Day 71: Behold God

I'm Father Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars, the renewal, and this is the rosary in your

podcast where through prayer and meditation, the rosary brings us deeper into relationship

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This is day 71.

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Today we'll be doing Alexa Divina with a third of Joyful Mystery, the Nativity, Luke

Chapter 2, verses 1-20.

And our emphasis will be, behold the heart of God.

In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.

This was the first enrolment when Quirinius was governor of Syria and all went to be enrolled

each to his own city.

In Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea, the city of

David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David to

be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered, and she gave birth

to her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,

because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in that region, there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock

by night, and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around

them, and they were filled with fear.

And the angel said to them, Be not afraid.

For behold, I bring you good news of a great joy, which will come to all the people.

For to you is born this day, and the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be assigned for you.

You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

And suddenly, there was with the angel of multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God

and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men, with whom he is

pleased.

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherd said to one another, Let

us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made

known to us.

And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this

child, and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

But Mary kept all these things pondering them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as

it had been told them.

In our Alexio, let's go ahead and highlight some of the details which stand out.

As we previously discussed, it's very noteworthy all of these details about Caesar,

Buster's Quirinius, the enrolment, etc., as Pope Benedict pointed out and we discussed.

These worldly rulers who think they're in charge, but God is revealing that ultimately

he is the one who is the Lord and master of world events.

We have this great event, this manifestation of the angels singing, Glory to God in the

highest, while speaking to like lowly shepherds, and what is it that the angel says, be

not afraid.

Then the host of angels appears praising God saying, Glory to God in the highest, the shepherds

that go to Bethlehem, they go with haste and what are they find?

Mary and Joseph and the baby line in the manger, and then we have this beautiful insight into

the heart of Mary.

Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.

Our emphasis here will be going with the shepherds to Bethlehem, and what do they see

and what do they experience?

This is verse 16, which will be our second reading here in our time of Lexia, and they

went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby line in the manger.

As part of our meditation, I'm going to ask you to engage this with your imagination.

What is this scene?

Feel free to paint sort of your own picture as appropriate here.

What do you imagine Joseph wearing?

What do you imagine Mary wearing?

What's the manger look like?

Are there other animals?

Is it hot?

Is it cold?

And it is the shepherds' arise.

What do they feel?

It looks like a somewhat ordinary scene.

Are there hearts moved?

Are they embraced?

Do they sing the fall down in adoration?

What would you feel?

And one last time with Lexia here, and they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and

the baby line in a manger.

Get them going to ask you to be still to go there, to be quiet in the manger with Joseph

and Mary.

I'm going to ask you to imagine Mary holding the baby Jesus and see

his little eyelids close to shut tight as he naps.

Here is breathing.

Notice the movement of his chest as he inhales and exhales.

See his little hand drapt around one of Mary's fingers.

Notice how small, fragile, innocent and beautiful he is, and behold our Savior.

Behold the heart of God.

And notice how your heart is moved, filled with affection and love.

Notice the love, the joy, the awe, the tenderness.

On Joseph and Mary's face, notice your self-experience piece here.

Can you feel from the Lord in invitation to know that you can always return here?

You can always experience the peace of this moment.

In all my residents, sisters, let us transition to our time of Oratio, receive, respond,

request, rejoice, receive the good news, receive what God is revealing about Himself.

We know that Jesus reveals to us the true nature of our Father.

Look at the humility of God, the innocence of God.

The heart of God who becomes so little and so fragile so that we will not be afraid to

come close, receive these words spoken through the incarnation and the nativity.

Do not be afraid, do not be afraid, come close, and receive the peace you find in this

moment, receive it deeply.

Let us respond by again, beginning with praise and adoration, or we just adore you for

your heart, for your goodness, for your humility, for becoming so small and so humble so that

we may not be afraid to draw close.

We bring to you now, Lord, our hearts, as we feel this invitation to come close to you

to place our trust in you.

Notice in your heart any resistance, any fear you may have of God, any reason you may not

want to open up parts of your heart to Him, any reason you may not want to draw close

because of fear.

Notice in your heart any experiences of ways in which you felt confused or hurt by your

attempt to follow God, in the ways in which that is made you may be questioned, his goodness,

his trustworthiness, and bring it to him who says, come to me.

Now let us request, Lord, we ask for the grace of an increase in trust.

We ask, Lord, to be freed from any fear we have in our hearts, fear of what our yes

to you might mean.

Or do we ask that your nativity, that you, Jesus, and the manger may heal us from any experience

as ideas of God or Father as being a tyrant or a dictator, one who comes to hurt or

to punish us, one who is not concerned about our good?

May we find hope and healing in your humility, in your vulnerability.

And now lastly, rejoice what we rejoice, Lord, in revealing yourself in such a way.

We rejoice, Lord, in the gift of your nativity.

We rejoice, Lord, that in prayer we can come to this place again and again and again

to be reminded of who you are and to receive your peace.

Now we'll go into the closing of our episode, our Contemplatio, I'm going to encourage

you to really be whole, to look deeply at the humility of God and to receive to hear

like deeply into the core of your heart and your soul, these words spoken by the newborn

king, do not be afraid, do not be afraid, and the name of the Father and of the Son and

of the Holy Spirit, amen.

For Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who

trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed are thou among women and blessed

is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now

and at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed are thou among women and blessed

is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and

at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed are thou among women and blessed

is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and

at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed are thou among women and blessed

is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and

at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed

art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of

God, pray for us sinners. Now, at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed

is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners.

Now, at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed

art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of

God, pray for us sinners. Now, at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed

is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners.

Now, at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed

art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother

of God, pray for us sinners. Now, at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed

is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners.

Now, at the hour of our death, amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the

Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be, world without end,

amen. And the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. All right,

friends, thanks for joining me in praying with me today. I look forward to continuing this

journey with you again tomorrow. Poco, poco. All right. God bless y'all.