Gail and I wish all of you a Christmas filled with Love, Joy, and Peace.
Picture by Brigid Runyon.
The Holy Spirit inspired our blog.
Readings for the Vigil Mass
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that the whole world should be enrolled.
This was the first enrollment,
when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.
And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth
to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the house and family of David,
to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
While they were there,
the time came for her to have her child,
and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields
and keeping the night watch over their flock.
The angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear.
The angel said to them,
“Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David
a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel,
praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Emphasis mine Matthew 2: 1-14
We hope that you know the significance of the manger, swaddling clothes, and all that will happen during the birth of Jesus. We have discussed these points in previous blogs.
Once again, we are breaking with tradition and highlighting three passages in the readings.
The first passage states that Caesar Augustus issued a decree. The whole birth story of Jesus depends on Caesar Augustus demanding that the whole world return to their family birthplace to enroll, and this was the first census.
For years, I read over these lines without considering carefully the words I, yes, I just read.
Caesar Agustus had never done this before. They had to return to their family’s house. Joseph was from the house and family of David.
According to Google, Bethlehem was about seventy miles away, but Google said they probably walked ninety miles. Until now, I didn’t know the distance.
I believe God told Ceasar Augustus to pass this decree, and Ceasar Augustas complied.
This is not God’s first use of Gentile to fulfill His wishes.
Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: ‘All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Ezra 1:2
Who ever heard of a king releasing people they conquered to go back and rebuild a temple?
If Ceasar Augustus wanted a census, count the people in the towns they now live in.
I am sure a Biblical scholar would put more flesh on the bones than I can,
But
For me, this is another true sign of God setting up the birth of His Son so that all people would never forget the Birth of Jesus.
Prayer:
I thank You, Father, for the death of Your Son, the Nails that were driven through His Hands, and the Nail that was driven through His Feet (Once).
(Now you can respond YES to the question IF YOU thank Me)
Next, pray,
Thank You, Father, for the DIFFICULTY of …(name the difficulty)….. That You have ALLOWED in my life, I have Faith You will take care of me.” Say this part of the prayer until you smile. Smiling tells you the Holy Spirit is back in your life. (satan can’t smile)
Sidebar:
I proclaim to you good news of great joy
a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God.
You might be asking why we put these two phrases in bold.
Decades ago, as I listened to a Protestant minister on the radio as I drove to my next call, he made a startling claim,
“Angels can’t sing!”
I knew this had to be wrong, so I listened to his explanation. As I read the Bible that year, I kept looking for some passage that said the angels sang. I didn’t find any, and when I challenged our Priest, he couldn’t find any.
That means only you and I can sing!
I, yes, I have found singing a powerful form of prayer, and with the knowledge that singing is unique to humans, this knowledge gives me added joy.
I started playing the guitar at age sixteen and sang popular songs (country, rock, roll, etc.) until I realized I was wasting time. Why not sing the spiritual songs the Holy Spirit suggested to me?
At about age forty, I changed!
I love the change, and some songs run through my mind all day. This is a far cry from when I was younger, worrying about what could happen next in my, yes, my life.
Remember, God should be in our lives twenty-four-seven, and singing is an easy way to keep God in our thoughts.
The thought (The Holy Spirit) that occurred in writing our blog, why not as a gift to all of you write the words and guitar cords to:
Mary’s Little Boy Child. I first heard this song years ago by Harry Belafonte.
Type Mary’s Boy Child Harry Belafonte in the YouTube search bar, and scroll down until you see a picture of Joseph. The length of the song is 3:11.
Please watch this; it’s powerful!
Enjoy!
Mary’s Little Boy Child by Harry Belafonte
G C Am
Long time ago in Bethlehem
D7 G
So the Holy Bible say
G C Am
Mary’s boy child Jesus Christ
G D7 G
Was born on Christmas Day
G C D G
Hark now hear the Angels sing
Em Am D
A new King born today
G C Am
And man will live forever more
G D7 G
Because of Christmas day
G C Am
While Shepherds watched their flocks by night
D7 G
And see a bright new shining star
G C Am
And heard a choir sing
G D7 G
The music seemed to come from afar
G C Am
Now Joseph and his wife Mary,
D G
Come to Bethlehem that night
C Am
And found no place to borns their child,
G D G
Not a single room was in sight.
G C D G
Hark now hear the Angels sing
Em Am D
A new King born today
G C Am
And man will live forever more
G D7 G
Because of Christmas day
G C Am
By and By in a Little Nook
D G
In a stable all forlorn
G C Am
And in a manger cold and dark
G D7 G
Mary’s little boy was born
G C D G
Hark now hear the Angels sing
Em Am D
A new King born today
G C Am
And man will live forever more
G D7 G
Because of Christmas day
Picture:
No, this isn’t our house. Brigid Runyon invited Gail and me to visit the Victoria Manson in Portland, set up in a festive Christmas setting. The Victoria Manson was built in 1868 and has been lovingly restored. Many interesting events take place during the year. Picture by Brigid Runyon
Please keep Snapping!
Email me if you want a copy of the prayers we discussed or the three hiking pictures we showed.
fprince101@gmail.com
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, please do not include people. We have to get permission from that person to use their photograph.
