The attached picture is one of the decorations at the Shrine during the Christmas season. It is the baby Jesus lying in a manger and underneath it, is a cross. I feel it is very appropriate that both these images were placed together under the lectern. The lectern is where we proclaim the Word of God. The message the Church is announcing this season from the Word is the message I have been speaking about in my recent posts. The message is this; Christ incarnated Himself for us, so that He could be sacrificed for us. Both elements of that message are symbolized here.
Christmas is indeed a joyous season because of this message, but it should not be a sappy one. There is blood, sweat, and sacrifice involved every step of the way. We have spoken of this already. The Church is aware of this. Almost as if to prevent Christmas from becoming too sentimentalized, the Church has the Feast of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, today, the day immediately after Christmas. Two days later, which for us will be Monday, She has the Feast of the Holy Innocents. Stephen and the Holy Innocents both spilled blood for Our Lord. What is the color of Christmas? Red. What is the color of blood? Red. As we see the decorations around us this week, when we see the red, let us remind ourselves that Christmas must be in our blood.
However, as Archbishop Sheen once said, sin is in the blood, too, and that is why Christ had to bleed for our salvation, and why we have to fight a battle, as well. There is a war inside us between sin and Christmas, in our blood, and we have no choice but to wage it. To "reign with Christ", to live in His Kingdom, we have to die to ourselves, and some of us maybe even have to die physically as a martyr. (We know there are plenty of people dying for the faith throughout the world today, so we should never think it is a remote possibility.) To accept Christ as King, we have to accept His teachings, His values, and above all, His Holiness, which forces to us to choose things the world may not think highly of, things like loving the sinner, but hating the sin, simplicity, control of our appetites, and so forth. None of this is easy for anyone to accept or live out. Therefore, for most of us, it will be an ongoing battle in our blood until the day we die, and some of us may have to spill some blood to achieve final victory.
There is internal struggle, yes. However, there may be external struggle, as well, like it was for Stephen and the Holy Innocents, whose stories show us that there may be a price to pay for believing in Our Lord. There are Christians being martyred still today, too, and Our Holy Father prayed for them today. Many in the word today, including unfortunately some rulers of nations, are like Herod and want to be their own kings and queens, instead of accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and King. They are making life difficult for people to practice their Faith to various degrees. We need to pray for them daily, especially on a today such as today, devoted to the first Christian martyr, and during the Christmas season.
Finally, going back to our original picture, there is something else in common between the two components of the scene. What was the manger made of? Wood. What was the Cross made of? Wood. The manger scene, the infant Jesus laying in a manger, is a foreshadowing of Christ giving His life for us, laying on a Cross. Yes, the manger scene cannot ever be all tender and sappy. It involves sacrifice, and foretells sacrifice, sacrifice that involves the shedding of blood. There is nothing sappy about that.
Saint Joseph, Diligent protector of Christ, pray for us.
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