The Nativity

The Nativity

Eileen Renders        December 2023

    The Nativity by its very definition means the occasion of a person’s birth. The word Christmas, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the word Christmas originates from the phrase “Christes Maesse”, first recorded in 1038, which means the Mass of Christ or Christ’s Mass.

   For Catholics, this is a time of joy and celebration. As we mature in our faith we come to understand how difficult it was for them to escape Herod the Great’s slaughter of baby boys born in Bethlehem. Jesus was born in Bethlehem but escaped to Egypt while this slaughter of baby boys ensued. They later moved to live with family in Nazareth.

   Imagining the suffering, panic, and inconvenience of traveling with a newborn in those days, we have read that they traveled by donkey.  Nazareth is located in the Northern Haifa region of Israel. Bethlehem is located in the Judean Mountains and is approximately 45 miles northeast of Gaza City and the Mediterranean Sea. The distance between Nazareth and Bethlehem is a little less than 100 miles. From Bethlehem to Egypt, Mary and Joseph with the baby Jesus traveled by foot and by donkey approximately 42 miles.

   After giving birth in a Stable to the Son of God, they had to escape to Egypt where they found safety among the Jewish people. Jesus therefore, was not raised as a privileged child as many “only child” children are raised in today’s world. They suffered, worked hard, and sacrificed much for the world in order to save us from the destiny Satan desired for us through his wiles and temptations.  

   Understanding the oftentimes, harshness, and difficult times the Holy Family suffered is a way of fully appreciating the life and opportunities we have been blessed with, especially the ability to live life for the purpose of one day being accepted by God into his paradise for all eternity!