This 14-pointed star marks the birthplace of Jesus in the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Public domain.
Who helps us to journey in Nazareth, and to live with Jesus in our own homes? The same people who brought Jesus there, and first lived with Him in their own home. The same couple that raised him there. The same two Saints whose humble dignity quietly outranks any other Saint that has ever walked this earth — Mary and Joseph.
By Br. Stephen Camara, MIC
Read Part 1 here.
Read Part 2 here.
When I lived in Washington, D.C. I had the joy of visiting the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America. I took their miniature “Holy Land Tour,” traveling through tunnels like the catacombs and entering rooms designed to look like various pilgrimage sites in the Holy Land. One of these sites was the cave of Bethlehem, in which a 14-pointed star on the floor marks the exact spot where (tradition says) Jesus was born.
As I looked closely at the replica star in our nation’s capital, I read the words, “Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est,” translated as “Here, from the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ was born.” Here, in this exact spot in Bethlehem, two thousand years ago.
Natural progression
Nevertheless, Jesus did not stay in Bethlehem. Nor can we, if we desire to follow him. If Bethlehem represents the birth of Jesus in our hearts, we must accompany Him to the place where he can grow up in our lives, that is, to Nazareth.
Our conversion must be followed by the natural progression of growth as a Christian — the community, the Sacraments, the Church. By this natural progression, Jesus becomes for us more than a person we visit a couple times a year (such as on Christmas and Easter). He is even more than a person we visit only once a week, like a good friend or colleague. He becomes a Person we wish to live with, to take into our hearts and our homes, so that He might fill them with supernatural life, beauty, and power.
Who helps us to journey in Nazareth, and to live with Jesus in our own homes? The same people who brought Jesus there, and first lived with Him in their own home. The same couple that raised him there. The same two Saints whose humble dignity quietly outranks any other Saint that has ever walked this earth — Mary and Joseph.
Spirit of the Lord
Mary will help you to get to know Jesus better. How could she not? She was His mother. And that motherhood does not stop with His being an infant. She didn’t just give birth to Him in Bethlehem and then let Him go. In Nazareth, she and Joseph taught Jesus to walk, to eat baby food and later solid food. They taught Him to speak Aramaic and read Hebrew, so that He who had fashioned the whole story of the Bible could proclaim in the synagogue, in words He had inspired long ago for this very purpose: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor” (Lk. 4:18).
The Spirit of the Lord was upon Jesus in His human life on earth because, to begin with, the Spirit of the Lord had already descended upon Mary and filled her heart and her home with life. While Mary lived in Nazareth, the Holy Spirit was there filling her Immaculate Heart with His divine love. And so we have the earthly image of the Holy Trinity: Joseph, shadow of the Father; Jesus, Incarnation of the Son; Mary, spouse of the Holy Spirit.
What happens when the Spirit of the Lord comes upon you? What might “coming to Nazareth” look like for you in the varying circumstances of life?
Go deeper
Well, if you are new to the Catholic Church and come to Christmas Mass simply out of curiosity or interest, consider joining the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA, formerly RCIA) and getting to know the Catholic faith in a deeper way. If you are Catholic but have not been going to weekly Mass for a while, find a church this Sunday and make an appointment for Confession with a priest. You have no idea how powerfully God‘s mercy can triumph over the problems of your past until you ask for this Divine Mercy, especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
And if you are a regular churchgoer, don’t let this annual stop at Bethlehem be “just one more” Christmas journey to Nazareth. Spend time with the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Bring them into your home, and let them teach you the fullness of the Christian life. There are many ways to do this: You could have an image of the Sacred Heart or The Divine Mercy enthroned in your home. You could make a consecration to Mary, either personally or with your family or a group. There’s even a new book, 33 Days to the Holy Family: Consecration to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph co-written by Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, and available at ShopMercy.org.
If you’re not drawn to these things (or if you’ve done them) and are looking for more, you could gain great fruit by picking up a daily habit of prayer, perhaps the Rosary or the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and contemplating the Face of Jesus with Mary and Joseph as He grew up, slowly, day after day.
As the Christmas season draw to a close, don’t stop with the Infant Jesus at Bethlehem. Come with Him to Nazareth, so that as Jesus “advanced in wisdom and age and favor” (Lk. 2:52), you too might grow to maturity, “to the extent of the full stature of Christ.” (Eph. 4:13)
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