vision, had I not been there still she would have been there. From the descriptions of other appearances before and after the one I saw, I know many had seen the Virgin Mary much more clearly than I. An early clerical report of the Coptic Pope’s delegation issued on May 5, 1968 included an account of the apparitions and expressed faith in their validity. An excerpt of the report reads: Upon summarizing the reports of the garage workmen, we have come to the conclusion that the Blessed Virgin Mary has appeared several times on and in the domes of the church since April 2, 1968. The appearances have mostly been observed by the workmen of the garage whose witnesses have been confirmed by the inhabitants of Zeitoun, Muslims and Christians. Multitudes

The Church encourages Catholics to pray before icons and venerate them as reminders of the saints and of Jesus. Icons are also used as focal points for meditation, as Catholics may focus on the image and its message to bring peace and serenity. They often convey symbolic meanings, with the colors and images chosen to convey a message or teach a moral lesson. For example, certain iconic figures always have halos, such as Mary or Jesus, while angels are always depicted with wings in Catholic icons. The traditions of iconography help to maintain the understanding of Christ Jesus as not simply a man, but as the God-man and Second Person of the Trinity. The use of icons in Christianity has been the subject of controversy throughout history. The error of attributing a presence of the saint to the icon, a belief held by some supporters of icons, was one of the primary points of contention for the iconoclasts to seek the elimination of sacred images altogether. The Church Father St Theodore the Studite had to justify the use of sacred images, saying that the essence of the saint is not physically present in the icon; rather, it is composed of wood, gold, paint, and similar materials. The connection to the saint is established in our minds, particularly through imagination, when we observe the characteristic likeness portrayed. The Catholic ad Orthodox perspective was defined during the 7th Ecumenical Council and further clarified by the Synod of Constantinople, marking the end of the iconoclastic period in AD 843. Theodore, who served as abbot of the Studios Monastery in Constantinople, is highly revered in both the Eastern and Western Church. The most common subjects include Christ, Mary, saints and angels. Although especially associated with portrait-style images concentrating on one or two main figures, the term also covers most of the religious images, including narrative scenes, usually from the Bible or the lives of saints. Speaking of catacombs, the Catacomb of Callixtus is one of the Catacombs of Rome on the Appian Way. It occupies thirty hectares. The boundaries of this are taken as being the Via Appia Antica, the Via Ardeatina and the Vicolo delle Sette Chiese. The area of the catacomb proper is about fifteen hectares, and it goes down for five levels. A rough estimate puts the length of passageways at about twenty kilometres. It contains the Crypt of the Popes (Cappella dei Papi), which once contained the tombs of several popes from the 2nd to 4th centuries as well as half a million bodies. The Christian catacombs are extremely important for the history of Early Christian art, as they contain the great majority of examples from before about 400 AD, in fresco and sculpture, as well as gold glass medallions. According to L. Michael White, the catacombs of Rome have a place in the romantic historiography of how early Christianity developed. This is because it has often been said those catacombs were good hiding places, and that when Christians were persecuted by the Roman Empire, they would go there to hold their worship Earliest known images of apostles discovered under Rome streets In the Roman catacombs of St. Tecla, ancient paintings depicting the apostles Peter, Paul, Andrew, and John, dating back to the 4th century, have been unearthed by archaeologists and restorers. These portraits, discovered on the ceiling, are now recognized as the oldest known images of Christ’s apostles. Owned and maintained by the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, the Catacombs of St. Tecla are situated near the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, where St. Paul is interred. Initially thought to only feature an image of St. Paul, the restoration team revealed additional depictions of Peter, Andrew, and John as they worked on the painting. These full-face icons are believed to have been commissioned by a Roman noblewoman. According to Fabrizio Bisconti, the superintendent of archaeology at the catacombs, the paintings can be dated to around the 4th century. He remarked, “The paintings of Andrew and John are undoubtedly the oldest ever,” adding, “Some showing Peter have been found that date to the middle of the fourth century, although this is the first time that the apostle is not shown in a group but singly, in an icon.” Barbara Mazzei, the chief restorer at the site, highlighted the use of sophisticated laser technology that enabled the uncovering of the paintings without damaging the colors underneath. Mazzei noted that this discovery provides the oldest evidence of the devotion to the apostles in early Christianity. Source – Aleteia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPqEAiZPBM4 Orthodox Christmas Service. Divine Liturgy at St Isaac’s Cathedral in St Petersburg, Russia. Please watch the video from the 21:30-minute mark to observe the similarities with the Early Christian Liturgy.

Amalia Aguirre Queija was born in 1901 in Ríos (Galicia). Her parents were immigrants to Brazil, However, Amalia, who was pious and devoted to works of charity, stayed in Spain and cared for sufferers of the Great Flu pandemic. In summer 1919, she followed her parents to Brazil. In 1928, she co-founded, with Bishop Francisco de Barreto, a religious institute in Campinas (São Paulo), which was called the Missionaries of Crucified Jesus and took the religious name Amalia de Jesus Flagelado (the Portuguese flagelado in refers to Jesus Christ’s torture at the pillar). She lived in the monastery of Campinas until 1953, when she was sent to the House of Our Lady of the Apparition in Taubaté (São Paulo), where she died in 1977. https://youtu.be/CsWz1DDVZ5Y?si=sX3co_K75hse1UVOhttps://youtu.be/Ti7Y8nNAfpg?si=_UBBDB3HUK7rlAlk Ecclesiastical approval On March 8, 1931, Francisco de Campos Barreto, Bishop of Campinas, recognized the veracity of the apparitions of Our Lady to Sister Amalia and granted the imprimatur for the publication of sister Amalia’s writings (which included the messages of Jesus and the Virgin Mary) and the prayers of the Crown of Our Lady of Tears.[6] On February 20, 1934, Barreto published an episcopal letter reinforcing the importance of devotion to Our Lady of Tears. Sister Amalia Aguirre was a pious woman who lived in Brazil. Together with Monsignor Count Franciscus von Campos Barreto, Bishop of the Diocese of Campinas, she co-founded an institute in Campinas, Brazil. Her convent was called the Institute of the Missionaries of the Crucified Jesus. Bearing the stigmata of Christ, Sister Amalia was destined to be a victim soul for the needy, befitting her generous nature. On November 8, 1929, a relative of Sister Amalia approached her in need of help. His wife was terminally ill and his family in great distress. According to doctors, his spouse’s condition was incurable. Not knowing what to do or what God expected of him, he turned to Sister Amalia, his last hope. Sister Amalia was compelled to help in any way possible and turned to our Divine Savior. Sister Amalia entered the house of God and knelt down before the steps of the altar. Facing the tabernacle, she extended her arms towards Jesus and asked, “If there is no hope for the wife of T…, then I am ready to offer my life for the mother of the family. What do you want me to do?” Jesus answered, “If you want to receive these favors, ask me for the sake of My Mother’s tears.” Sister Amalia asked further, “How must I pray?” In answering, Jesus gave her the following invocations: “Oh Jesus, listen to our prayers for the sake of the tears of Your most holy Mother! Oh Jesus, look upon the tears of the one who loved You most on earth and loves You most ardently in heaven!” Finally, Jesus added, “My daughter, whatever people will beg Me for the sake of the tears of My Mother, I shall lovingly grant them. Later, My Mother will hand over this treasure to our beloved Institute as a Magnet of mercy.” This took place on November 8, 1929. Exactly four months from this date, Jesus fulfilled his promise to Sister Amalia. As the prophecy foretold, the Blessed Virgin Mary bestowed this treasure to heaven’s beloved Institute. The following is Sister Amalia’s own recollection of what took place. It was March 8, 1930. I was in the chapel kneeling on the steps of the altar, as I suddenly felt myself being lifted up. Then I saw a woman of unspeakable beauty approaching me. She wore a violet robe, blue mantle, and a white veil draped over her shoulders. Smiling, she floated in the air towards me, holding a rosary, like the rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary in her hands which consists of forty-nine small white pearls divided into seven decades by seven larger pearls. Its beads shined like the sun and were as white as snow. Handing me this rosary she said to me, “This is the rosary of my tears, which is being entrusted by my Son to His beloved Institute as a portion of His inheritance. The invocations were already given by my Son. My Son wants to honor me in a special way through these invocations, and so, He will grant all graces that are begged for the sake of my tears. This rosary will provide for the conversion of many sinners, especially those possessed by the devil. To the Institute of the Crucified Jesus is reserved a special honor, that is the conversion of many members of a wicked sect to the blooming tree of the Church. Through this rosary the devil will be conquered and the power of hell will be destroyed. Get ready for this great battle.” When our Blessed Mother Mary had finished speaking, she disappeared. On April 8, 1930, the Blessed Mother again stepped down in apparition to Sister Amalia of Jesus Scourged. Just one short month before, she had given to the Institute for Women Missionaries of the Crucified Jesus through its stigmatized sister, the rosary of her tears. Now, through the mercy of the risen Christ, she revealed the new miraculous medal- the Medal of Our Lady of Tears- that was to increase the humility of the faithful and to serve in a special way in the conversion of atheists, heretics, communists and as with the rosary of tears, those possessed by the devil. The medal itself sets forth the virtues of meekness and humility, symbolized in the Crucified Jesus and in His Sorrowful Mother, Our Lady of Tears. On one side of the medal is an image of Jesus bearing the invocation “By Thy Divine Humility, O Jesus, save the world from errors that threaten to destroy it.” On the other side, the image of Our Lady of Tears is framed by the semi-circular legend: “Sorrowful Mother, Thy Tears destroy the reign of hell.” Today we recount all the events regarding the apparitions in Campinas about Sister Amalia through documentation secured from Germany and recorded in a pamphlet entitled “Our Dear Lady

St Seraphim of Sarov writes: the presence of the spirit of God also acted in the pagans who did not know the true God, because even among them God found for Himself chosen people. The same thing was said by St. Augustine. https://youtu.be/nYvb9iOmHkA?si=cHgvCky6Ni5jLr4y THE MAGI KINGS RETURN ONCE MORE TO SEE AND ADORE THE INFANT JESUS: THEY OFFER THEIR GIFTS ON TAKING LEAVE, AND RETURN BY A DIFFERENT ROUTS TO THEIR HOMES PRIVATE REVELATION TO VEN. SISTER MARY OF AGREDA From the grotto of the Nativity, into which the three Kings had entered directly on their way to Jerusalem, they betook themselves to a lodging inside of the town of Bethlehem. They retired to a room where, in an abundance of affectionate tears and aspirations, they spent the greater part of the night, speaking of what they had seen, of the feelings and affections aroused in each, and of what each had noticed for himself in the divine Child and his Mother. During this conference they were more and more inflamed with divine love, amazed at the majesty and divine effulgence of the Infant Jesus; at the prudence; modesty and reserve of his Mother; at the holiness of her spouse Joseph, and the poverty of all three; at the humbleness of the place, where the Lord of heaven and earth had wished to be born. The devout kings felt a divine fire, which flamed up in their hearts, and, not being able to restrain themselves, they broke out into exclamations of sweet affection and acts of great reverence and love. “What is this that we feel?” they said. “What influence of this great King is it that moves us to such desires and affections? After this, how shall we converse with men? What can we do, who have been instructed in such new, hidden and supernatural mysteries? O greatness of his Omnipotence unknown to men and concealed beneath so much poverty! O humility unimaginable for mortals! Would that all be drawn to it, in order that they may not be deprived of such happiness!” During these divine colloquies the Magi remembered the dire destitution of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in their cave, and they resolved immediately to send them some gifts in order to show their affection and to satisfy their desire of serving them, since they could not do anything else for them. They sent through their servants many of the presents, which they had already set aside for them, and others which they could procure. Most holy Mary and Joseph received these gifts with humble acknowledgment and they made a return not of emptyworded thanks, as other men are apt to make, but many efficacious blessings for the spiritual consolation of the three Kings. These gifts enabled our great Queen to prepare for her ordinary guests, the poor, an abundant repast; for the needy ones were accustomed to receive alms from Her, and, attracted still more by her sweet words, were wont to come and visit Her. The Kings went to rest full of incomparable joy in the Lord; and in their sleep the angels advised them as to their journey homeward. On the following day at dawn they returned to the cave of the Nativity in order to offer to the heavenly King the special gifts which they had provided. Arriving they prostrated themselves anew in profound humility; and opening their treasures, as Scripture relates, they offered Him gold, incense and myrrh (Matth. 2, 11). They consulted the heavenly Mother in regard to many mysteries and practices of faith, and concerning matters pertaining to their consciences and to the government of their countries; for they wished to return well instructed and capable of directing themselves to holiness and perfection in their daily life. The great Lady heard them with exceeding pleasure and She conferred interiorly with the divine Infant concerning all that they had asked, in order to answer and properly to instruct these sons of the new Law. As a Teacher and an instrument of divine wisdom She answered all their questions, giving them such high precepts of sanctity that they could scarcely part from Her on account of the sweetness and attraction of her words. However, an angel of the Lord appeared to them, reminding them of the necessity and of the will of the Lord that they should return to their country. No wonder that her words should so deeply affect these Kings; for all her words were inspired by the holy Spirit and full of infused science regarding all that they had inquired and many other matters. The heavenly Mother received the gifts of the Kings and in their name offered them to the Infant Jesus. His Majesty showed by signs of highest pleasure, that He accepted their gifts: they themselves became aware of the exalted and heavenly blessings with which He repaid them more than a hundredfold (Matth. 19, 29). According to the custom of their country they also offered to the heavenly Princess some gems of great value; but because these gifts had no mysterious signification and referred not to Jesus, She returned them to the Kings, reserving only the gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. In order to send them away more rejoiced, She gave them some of the clothes in which She had wrapped the infant God; for She neither had nor could have had any greater visible pledges of esteem with which to enrich them at their departure. The three Kings received these relics with such reverence and esteem that they encased them in gold and precious stones in order to keep them ever after. As a proof of their value these relics spread about such a copious fragrance that they revealed their presence a league in circumference. However, only those who believed in the coming of God into the world were able to perceive it; while the incredulous perceived none of the fragrance emitted by the relics. In their own countries the Magi performed great miracles

This sketch of the human story began in a cave; the cave which popular science associates with the caveman and in which practical discovery has really found archaic drawings of animals. The second half of human history, which was like a new creation of the world, also begins in a cave. There is even a shadow of such a fancy in the fact that animals were again present; for it was a cave used as a stable by the mountaineers of the uplands about Bethlehem; who still drive their cattle into such holes and caverns at night. It was here that a homeless couple had crept underground with the cattle when the doors of the crowded caravanserai had been shut in their faces; and it was here beneath the very feet of the passers-by, in a cellar under the very floor of the world, that Jesus Christ was born. But in that second creation there was indeed something symbolical in the roots of the primeval rock or the horns of the prehistoric herd. God also was a caveman, and had also traced strange shapes of creatures, curiously colored, upon the wall of the world; but the pictures that he made had come to life. Any agnostic or atheist whose childhood has known a real Christmas has ever afterwards, whether he likes it or not, an association in his mind between two ideas that most of mankind must regard as remote from each other; the idea of a baby and the idea of unknown strength that sustains the stars. His instincts and imagination can still connect them, when his reason can no longer see the need of the connection; for him there will always be some savor of religion about the mere picture of a mother and a baby; some hint of mercy and softening about the mere mention of the dreadful name of God.… There is really a difference between the man who knows it and the man who does not. It might be suggested, in a somewhat violent image, that nothing had happened in that fold or crack in the great grey hills except that the whole universe had been turned inside out. I mean that all the eyes of wonder and worship which had been turned outwards to the largest thing were now turned inward to the smallest. Christ was obviously conceived as born in a hole in the rocks primarily because it marked the position of one outcast and homeless. Nevertheless it is true, as I have said, that the cave has not been so commonly or so clearly used as a symbol as the other realities that surrounded the first Christmas. And the reason for this also refers to the very nature of that new world. It was in a sense the difficulty of a new dimension. Christ was not only born on the level of the world, but even lower than the world. The first act of the divine drama was enacted, not only on no stage set up above the sight-seer, but on a dark and curtained stage sunken out of sight; and that is an idea very difficult to express in most modes of artistic expression. But in the riddle of Bethlehem it was heaven that was under the earth. There is in that alone the touch of a revolution, as of the world turned upside down. Ralph C. Wood, Professor of Theology and Literature at Baylor University wrote that Chesterton refers to a tour of Italy that he and his wife Frances had taken in 1920. He had been made a confessing rather than a nominal Christian by the witness of this devoutly Anglican woman. Yet he was reluctant to become a Catholic without her joining him. Not until 1922, at age 48, would he be received into the Roman Catholic Church. In 1926 she would follow him. Almost everyone knows that G.K. Chesterton was the most celebrated convert of his time. Few know, however, that he was also a Marian poet who challenges Christians of all sorts to restore the Blessed Lady to her rightful place in Christian belief and devotion. The Nativity The thatch on the roof was as golden, Though dusty the straw was and old, The wind had a peal as of trumpets, Though blowing and barren and cold, The mother’s hair was a glory Though loosened and torn, For under the eaves in the gloaming A child was born. Have a myriad children been quickened, Have a myriad children grown old, Grown gross and unloved and embittered, Grown cunning and savage and cold? God abides in a terrible patience, Unangered, unworn, And again for the child that was squandered A child is born. What know we of aeons behind us, Dim dynasties lost long ago, Huge empires, like dreams unremembered, Huge cities for ages laid low? This at least – that with blight and with blessing, With flower and with thorn, Love was there, and his cry was among them, “A child is born.” Though the darkness be noisy with systems, Dark fancies that fret and disprove, Still the plumes stir around us, above us The wings of the shadow of love: Oh! Princes and priests, have ye seen it Grow pale through your scorn; Huge dawns sleep before us, deep changes, A child is born. And the rafters of toil still are gilded With the dawn of the stars of the heart, And the wise men draw near in the twilight, Who are weary of learning and art, And the face of the tyrant is darkened, His spirit is torn, For a new king is enthroned; yea, the sternest, A child is born. And the mother still joys for the whispered First stir of unspeakable things, Still feels that high moment unfurling Red glory of Gabriel’s wings. Still the babe of an hour is a master Whom angels adorn, Emmanuel, prophet, anointed, A child is born. And thou, that art still in thy cradle, The

There fared a mother driven forthOut of an inn to roam;In the place where she was homelessAll men are at home.The crazy stable close at hand,With shaking timber and shifting sand,Grew a stronger thing to abide and standThan the square stones of Rome. For men are homesick in their homes,And strangers under the sun,And they lay their heads in a foreign landWhenever the day is done.Here we have battle and blazing eyes,And chance and honor and high surprise,But our homes are under miraculous skiesWhere the yule tale was begun. A Child in a foul stable,Where the beasts feed and foam,Only where He was homelessAre you and I at home;We have hands that fashion and heads that know,But our hearts we lost – how long ago!In a place no chart nor ship can showUnder the sky’s dome. This world is wild as an old wives’ tale,And strange the plain things are,The earth is enough and the air is enoughFor our wonder and our war;But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swingsAnd our peace is put in impossible thingsWhere clashed and thundered unthinkable wingsRound an incredible star. To an open house in the eveningHome shall men come,To an older place than EdenAnd a taller town than Rome.To the end of the way of the wandering star,To the things that cannot be and that are,To the place where God was homelessAnd all men are at home. CHRIST OUR SAVIOR IS BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY IN BETHLEHEM, JUDA. PRIVATE REVELATION TO VE. MARY OF AGREDA The palace which the supreme King of kings and the Lord of lords had chosen for entertaining his eternal and incarnate Son in this world was a most poor and insignificant hut or cave, to which most holy Mary and Joseph betook themselves after they had been denied all hospitality and the most ordinary kindness by their fellow-men, as I have described in the foregoing chapter. This place was held in such contempt that though the town of Bethlehem was full of strangers in want of night shelter, none would demean or degrade himself so far as to make use of it for a lodging; for there was none who deemed it suitable or desirable for such a purpose, except the Teachers of humility and poverty, Christ our Savior and his purest Mother. On this account the wisdom of the eternal Father had reserved it for Them, consecrating it in all its bareness, loneliness and poverty as the first temple of light (Malachy 4, 2, Ps. Ill, 4) and as the house of the true Sun of justice, which was to arise for the upright of heart from the resplendent Aurora Mary, turning the night of sin into the daylight of grace. Most holy Mary and saint Joseph entered the lodging thus provided for them and by the effulgence of the ten thousand angels of their guard they could easily ascertain its poverty and loneliness, which they esteemed as favors and welcomed with tears of consolation and joy. Without delay the two holy travelers fell on their knees and praised the Lord, giving Him thanks for his benefit, which they knew had been provided by his wisdom for his own hidden designs. Of this mystery the heavenly Princess Mary had a better insight; for as soon as She sanctified the interior of the cave by her sacred footsteps She felt a fullness of joy which entirely elevated and vivified Her. She besought the Lord to bless with a liberal hand all the inhabitants of the neighboring city, because by rejecting Her they had given occasion to the vast favors, which She awaited in this neglected cavern. It was formed entirely of the bare and coarse rocks, without any natural beauty or artificial adornment; a place intended merely for the shelter of animals; yet the eternal Father had selected it for the shelter and dwelling-place of his own Son. The angelic spirits, who like a celestial militia guarded their Queen and Mistress, formed themselves into cohorts in the manner of court guards in a royal palace. They showed themselves in their visible forms also to saint Joseph; for on this occasion it was befitting that he should enjoy such a favor, on the one hand in order to assuage his sorrow by allowing him to behold this poor lodging thus beautified and adorned by their celestial presence, and on the other, in order to enliven and encourage him for the events which the Lord intended to bring about during that night, and in this forsaken place. The great Queen and Empress, who was already informed of the mystery to be transacted here, set about cleaning with her own hands the cave, which was so soon to serve as a royal throne and sacred mercy seat; for neither did She want to miss this occasion for exercising her humility, nor would She deprive her Onlybegotten Son of the worship and reverence implied by this preparation and cleansing of his temple. Saint Joseph, mindful of the majesty of his heavenly Spouse (which, it seemed to him, She was forgetting in her ardent longing for humiliation), besought Her not to deprive Him of this work, which he considered as his alone; and he hastened to set about cleaning the floor and the corners of the cave, although the humble Queen continued to assist him therein. As the holy angels were then present in visible forms, they were (according to our mode of speaking) abashed at such eagerness for humiliation, and they speedily emulated with each other to join in this work; or rather, in order to say it more succinctly, in the shortest time possible they had cleansed and set in order that cave, filling it with holy fragrance. Saint Joseph started a fire with the material which he had brought for that purpose. As it was very cold, they sat at the fire in order to get warm. They partook of the food which they had brought, and

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 St. Bonaventure  says that the divine Heart is the gate of paradise, the joy of the elect, the beatitude of the angels, the treasure of divineknowledge and of eternal charity. The excessive love of that beloved Redeemer urged Him to open His divine side to give us His Heart and to make us dwell in its august sanctuary. Therefore the saint declares that he wishes to make his dwelling place in the Sacred Heart, to find there his repose and his delight.  “Did You not consent, You Judge of the universe, to be judged and to suffer a most infamous and cruet death for love of me? The providence of God permitted one of the soldiers to pierce the sacred side of Christ with a lance in order that the Church might come forth from that side while He was hanging dead on the cross. The Divine Ruler allowed this to happen that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which says: “They shall look on Him Whom they pierced” (Zacharias XII, 10). God’s purposes were furthered when that sacred side, opened up by the thrust of the spear, poured forth blood and water, the price of our redemption. This saving liquid which sprang from the fountain that was Christ’s Heart would empower the Sacrament of the Church to give grace. For those who live in Christ, it would be a drink of the living fountain that springs up to eternal life. Arise, then, 0 soul friendly to Christ! Be on your guard continuously! Put your lips to the place where you may drink the waters of the Savior’s well. Since once we come to the Heart of the Lord, our dearest Jesus, and realize that it is good for us to be here, Thy side was opened to make an entrance for us. Thy Heart was wounded to be our dwelling place free from the disturbances outside. For no less a reason, this Heart was pierced that by seeing a visible wound we might behold the invisible wound of His love. How could He have shown His love more convincingly than by permitting not only His body, but even His very Heart to be wounded by a spear? The wound of the flesh therefore, shows forth the wound of the spirit. Who would not love that Heart so wounded? Who would not return the love of a Heart so loving? Who would not embrace a Heart so pure? And so, while we are still with our bodies, let us, as much as we are able, love in return One Who so loves us; let us embrace our wounded One, Whose hands and feet, side and Heart were pierced by ungodly barbarians; and let us pray that, although our hearts are yet obstinate and impenitent, He may deem them worthy to become the prisoners and targets of His love.  

Photo abobe – The tomb of Jesus uncovered in 2016 https://youtu.be/H0WUN8bEVco

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The Family is the Domestic Church “What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.” Mother Teresa To be a holy family, look to the Holy Family  By his obedience to Mary and Joseph, as well as by his humble work during the long years in Nazareth, Jesus gives us the example of holiness in the daily life of family and work (CCC, 564) The family of God From the beginning, the core of the Church was often constituted by those who had become believers “together with all [their] household” (cf. Acts 18:8) Domestic church Parents are the principal and first educators of their children. In this sense the fundamental task of marriage and family is to be at the service of life (CCC, 1653) The Christian family The Christian family constitutes a specific revelation and realization of ecclesial communion … it can and should be called a domestic church. It is a community of faith, hope, and charity (CCC, 2204). Christ not only restored the family to its original type as something holy, permanent, and monogamous, but raised the contract from which it springs to the dignity of a sacrament, and thus placed the family itself upon the plane of the supernatural. The family is holy inasmuch as it is to co-operate with God by procreating children who are destined to be the adopted children of God, and by instructing them for His kingdom. The union between husband and wife is to last until death (Matthew 19:6 sq.; Luke 16:18; Mark 10:11; 1 Corinthians 7:10; The Christian family is supernatural, inasmuch as it originates in a sacrament. Through the sacrament of matrimony husband and wife obtain an increase of sanctifying grace, and a claim upon those actual graces which are necessary to the proper fulfilment of all the duties of family life, and the relations between husband and wife, parents and children, are supernaturalized and sanctified. The end and the ideal of the Christian family are likewise supernatural, namely, the salvation of parents and children, and the union between Christ and His Church. According to the Christian conception, the family, rather than the individual, is the social unit and the basis of civil society. To say that the family is the social unit is not to imply that it is the end to which the individual is a means; for the welfare of the individual is the end both of the family and of the State, as well as of every other social organization. The meaning is that the State is formally concerned with the family as such, and not merely with the individual. This distinction is of great practical importance; for where the State ignores or neglects the family, keeping in view only the welfare of the individual, the result is a strong tendency towards the disintegration of the former. The family is the basis of civil society, inasmuch as the greater majority of persons ought to spend practically all their lives in its circle, either as subjects or as heads. Only in the family can the individual be properly reared, educated, and given that formation of character which will make him a good man and a good citizen. Inasmuch as the average man will not put forth his full productive energies except under the stimulus of its responsibilities, the family is indispensable from the purely economic viewpoint. Now the family cannot rightly discharge its functions unless the parents have full control over the rearing and education of the children, subject only to such State supervision as is needed to prevent grave neglect of their welfare. Hence it follows that, generally speaking, and with due allowance for particular conditions, the State exceeds its authority when it provides for the material wants of the child, removes him from parental influence, or specifies the school that he must attend. As a consequence of these concepts and ideals, the Christian family in history has proved itself immeasurably superior to the non-Christian family. It has exhibited greater fidelity between husband and wife, greater reverence for the parents by the children, greater protection of the weaker members by the stronger, and in general a more thorough recognition of the dignity and rights of all within its circle. Its chief glory is undoubtedly its effect upon the position of woman. Notwithstanding the disabilities–for the most part with regard to property, education, and a practically recognized double standard of morals–under which the Christian woman has suffered, she has attained to a height of dignity, respect, and authority for which we shall look in vain in the conjugal society outside of Christianity. The chief factor in this improvement has been the Christian teaching on chastity, conjugal equality, the sacredness of motherhood, and the supernatural end of the family, together with the Christian model and ideal of family life, the Holy Family at Nazareth. Dangers for the family Among these are the exaltation of the individual by the State at the expense of the family, which has been going on since the Reformation, and the modern facility of divorce, which may be traced to the same source. The greatest offender in the latter respect is the United States, but the tendency seems to be towards easier methods in most of the other countries in which divorce is allowed. Legal authorization and popular approval of the dissolution of the marriage bond, not only breaks up existing families, but encourages rash marriages, and produces a laxer view of the obligation of conjugal fidelity. Another danger is the deliberate limitation of the number of children in a family. This practice tempts parents to overlook the chief end of the family, and to regard their union as a mere means of mutual gratification. Furthermore, it leads to a lessening of the capacity of self-sacrifice in all the members of the family. Closely connected with these two evils of divorce and artificial restriction of births, is the general laxity of opinion with regard to sexual immorality.

If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself