Rosary: The Nativity of Our Lord
The Third Joyful Mystery of the Rosary
The Third Joyful Mystery of the Rosary: The Nativity of Our Lord
Feast Day: December 25th
Luke 2:1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her Child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in bands of cloth, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
This third Joyful Mystery of the Rosary highlights the Nativity of Our Lord in Bethlehem. God Himself, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son Almighty, left His throne in Heaven to become man. He incarnated in the womb of Our Lady and this part of the Joyful mysteries celebrates and meditates on this unfathomable gift that God has given to mankind of Himself. We celebrate that God joined Himself to His creation and mankind was allowed to hold and adore the Son.
The words of the Christmas hymn truly capture it so well.
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant / O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels / O come, let us adore Him!
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation / Sing, all ye citizens of Heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest!
O come, let us adore Him / O come, let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!
Luke 2:8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a Child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest Heaven, and on earth peace to men of good will!”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this Child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
All the choirs of angels celebrated at the Nativity of Our Lord. They praised God in triumphal voices while the news of this great event was hidden from the kings and rulers surrounding Bethlehem. Lowly shepherds were those that God wished to celebrate His birth with and to adore Him. Those who were humble were ready and prepared to come and see God Himself in the most humble conditions.
Our Lord, who in the Eucharist is our Heavenly Bread, was born in the city of Bethlehem (Bet Lehem), which literally means “house of bread”. He who would become our Eucharistic Lord and Whom we should feed on for eternal life, was laid down in a manger, which is a trough for feeding animals. The shepherds who were watching over flocks of lambs who would become Passover sacrifices in the Old Covenant, were chosen to visit Jesus our Paschal Lamb who would become the eternal sacrifice in the New Covenant.
One final thing to notice in this passage is that the angels wish peace to men of good will, not to all of mankind. To be certain, all of mankind is welcome to come and adore Our Lord in His Nativity, but only if you have good will in your heart. Those who wish to listen to and obey Him are those who have good will.
Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with Child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 “Look, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall name Him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a Son; and he named Him Jesus.
Many misread this passage of Scripture and get several things wrong about the Nativity and the Holy Family. Joseph believed Mary when she told him about the Incarnation. The reason he considered divorce was because he was humble and thought he was not worthy to raise the Messiah. God sent the angel to let Joseph know that God had selected him to be the foster father of Our Lord.
Another misreading is when people see Jesus referred to as the “firstborn” of Mary, they think this means she had other children afterwards. This is not correct. The title of “firstborn” had specific responsibilities and actions that had to be taken by the couple under the Old Covenant. Even if there were no more children, this first child held the title of “firstborn”.
One final error that many make is that people think verse 25 and “until” means that Joseph and Mary had conjugal relations after Jesus was born. This is also incorrect. The word “until” in Scripture is different from how we use it today. In Scripture is does NOT mean that the situation changed at that point in time. It could change or it could stay the same. We know that it did not change simply from the response that Our Lady gave when she was told she would conceive Jesus. She was confused, yet she was a healthy, young, married woman about to enter her husband’s home. Any wife having a normal marriage would not be confused. Yet Our Lady is confused. The reason she is confused is because she was a perpetually consecrated virgin to God. She and Joseph were going to have a celibate marriage.
Matthew 2:1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the Child who has been born King of the Jews? For we observed His star at its rising, and have come to pay Him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd My people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the Child; and when you have found Him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay Him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they knelt down and paid Him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
One thing to grasp from the story about the Magi is that God will reach out to even those in other religions to guide them out of their false religion so they can worship Him. These Magi were not Israelites but instead pagans. Yet they were men of good will and God reached out to them to bring them to Himself. They were rewarded with their good will by being able to worship God Himself face to face.
A couple things to note in this story, is that it does not actually happen at the Nativity of Our Lord, but some unspecified time afterwards. Note that the Holy Family is residing in a house rather than the cave with the animals. We see in the story of the Massacre of the Innocents that it could have been up to two years after the Nativity. But it is included in these stories anyway since we do not know exactly when this happened.
Their gifts fulfill the prophesy of Isaiah when he says:
Isaiah 60:3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4 Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
On these three gifts, St. Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3.9.2) tells us they reflect the mystery of God becoming Incarnate. The gold represents His royalty and kingship. The frankincense was used in worship and signifies His high priesthood in the New Covenant. While the myrrh represents His humanity and specifically the Passion and Cross because myrrh was used to treat bodies for burial. Even in the beauty and splendor of His Nativity, the shadow of the Cross and Calvary hung over Our Lord. Our Lady and St. Joseph celebrated His birth while also dealing with the pain of knowing that He was destined for His Passion.
Links to the other Mysteries of the Rosary
JOYFUL MYSTERIES
Fifth Joyful Mystery - The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (coming soon)
SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
First Glorious Mystery - The Resurrection (coming soon)
Second Glorious Mystery - The Ascension of Christ (coming soon)
Third Glorious Mystery - The Descent of the Holy Ghost (coming soon)
LUMINOUS MYSTERIES
Second Luminous Mystery - The Wedding at Cana (coming soon)
Third Luminous Mystery - The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God (coming soon)
Fourth Luminous Mystery - The Transfiguration (coming soon)
Fifth Luminous Mystery - The Institution of the Eucharist (coming soon)
Thank you 🙏. At this confusing and hurtful dialogue coming from the Vatican the Scriptural recounting of this beautiful season cancels all the confusion and reorients me to Our Triune God and our redemption. 🕊️
That thing in the Vatican is NOT my pope. He is a pedophile globalist. I attend the Latin Mass and pray in Latin. pope douchenozzle doesn't want Latin spoken EVER. He needs to GO!