THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD FROM MARY

Day 227: December 25

The Nativity of the Lord from the Virgin Mary

CHRISTMAS IN THE MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE

REVEALED BY THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY TO ST. BRIDGET

"At Bethlehem, in front of the crib, I saw a beautiful young Virgin, who was pregnant. She was dressed in a white habit ... With her was a very respectable old man, and they had an ox and an ass. When they arrived in the cave, the old man tied the ox and the donkey to the manger, then went out and brought the Virgin a torch; he fixed it to the stones of the wall and went out again so as not to be personally present at the birth.

Then the Virgin took off her shoes, the white cloak with which she was covered, and the veil she had on her head, from her feet, and placed it beside her. Now she was dressed only in her tunic, and her golden-blond hair fell over her shoulders. She took two small linen cloths and two other very thin and very clean woolen cloths, which she had with her to wrap the child that was to be born, and also two strips of wool to cover the body and wrap the head; She placed everything next to her to have it at hand and to use it at the right time.

When these preparations were completed, the Virgin knelt down with much devotion and began to pray. She, turning her back to the manger, raised her face to heaven and turned her gaze to the east. With her hands raised and her eyes turned to heaven, she was on her knees as if enraptured in the sweetest ecstasy of contemplation, intoxicated with divine sweetness. While she was thus absorbed in prayer, I saw the One who was in her womb move, and immediately, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, she gave birth to her Son. From the Infant emanated so much indescribable light and splendor, that the sun could not stand in comparison; and the torch, which the old man had brought into the cave, no longer gave any light, because that divine splendor had canceled the material light of the candle.

The manner of giving birth had been so sudden and rapid that I could neither see nor distinguish in what manner and in what part of the body the birth had taken place. I immediately saw the glorious Child lying on the ground, bright, naked but very clean. His skin was razor-sharp and there was nothing dirty or impure on his body.

At that moment, I also heard the song, admirable for its sweetness and great sweetness, of the angels...With great reverence she began to adore the Child, saying to him: "Welcome, my God, my Lord, my Son." But the Child wept and trembled because of the cold and the hardness of the ground on which he lay, stretched out his arms and legs and moved in search of warmth and the affection of his Mother. She then took him in her hands, clasped him to her breast, and, bringing her cheek close to that of the child, with great joy and loving maternal tenderness. Then she sat down on the floor, placed the Child on her knees, took with her fingers the thin navel that broke immediately and without blood or serum coming out.

Immediately afterwards she began to wrap the Infant: first in linen cloths and then in woolen clothes, doing this with great care; finally she wrapped the whole little body, including the legs and arms, in a band, which was sewn on all four sides of woolen cloth; finally she wrapped his little head in the strips of wool she had brought with her. When all this was done, the old man entered, who, prostrating himself on his knees on the ground, adored the Child, weeping with joy.

During childbirth the Virgin did not change color or suffer or give any of the signs of labor pains that are usual in women in childbirth: only her womb had returned to the state in which it was before the child was conceived. Then the Woman stood up with the Child in her arms, and she and Joseph placed him in the manger and, kneeling, adored him with joy and immense joy.

Later, in the same place, the Virgin Mary appeared to me and said to me: My daughter, I promised you a long time ago, when you were in Rome, that here, in Bethlehem, I would show you how my birth took place. Although I have already shown you some details of this event in Naples, that is, in what position I was when I gave birth to my Son, you know, however, with all certainty, that I found myself and gave birth in the position you have just seen: I was on my knees, praying, and I was alone in the stable. I gave birth with such rapture and gladness of soul that I felt no weight or pain when he came out of my body. And immediately I wrapped him in diaper worlds, which I had already prepared for a long time.

When Joseph saw this, he was seized with wonder and great joy and gladness, because I had given birth without any help. Many of the people of Bethlehem were occupied with the census, and they were so intent on it that it was not possible for the wonders of God to spread.

Know, moreover, and with truth, that although people strive to affirm on the basis of common human sentiment that my Son was born in a natural and normal way, yet it is very true and without doubt that he was born as I have told you on another occasion and as you have seen this time."

St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"Come, O Virgin Mary, to my soul, to my house, to my work, as you went to Bethlehem; my soul is a poor stable, an ignoble manger. That notwithstanding, the Lord will want to have His advent and His birth in my soul! Come, O Blessed Virgin Mary!

Your presence will transform my soul into a paradise, where the angels will fly and other worshippers will follow your star! More than anything else, the Lord Jesus wants us to be like His Mother in loving Him."

(Devotional, Vocationist Fathers, Kerala, 2009, p. 439)