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| Reliquary holding the Crib of Bethlehem ~ Santa Maria Maggiore ~ Rome |
These are difficult days. One television commentator said, "It seems as if the nation has veered off into shadow". After the murder of five police officers in Baton Rouge, a mother broke down before the cameras and said, "Our children have lost the right to be safe on the street". And the host of a radio call-in show used the term "ammo-sexual" referring to the intense intimacy the nation shares with guns.
Saint Paul tells us in the Letter to the Philippians that there is a Christian response to the world where it is warped and diseased:
Recently while in Rome during the Jubilee Year of Mercy, my twelve year old friend Katie, made a visit to the chapel at Santa Maria Maggiore which houses the relic-crib of Bethlehem. We can see the boards of the crib through the glass "egg" in the photo here. In anticipation of her pilgrimage I asked her to write a poem-prayer as she sat in the chapel. Her poem is a true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and admirable stream of consciousness, where in an awake and attentive silence she allowed her mind to roam.
A stable
filled with hay
with oxen and sheep
with cows
a donkey
and mice by your feet.
There was a mother who gave birth to a king,
a king in a stable, not a grand palace.
The animals knew of his power and love,
and gave their manger,
a king's crib made of wood.
The stable had sheep
The stable had hay
The stable had love
The love of a king who would die for his people
The love of parents who would guide and protect
The love of a God who would save creation
even if it meant he would die on a cross.
The manger is here
still made of wood
placed in a church
in a case of glass and gold.
People come, who kneel
and say their prayers to the king.
The stable and the manger
not fit for an earthly king
were all you needed on the day of your birth.
People come to admire your humility
as shepherds and wise men did on that day
People still flock to what once was your crib
to see the place where you laid your head.
KD
Saint Paul tells us in the Letter to the Philippians that there is a Christian response to the world where it is warped and diseased:
Delight yourselves in the Lord, yes, find your joy in him at all times. Have a reputation for being reasonable, and never forget the nearness of your Lord. Don't worry over anything whatever; whenever you pray tell God every detail of your needs in thankful prayer, and the peace of God, which surpasses human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus. My brothers and sisters I need only add this. If you believe in goodness and if you value the approval of God, fix your minds on whatever is true and honorable and just and pure and lovely and admirable." Philippians 4:6-8
Recently while in Rome during the Jubilee Year of Mercy, my twelve year old friend Katie, made a visit to the chapel at Santa Maria Maggiore which houses the relic-crib of Bethlehem. We can see the boards of the crib through the glass "egg" in the photo here. In anticipation of her pilgrimage I asked her to write a poem-prayer as she sat in the chapel. Her poem is a true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and admirable stream of consciousness, where in an awake and attentive silence she allowed her mind to roam.
A stable
filled with hay
with oxen and sheep
with cows
a donkey
and mice by your feet.
There was a mother who gave birth to a king,
a king in a stable, not a grand palace.
The animals knew of his power and love,
and gave their manger,
a king's crib made of wood.
The stable had sheep
The stable had hay
The stable had love
The love of a king who would die for his people
The love of parents who would guide and protect
The love of a God who would save creation
even if it meant he would die on a cross.
The manger is here
still made of wood
placed in a church
in a case of glass and gold.
People come, who kneel
and say their prayers to the king.
The stable and the manger
not fit for an earthly king
were all you needed on the day of your birth.
People come to admire your humility
as shepherds and wise men did on that day
People still flock to what once was your crib
to see the place where you laid your head.
KD
