The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics

by Raphael Brown

  One day it happened that they had nothing at all to eat at mealtime. So Mary and Joseph each retired to their room and persevered in prayer, thanking the Lord for this privation and begging Him for help. Meanwhile angels prepared the table and set on it fresh white bread and fish and fruit and a wonderfully sweet and nourishing jelly. When they called the holy couple in to this truly heaven-sent meal, the Blessed Virgin and her husband wept tears of humble gratitude while they sang hymns of praise and thanks to God.

  As Mary’s pregnancy was now far advanced, one day she said to St. Joseph:

  “My master, it is time that we prepare the things necessary for the birth of my holy Son. If you give me your permission, I will make the various clothes ready. I have already woven a piece of linen for His first swaddling clothes. Now please try to find some woolen cloth of soft texture and plain color for the other coverings. Later on I will weave a seamless tunic for Him. But let us pray to the Lord together for guidance in treating Him worthily.”

  Then as they knelt in prayer, each heard a Voice saying:

  “I have come from heaven to earth in order to exalt humility and discredit pride, to honor poverty and scorn riches, to destroy vanity and establish truth, and to enhance the value of labor. Therefore it is My will that exteriorly you treat Me according to the humble position which I have assumed, as if I were your natural child, and that interiorly you love and revere Me as the Man-God, Son of My Eternal Father.”

  Soon in exchange for his work Joseph obtained two pieces of woolen cloth of the best quality available, one white and the other gray. Of these Mary made the first little robes for her Son. From the linen which she had already woven as a present for the Temple, beginning the first day in her home in Nazareth, she made the swaddling clothes. While doing this work for the Child in her womb, she remained on her knees all the time and often shed tears of devotion and love. From some flowers and herbs which St. Joseph gathered, she extracted fragrant essences and sprinkled them over the clothes. Then she folded them neatly and laid them away in a chest, saying to herself:

  “My sweetest Love, when shall my eyes enjoy the light of Your divine face? When shall I as Your mother receive my Beloved’s tender kiss? But how shall a poor insignificant worm like myself ever be able to treat You worthily? Look graciously upon me and let me take part in all the labors of Your life, since You are my Son and my Lord.”

  And then one day St. Joseph, while away from home on an errand, heard that a recently proclaimed Roman edict ordered all heads of families in Palestine to be registered on the tax lists in their native cities. When he sadly told Mary this disturbing news, she answered reassuringly:

  “Do not let this edict cause you any concern, for all that happens to us is ordained by the Lord, and in all events His providence will assist and direct us.”

  “Nevertheless,” said St. Joseph anxiously, “please pray that I may not have to be separated from you, for my heart would not have a moment’s peace away from you, and I dare not leave you alone without help. But your delivery is too near for me to ask you to go with me to Bethlehem, for I fear to place you in any risk, because of your condition and my poverty—I would be heartbroken if the Nativity should occur on the way amid inconveniences that I could not alleviate. . . .”

  Mary obediently presented St. Joseph’s petitions to God, although she already knew that her divine Son was to be born in Bethlehem. And she received the following answer to her prayer:

  “My dearest dove, accompany My servant Joseph on the journey. I shall be with you and I shall assist you with paternal love in the tribulations you will suffer for My sake. Although they will be very great, do not fear.”

  Her heart being thus prepared for what lay ahead, Mary calmly told St. Joseph that she was going to travel with him. He was filled with joyful consolation, and thanking the Lord, he said to her:

  “My Lady, now my only source of grief will be the hardships you will have to undergo. But in Bethlehem we shall find friends and relatives, and there you will be able to rest from the journey.”

  Mary said nothing about the trying circumstances which she knew the Lord had decreed for His birth, though she fully realized that they would be far different from what Joseph expected. She always kept to herself all the secrets of God which she was not told to reveal. Instead she now said to her good husband, quietly and humbly:

  “My master, I will accompany you with great joy. And we will make this journey as poor people, in the name of the Lord, for He will not despise poverty, which He has come to seek with so much love. Relying on His help, we will go with confidence to Bethlehem.”

  Anxious St. Joseph in his Workshop

  XII

  The Journey to Bethlehem

  t six o’clock on a cold, wet, mid-winter morning, the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph set out from Nazareth on their journey to Bethlehem. Mary was mounted sidesaddle on an unpretentious little donkey, and St. Joseph guided the animal with his right hand, holding his staff with his left. Two bags hanging on the beast’s right side contained their provisions: some bread, fruit, and fish, and the linens which Mary had lovingly prepared for her baby. Ten thousand angels marched along with them in dazzling forms visible only to their Queen. She and St. Joseph alternated with this heavenly choir in singing canticles and hymns of praise to God.

  The first evening they found themselves in a windy, uninhabited valley. After a long day on the rough road, the Blessed Virgin, who was suffering keenly from the cold, told St. Joseph that they would have to stop there for the night. So he pitched their little tent under a great old turpentine tree near a fountain. God miraculously warmed Mary, and she placed her hands in her husband’s to share the warmth with him.

  Then they took some supper. Poor St. Joseph was very kind to Mary, and suffered much to see her in pain. He tried to cheer her by describing enthusiastically the excellent lodging they were sure to have in Bethlehem.

  The next morning at half past five they went on. By noon the donkey became tired, so Mary dismounted and continued on foot. Soon they arrived at a farm and rested a while.

  After another hour’s climb through the hills, they came to a fine-looking inn comprising several buildings with gardens. Here they were received by the owner’s wife, and remained all the next day, as it was the Sabbath. Some women with their children came to visit Mary and were deeply impressed by her wisdom and reserve. They were also very touched when they watched her instruct their children in religion. She explained it to the little ones so lovingly that they could not take their eyes away from her face. St. Joseph spent the afternoon walking through the gardens with his host, whom he greatly edified by his simple piety.

  The following day they traveled over twelve miles and spent the night with some hospitable shepherds. On this trip they avoided the great, crowded caravan roads as much as possible, and also they detoured around the city of Jerusalem to the east, though this took them much longer.

  The next night, in a cold rain, they came to an isolated house. St. Joseph knocked on the door and asked for shelter. Without opening, the heartless man within shouted that he was not running an inn and they should leave him alone! They went on until they found a shed, where Joseph prepared a resting place for Mary. Then he fed the donkey, and after a light supper and prayers they took a few hours’ sleep.

  The last night they spent in a large farmhouse, though the owner’s wife, who was young and conceited, treated them coldly because she was jealous of Mary’s beauty (thirty years later our Lord found her all bent over and blind, and after reproaching her for her vanity and heartlessness He healed her). Here St. Joseph was warned that Bethlehem was very crowded, but he replied that he had friends there and was quite sure of being well received.

  Toward the end of the trip they made many stops, as Mary found traveling more and more trying. Nevertheless, knowing the secrets of the souls she met, she prayed for them and assisted the sick and afflicted by asking her holy Son to come to their aid.

  T
hey arrived at Bethlehem about four in the afternoon and made their way through the crowds to a large building where public officials were taking the census and levying taxes. Mary rested in the court, and several women generously gave her something to eat. St. Joseph went into a big room, where he was asked his name and occupation. He replied that he owned no property, but lived from his manual labor.

  Later, as the sun was sinking, they began to look for a lodging. While Mary waited at the end of a street, Joseph went down it from house to house, knocking at the doors of his relatives and acquaintances, but he was admitted nowhere and in many places he met with harsh refusals and insults. Each time he came back to Mary, he was more and more upset. She knew that the hearts and houses of men were to be closed to them. And although to expose her condition at her young age to the public gaze was more painful to her modesty than their failure to find a lodging, still she meekly followed her husband through the crowds.

  At one end of the village they found a big tree, and under the shelter of its spreading branches Mary waited and rested for a long time, first standing and then sitting with her legs crossed under her. Many people passed by and stared at her as she sat there so patiently and humbly in her long, white dress and veil, with her hands folded on her breast and her head lowered.

  Finally, about nine o’clock, St. Joseph came back, utterly overcome, crying and trembling with heartbreaking sorrow. Mary consoled him tenderly. Then he told her of a shepherds’ shelter outside the town. And she said:

  “That will be perfectly satisfactory to me. Let us lovingly embrace poverty, dear Joseph, and go gladly wherever the Lord guides us.”

  Upon entering the bare grotto which the shepherds used as a stable, they both knelt and thanked the Lord, and Mary was filled with joy at being at last in this holy place. She immediately set about cleaning the cave with her own hands, out of humility and reverence. St. Joseph hastened to do likewise, and the angels helped them. Next he started a fire, as it was very cold, and they ate a frugal supper, their souls overflowing with happiness at the thought of the impending Incarnation.

  XIII

  The Nativity

  fter reciting some prayers together with Mary, St. Joseph filled the manger with straw and moss and placed a cloth over it. Then he withdrew to the entrance of the cave. Looking back, he saw the holy Mother of God praying on her knees, surrounded by flames of dazzling supernatural light. Filled with reverent fear, he threw himself down on the ground and was soon rapt in an ecstatic sleep.

  Mary was kneeling, with her eyes raised to heaven and her hands joined on her breast. Her countenance emitted rays of light, like the sun incarnadined, and shone in indescribable earnestness and majesty, all inflamed with burning love of God. Her body became so spiritualized with the beauty of heaven that she seemed no more a human and earthly creature.

  Toward midnight a channel of brilliant light came down from the highest heaven and terminated in sparkling fire at the Blessed Virgin. In it was an extraordinary movement of celestial glories which took on the forms of choirs of angels.

  Then, in the twinkling of an eye, the infant God was born, glorious and transfigured as on Mount Tabor.

  There the God-Man lay, naked, utterly clean and pure. And from Him radiated such marvelous light and splendor that the sun could not be compared to it. The angels could be heard gently singing canticles of wonderful sweetness.

  When the holy Mother of God perceived that she had been delivered—for her child came forth without any pain or injury to her—she immediately bowed her head, placed a cloth over His tiny body, and adored Him with the greatest respect and reverence, saying:

  “Welcome, my God, and my Lord, and my Son!”

  Then the divine Child suspended the effects of His transfiguration and assumed the appearance of one capable of suffering. The Babe now moved, shivered with cold, and stretching forth His little arms, cried out.

  Bending down, Mary tenderly clasped Him to her heart and with great joy warmed Him against her cheek and breast, while thousands of angels knelt and adored their incarnate Creator.

  Nearly an hour after the birth, Mary called St. Joseph. Awakening and coming near, he perceived his Saviour in her arms and at once prostrated himself on the ground with the deepest devotion and humility. Only at her bidding did he rise. And with touching joy and gratitude he kissed the Babe’s feet, and held the little Jesus in his arms, pressing Him to his heart, while tears of happiness moistened his cheeks.

  Then, sitting on the ground, Mary laid her Son in her lap, and while St. Joseph handed her the linens, she began carefully and lovingly to wrap the divine Child in swaddling clothes, drawing them tight on His small body.

  Next she and Joseph gently placed the Infant in the manger.

  At this point an ox from the neighboring fields entered the cave with the ass. They both approached the crib, knelt down before it, and breathed over it, as if to warm the Baby. Mary and Joseph were so affected by this act that they could not restrain their tears.

  For a long time they remained on their knees beside the crib, adoring the Christ Child and praising and thanking God. Later St. Joseph took some blankets and made a resting place for Mary beside the manger.

  XIV

  The Adoration of the Shepherds

  t the Holy Hour of the Nativity of the Saviour, an extraordinary wave of rejoicing was manifest in Nature in many parts of the world. Many animals leaped with exultation. Flowers raised their faded stems. Plants and trees took on new life and gave forth sweet scents. A number of new springs flowed abundantly.

  The thrilling and consoling news of the birth of the Messiah was immediately announced by the holy angels to a small number of chosen souls. The Archangel Michael brought it to the patriarchs and prophets in Limbo, as well as to St. Ann and St. Joachim, and they all rejoiced together. Another angel informed St. Elizabeth and her baby St. John, who clearly expressed his joy by waving his little arms. His mother at once sent one of her servants to Bethlehem with some money and linen for Mary. The mystery of the Saviour’s birth was revealed to the holy old priest Simeon and to Anna, Mary’s former teacher, in the Temple in Jerusalem. In the Orient each of the three Magi was enlightened by angels concerning the Incarnation of the Redeemer of mankind, which they had long expected, and perceiving the mystic star, they set out on their pilgrimage to the Crib of the newborn King of kings. All good men everywhere felt a new supernatural joy at this time, and many of them believed that the Saviour had at last come into the world.

  But of all the human race those who merited to be the first to see the Christ Child were the poor, humble, and devout shepherds of Bethlehem. During this holy night, three of their leaders, while watching over their flocks in the fields about a mile from the grotto of the Nativity, noticed with amazement a strange, luminous cloud hovering above the hill in which the cave and manger were located. And as they were staring up at the sky, all of a sudden a bright light came down toward them, bathing them in its celestial radiance. Then within the light they perceived the splendid Archangel Gabriel in human form, and at first these simple men were filled with intense fear, until Gabriel said to them reassuringly:

  “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy for all the people. For there has been born to you today in the town of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign to you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

  While he was speaking, the radiance around him became still brighter, revealing seven other great angels of extraordinary beauty and then a whole multitude of the heavenly host, all praising God and chanting in sweet harmony, to a soft and joyful melody:

  “Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth Peace to Men of Good Will!”

  After singing this lovely canticle, the angels went to two other groups of shepherds at some distance and brought them the same wonderful news. And these good men said to one another eagerly:

  “Let us go over to Bethlehem an
d see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us!”

  But first they thoughtfully set about collecting suitable presents.

  Only toward dawn did they find the grotto-stable and knock timidly at its entrance. St. Joseph very obligingly opened the door and welcomed them. They told him what the angels had announced to them during the night, and they said that they had come to offer their gifts and veneration to the divine Child. At the same time they gave St. Joseph a number of young goats and chickens, which he accepted with humble gratitude and placed in a sideroom off the stable.