The Birth Of Jesus

Fruit Of The Mystery: Poverty

The following meditations are provided to assist you while praying the Holy Rosary. It is offered in a format where a question is posed to lead the meditation and then is followed by an answer below it.  It may be more helpful to grow in your meditation skills if you try to contemplate the question while praying this decade of the Rosary, and view the possible answer upon completing the prayers for the Mystery.

The meditations below offer possible answers to questions regarding these Mysteries.  Because the Wisdom of God is infinite, there are limitless insights that one may gain from meditating repeatedly upon the questions surrounding these Mysteries.  There are no wrong or right answers when praying the Holy Rosary in this way.  We are simply seeking to be inspired in our understanding of who Jesus is and how much He loves us, as the Holy Spirit gently guides us through reflective prayer.

For many reasons it may be difficult to engage our minds to enter into meditating on the Mysteries at hand.  An alternative option is to simply meditate upon the meaning of the core prayers of the Holy Rosary as you are praying them.  You may find these reflections on the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be prayers to be helpful during these times.

Practical Providence

1.What kind of practical purpose did it serve to have Mary travel to Bethlehem under such difficult circumstances?

Current medical advice encourages a pregnant woman to walk and become more active as she approaches her due date to facilitate an easier delivery.  Although travel to Bethlehem (usually a 4-7 day journey over rugged terrain) was rough for Mary when she was nine months pregnant, the increased activity undoubtedly prepared Mary’s body to deliver the Son of the Most High God at precisely the perfect moment Our Father intended!

2.  What was the point in the gifts that were brought for our Lord? 

Certainly they were symbolic of His Kingship (gold is given to a King), His Death (myrrh was used to prepare a dead body) and His High Priestly Office (frankincense was used to sanctify the altar).  But they were also very necessary for the poor family who would have to leave soon after this visit to depart for Egypt.  In this foreign land which was hostile to the Jews, Joseph and Mary would have needed the financial means to barter for their basic needs and survival.

3.  Why send Mary and Joseph to ‘retreat’ to Bethlehem on a journey alone?  What kind of practical benefits did this afford them?

Because God always has our best interest in mind, Mary and Joseph would have to make this journey alone.  The immensity of the task they were about to undertake with the eminent birth of the Messiah would certainly require time to prepare.  This time of silence and expectant prayer away from the distractions of the world, and even friends and family, would serve as a retreat to ready their minds, bodies and souls for the coming of Jesus. 

Prefiguring of the Eucharist

1.  How does the birth of Christ prefigure the Eucharist?  Consider the following questions:

A.  Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem? 

Not only was it predicted that the Savior would be born in King David’s hometown, but the Hebrew name Beth-le-hem means House of Bread.  Considering that Jesus refers to Himself as the Bread of Life, and the Bread that came down from Heaven it becomes clearer.  This strongly ties in with the Eucharist, as Jesus transforms ordinary bread into His Body and Blood through the Priest during the Holy Mass.

B.  Why was Jesus placed in a manger?
  
A manger is literally a feeding trough for the animals.  As Jesus is laid in a place to feed lower beings, we see the prefiguring of the Eucharist where Jesus will literally become Divine food and nourishment for human beings.

C.  Why do the wise men come bearing gifts for Jesus?

Truly they recognized Him as the King of Kings and wanted to honor Him, but in a deeper sense they were prefiguring what would happen during the Holy Mass when we bring our gifts to the altar to unite our gifts, with the ultimate gift and sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.

D.  What kind of faith did the poor shepherds and wise men have to display in Jesus?

Though all their physical senses could tell them was that there was an infant placed before them, these men rejoiced and glorified God, believing that Jesus was the Savior of the world.  The same is true of the Eucharist; though our human senses fail, our faith tells us that Jesus is truly present in this Sacrament- Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

E.  What song do the Angels sing with the poor shepherds before they find Jesus in the manger (the feeding trough)? 

They sing Glory to God in the highest…Together we also sing this same song with the Angels at Mass before we encounter Jesus who will become the food we receive for nourishment of our bodies and souls. 

F.  Who do the poor shepherds and wise men from the east also encounter when they are seeking Jesus? 

Whether you are rich or poor, and no matter where you are from or what religion you believe, if you come seeking the Lord Jesus you will always find His Mother Mary beside Him.  It was her role on earth to quietly bring souls to Him, and she continues to work tirelessly from Heaven to lead souls to her Son.  Where Jesus is, Mary is always found beside Him.  This was true as the humbly hidden deity quietly reposed in the manger at Bethlehem, and it remains just as true as He humbly awaits us to come adore and receive Him as He remains hidden in the Eucharist. 

Knowing God’s Love For Us

1.  If we want to get to know Our Father, the invisible God, how important is it to get to know Jesus? 

The reason why Jesus came down from Heaven to take flesh was so that we would be able to get to know the Father.  Jesus is the visible Person of the Father’s Word to us, as He fulfills and brings to life every part of the Sacred Scriptures.  In other words, Jesus is the revelation of God the Father. The only way one can truly get to know the Father is by getting to know the Person of Jesus.  So how do we get to know Jesus?  The same way as we get to know anybody; by spending time together. We spend time with Jesus when we pray to Him, when we read about Him in the Gospels, and when we receive Him in Holy Communion. And just like any other relationship, the more time you spend with someone, the more you become like them.  If we truly desire to live like children of God and to be close with Him eternally in Heaven, we must spend time getting to know Him now.

2.  Knowing that God is all powerful, and that Jesus could have chosen to come to earth as a fully grown man, why would Jesus decide to come as an infant?

Consider how much more intimately Mary must have known Jesus than His disciples who met Him when He was thirty years of age.  In God’s infinite Wisdom and love for Mary and Joseph, Jesus’ arrival as an infant made it very easy to love and adore Him without human limits or hesitancy.  Consider any baby for that matter, and how their presence melts the hearts of those around them, especially their parents.  In the Father’s love for His Son, this scenario also gave Jesus the overwhelming love that only an infant can draw from His Mother.  As Jesus grew He was able to absorb this perfect love from the His Mother’s Immaculate Heart, which helped Him to grow in the fullness of His Humanity.  Having the intimacy of this relationship would allow Him to sympathize with all of the emotions and things we experience in our humanity.  Jesus lived and died so He could become One with us in every circumstance of life, including all of our joys and pains.

The Wise Men and the Shepherds

1.  At the birth of Jesus, did God limit his call to know Him and receive His great love to one religion or class of society?  Do we welcome all we meet without prejudice and invite them to know the love of Christ?

Poor shepherds were drawn to seek the Good Shepherd, and earthly kings eagerly followed signs and inspirations to find the King of Kings; from the lowest to the highest class, Jews and Gentiles alike were called to seek the Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  That was the case two thousand years ago, and God continues today to call men and women of all races and religions to know His love in Jesus Christ. 

2.  Was there a practical reason that God sent the shepherds and wise men to adore and worship the Infant Jesus?

From a practical point of view, the visits from the shepherds and the kings must have been very reassuring to Mary and Joseph in their poverty and time of need.  As they brought the Son of God into this world laying Him in a manger amongst animals in the cold night, and without much to offer Him but love, they must have felt inadequate in their new roles.  The arrival of these visitors who were inspired by God to come to worship His Son served to assuage their doubts and fears; this was the right spot, God was with them, God had great plans for this child, and God was present to see them through their struggles. 

3.  In this time of joy for the Holy Family, was there any reason to be sorrowful?  What kind of emotions must they have felt when Joseph was warned to flee to Egypt for the safety of his family?  Do we accept the bad with the good? 

Even from His birth Jesus was accepted by some men and rejected by others.  The wise men and the shepherds came to honor Him with praise and even gifts.  Shortly thereafter, however, King Herod sent men seeking to kill the Infant Jesus who was born to be the King of All Nations.  The joy within the hearts of Joseph and Mary, that men were already coming to worship the Son of God, must have been quickly replaced by the worries and fears at the threat of those seeking the life of Jesus.  In the joyous occasions of our lives, we must learn to carefully listen to God’s love in all its forms, even in His warnings that are intended to protect us.  We must be fueled by the good times and joys in life, to overcome our trials and never lose hope.  It is through humble obedience that we find God will see us through all difficulties and trials in life, just as He did for the Holy Family.

In a miraculous way God inspired the wise men, who were of a pagan religion and unfamiliar with the Jewish prophecy of the coming Messiah, to come and worship Jesus, the King of Kings.  They had to journey at least a thousand miles from Persia to find Jesus in Bethlehem, which would have taken months.  In God’s love for the wise men, as they were making this long journey God was preparing their pagan hearts to receive Jesus as the Savior of the world.  Thus, their efforts to make their way to find Jesus was an outward example of the inward reality of the journey they were making in their hearts.  The obstacles of time, distance, and struggles of their earthly journey made their encounter with Jesus all the more precious and helped them to embrace Him with greater love and thanksgiving.  As we all journey to draw closer to Jesus, we too must overcome many obstacles and trust that God is using all of them to shape us in His love.  Let us then be thankful and praise God as He always provides the heavenly inspirations and guidance that lead us to Jesus in His time and in His way.

5.  Why do the infancy narratives of Jesus include stories about the poor shepherds, the three kings, and the Priest at the Presentation in the Temple?

Because there is only small amount of recorded information in the Scriptures on the infancy and childhood of Jesus, these details must have been significant enough to document.  One important point to consider is the roles of these men, and the roles that we are all called to in Baptism.  We are all invited by Jesus to partake in His life as priests, prophets and kings.  This is exactly what these men prefigured here in the scriptures.  The Priest receives the most perfect sacrifice in Jesus at the Presentation, which prefigures the ultimate sacrifice of His life that Jesus will eventually give, and the sacrifices in each of our lives which we are called as priests to offer and unite with His; the three kings prefigure the One Whose Kingdom will have no end, and our call to reign with Christ in His Kingdom; and the poor shepherds prefigure Christ the Good Shepherd who watches over His flock and “spreads the Word” just as the poor shepherds did concerning the Good News, and our call to continue Jesus’ mission and proclaim the Gospel.

Poverty

1.  Why would God want His Beloved Son, as well as His chosen Mother Mary and foster father Joseph to ‘suffer’ a life of poverty?

From a heavenly perspective, God knew that poverty detaches one from the temptation of materialism, and more importantly cultivates and nourishes many important virtues which shape us to love like He does.  Poverty also encourages a dependence on God alone, which fosters the most important virtues of humility, patience and obedience.  Essentially this lifestyle was a gift from God that displayed His great love for them.

In utter poverty, Joseph and Mary were deprived of all things, which heightened the glory and joy of the birth of Jesus for them.  Devoid of all distractions and comforts, they took their comfort in Christ alone.

3.  Why did God entrust such a great responsibility of raising His Son to poor human beings? 

God loves us so much that He wants us to be free of all fears as we cast all of our cares and worries upon Him.  Our Father trusted Mary and Joseph completely with His utterly dependent Son, so that we may learn to trust Him when we too are utterly helpless and dependent upon His grace.

Trust

1.  How could we describe the faith of Joseph?  How important was this for the one to whom Jesus would look up to as the mentor of His manhood?

Joseph was a man of incredible faith.  Although he knew that the child in Mary's womb was not his own, he believed the message that was sent to him by God in a dream.  Joseph trusted God and he trusted Mary, and he faithfully lived out his role as her most chaste spouse and guardian of the Holy Family.  Joseph’s faith and loyalty to God and Mary would be of the utmost importance in forming the humanity of the One who would bring salvation to all of mankind through faith in Him.

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