The Crib & the Cross

SAM = St Augustine Monastery,  Nova Scotia, Canada       SAM,   Christmas Time

 MANY TIMES IT’S DIFFICULT for us to look at the Baby in the Crib....& at the same time to envision the

 Shadow of the Cross...on which the Little Infant is to be Suspended, Crucified, Hung & Nailed...on the

 Wood of the Cross...suspended between Heaven & Earth!

FOR WHAT PURPOSE?  to REDEEM the likes of us....”so that Sins may Be Forgiven”....Words of Christ

 which have been...Repeated in every Mass.....since the Last Supper itself!

LONG BEFORE Our Lord was placed in the Crib by His Mother....God had Promised that mankind’s

REDEMPTION would occur.   From the very beginning the Church has made a CONNECTION, a LINK

between the Crib & the Cross.

NO MATTER what the difficulty....Christ has THE DIVINE POWER to Redeem us, but in order for this to

 work....or become Operational & Effective in our souls....we need to have FAITH & HOPE in GOD....

.....to allow God’s Grace to work on us!

WE KNOW THIS from the many examples in Scripture...where Our Lord Wanted FAITH FIRST BEFORE..

.....He worked his Miracles.  TO THE WOMAN who touched His Garment: “O Woman great is your Faith.”

TO THE FRIGHTENED APOSTLES on the storm tossed Sea of Galilee: He says: “O you of little Faith”....

 .....BEFORE He calms the Storm by a Simple Verbal Command.  TO THE CENTURIAN:  “I have not found

 such great Faith in all Israel.”TO THE MAN BLIND FROM BIRTH:  “do you believe that I can do this...

......go your way....your Faith has saved you.”

IN TODAY’S GOSPEL  LK 2:36-40....ANNA Recognizes DIVINITY in the Little Infant. She has Expectant

 FAITH.  Every day she goes to the Temple to Pray...& in her 84^th  Year she sees the HOPE OF ISRAEL..

...revealed to her by GOD WHO REWARDS HER...for her great Faith.

WE CAN CONCLUDE that...FAITH is Very Important...& that we must not only have Faith,....but that

 .....we MUST ALSO ACT on our Faith.  This is what ANNA did.  She BELIEVED.   She had GREAT FAITH....

.....& this Faith filled her with such FERVOR...which led her into the Temple to Pray EVERYDAY!

OFTEN TIMES the CLOSER the Soul comes to God....the FARTHER AWAY from us GOD seems to be!

 EXPLANATION:  We are becoming less dependent on earthly joys, people...& conditions pleasing to

.....us thereby making us more dependent upon God.  We see this in the lives of many great Saints!

WE BEGIN to Love God more in FAITH, HOPE & CHARITY....the THREE THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES...called

 “THEO-logical”....because they are CENTERED on God!  SO, when we get discouraged & begin to think

 our Prayers are NOT being Answered or even HEARD.....it is often then that we are MUCH CLOSER to

 .....GOD than we think or realize!

GOD IS CONTINUALLY drawing us closer to Himself.  It is only through SUFFERING & ARIDITY....that the

 the Soul becomes....as Thomas A. Kempis says in his IMITATION OF CHRIST*....”as Gold fire tried in a

 furnace...he proved them...& took them to Himself.”...in the Crucible of God’s DESIGN & PLAN FOR US! 

THE IMITATION OF CHRISt is a small little Booklet that fits in the Palm of your Hand....one of the finest

 Spiritual compositions ever written.......& is available at any Religious Goods Store.

                                             GOD HAS A DESIGN & A PLAN FOR EACH ONE OF US.

                                                       ALL OF THE ABOVE CAN HELP YOU TOO!