The Christmas season is once again upon us. It is the celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Depicted everywhere is the scene in the manger where the Christ-child was born. I find myself viewing this scene with deep wonderment. My attention is drawn not the infant, but to the mother. I know to the Roman Catholic, the virgin has a unique position, but I’m not of that faith, and so in the quiet of my own considered judgment, I have had to attempt to appreciate all that Mary felt that night in Bethlehem so many, many years ago. We are told in the Bible that an angel had appeared to announce the arrival of the Christ-child and to proclaim him the savior of mankind. I cannot help but wonder though if Mary, has she held that small baby in her arms, fully realize that this was the Son of God. Could this simple woman even begin to appreciate the events His Birth would set in motion? Was it hers to know all that this Child would mean to the world, not only at the time of His Birth, but for thousands of years to come? How could she know that night of His Birth, that this tiny infant wrapped in swaddling clothes would shape the thinking and behavior of mankind for the rest of time? I never view the Nativity without thinking, "for such a little time he belong to her". For such a very little time, he was just her own sweet baby boy. And then the world came in that manger door
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