Quote of the Day (Thomas Hardy, on Where the Oxen Knelt at Christmas)

 

“If someone said on Christmas Eve,
‘Come; see the oxen kneel,
 
‘In the lonely barton by yonder coomb
Our childhood used to know,’
I should go with him in the gloom,
Hoping it might be so.”—English poet-novelist Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), “The Oxen,” originally published in The Times of London (Christmas Eve, 1915)

Spiritual Quote of the Day (St. John Henry Newman, on the ‘Humble,’ ‘Ordinary’ Lot of Jesus at the Incarnation)

“We are reminded that though this life must ever be a life of toil and effort, yet that, properly speaking, we have not to seek our highest good. It is found, it is brought near us, in the descent of the Son of God from His Father's bosom to this world…. No longer need men of ardent minds weary themselves in the pursuit of what they fancy may be chief goods; no longer have they to wander about and encounter peril in quest of that unknown blessedness to which their hearts naturally aspire, as they did in heathen times. The text speaks to them and to all, ‘Unto you," it says, ‘is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.’

“Nor, again, need we go in quest of any of those things which this vain world calls great and noble. Christ altogether dishonoured what the world esteems, when He took on Himself a rank and station which the world despises. No lot could be more humble and more ordinary than that which the Son of God chose for Himself.”—English theologian, writer, and Catholic convert St. John Henry Newman (1801-1890), “Sermon 17: Religious Joy,” in Parochial and Plain Sermons, Volume 8 (1908), in The Newman Reader

The image accompanying this post, The Nativity, is a 1523 oil on panel painting by Italian Renaissance artist Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480-1556/1557).

Spiritual Quote of the Day (St. Augustine, on Jesus at Bethlehem)

“Look at how He miniaturized Himself so that He could lie in that manger. That doesn't mean He had to leave something behind in order to fit. He just received what He wasn't while remaining what He was.

“Behold, we have the infant Christ in front of us.

“Let’s grow old with Him.”—St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD), “Sermo CXCVI: Christmas #13,” translated by William Griffin, in The Best Christian Writing 2006, edited by John Wilson

The image accompanying this post is The Nativity, by Italian painter Federico Barocci (1535-1612.)

Photo of the Day: Creche, Reformed Church, Oradell NJ

Over time, my fascination with Nativity scenes has increased markedly. In recent years, I have taken to photograph outdoor examples of these tableaus.

So it was yesterday, when I saw the one accompanying this post, outside the Reformed Church of Oradell, several miles from where I live in Bergen County, NJ.

All over the world, people continue to celebrate births as miraculous signs of joy and hope. The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago was even more so—an act of faith by Mary in bearing this child under unusual and strained circumstances, and an act of faith by God that human beings, despite their history and tendency towards sin, were worth such a dramatic divine intervention in earthly affairs.