De nativitate domini nostri Jesu Christi
The Historical Context of the Nativity
The chapter opens by situating the Nativity within the liturgical calendar and the historical framework of the Roman Empire under Augustus.
Regarding the feast days that fall during the period partly contained within the season of reconciliation and partly within the season of pilgrimage. Having spoken of the feasts that occur within the time of renewal—which began with Moses and the prophets and lasted until the coming of Christ in the flesh—we note that the Church represents this time from the Advent until the Lord's Nativity, inclusive. Next, we move to the feasts that fall within the time partly contained under the time of reconciliation and partly under the time of pilgrimage; the Church represents this period from the Nativity until Septuagesima, just as mentioned in the prologue. The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh occurred, as some say, 5,228 years after Adam; according to others, 6,000; or, according to Eusebius of Caesarea in his Chronicles, 5,900, during the reign of Emperor Octavian. The 6,000-year calculation, however, was discovered by Methodius more mystically than chronologically. When the Son of God himself came into the flesh, the whole world enjoyed such peace that a single Roman emperor ruled over the entire globe in tranquility. He was called Octavian from his original name, Caesar from Julius Caesar (whose nephew he was), Augustus because of the growth of the republic, and Emperor from the honor of his position, being the first to be distinguished by this title to set him apart from other kings. For just as he willed to be born so that he might grant us the peace of time and the peace of eternity, so he willed that the peace of time should also illuminate his birth. Caesar Augustus, therefore, presiding over the whole world, wanted to know how many provinces, cities, camps, villages, and people there were in the entire world. He ordered—as the scholastic histories say—that everyone should go to the city of their origin and hand over a silver denarius (worth ten common coins, hence the name) to the provincial governor, thereby professing themselves a subject of the Roman Empire. For the coin bore both the image of Caesar and the inscription of his name. It was called both a profession and a description, though for different reasons. It was called a profession because everyone, when they returned the head-tax to the provincial governor—that is, the denarius—placed it upon their own head and with their own mouth professed themselves to be a subject of the Roman Empire. Hence it was called a profession, meaning a confession by one's own mouth, and this was done before all the people. It was called a 'registration' because the number of those who paid the poll tax was determined by a specific count and recorded in writing. This registration was first carried out by Quirinius, the governor of Syria. It is called the 'first' registration, as the same scholastic histories note, in reference to Quirinius. Because Judea is said to be at the navel of our habitable world, it was provided that the process should begin there and then be carried out by other governors through the surrounding regions. Or it's called 'universal' because other, more particular ones preceded it. Perhaps the first, of individuals, took place in the city by the governor; the second, of cities, in the region by the legate of Caesar; and the third, of regions, in the capital before Caesar himself. Joseph, however, being of the house of David, set out from Nazareth to Bethlehem. But when the time for the blessed Mary to give birth drew near, and he didn't know about his own return, he took her with him and led her to Bethlehem, unwilling to leave the treasure entrusted to him by God in someone else's hands, but wishing to guard it himself with watchful care.
The Miraculous Birth of the Savior
The narrative details the miraculous nature of Christ's birth, emphasizing the perpetual virginity of Mary and the unique union of divinity and humanity.
As they approached Bethlehem (as Brother Bartholomew testifies in his compilation, and as is taken from the Book of the Infancy of the Savior), the blessed Virgin saw some of the people rejoicing, and others... —groaning. Explaining this to her, the angel said: the people who are rejoicing are the Gentiles, who will receive eternal blessing in the seed of Abraham. The part that is groaning is the Jewish people, rejected by God for their own merits. When they had both arrived in Bethlehem, because they were poor and because others who had come for this very purpose had occupied all the inns, they could find no lodging; they turned aside, therefore, into a common passageway which (as is said in the Scholastic Histories) was between two houses, having a roof, which is called a 'versorium,' under which the townspeople would turn aside to talk or to eat together on days of leisure or because of bad weather. There, Joseph had perhaps made a manger for an ox and an ass, or, according to some, it was where country folk would tie their animals when they came to the market, and for that reason a manger had been built there. On that very night, the night of the Lord's Day, the blessed Virgin gave birth to her Son and laid Him in the manger upon the hay—which hay, as is held in the Scholastic Histories, the blessed Helena later brought to Rome, and from the eating of which the ox and the ass abstained. It should be noted, however, that the birth of Christ was accomplished miraculously, regarding the one giving birth, the one born, and the manner of the birth. Regarding the one who gave birth, it has been shown in five ways that she was a virgin before the birth and a virgin after the birth—that is, that she remained a virgin while giving birth. First, through the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14: 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive,' and so on. Second, through symbolism: this was prefigured both by Aaron’s rod, which blossomed without human effort, and by the gate of Ezekiel, which always remained closed. Third, through Joseph’s guardianship, for by the very fact that he guarded her, he stood as a witness to her virginity; and fourth, through experience, for when the time for the Blessed Mary to give birth was near (as is held in the compilation of Bartholomew and seems to have been taken from the Book of the Infancy of the Savior), Joseph, although he didn't doubt that God would be born of a virgin, still, following the custom of his country, called for midwives, one of whom was named Zebel and the other Salome. Zebel, therefore, upon examining and inquiring and finding her, exclaimed that a virgin had given birth; Salome, however, while she did not believe it but wanted to prove it for herself, immediately had her hand wither, though by the command of an angel appearing to her, she touched the child and immediately received healing. Fifth, through the evidence of a miracle: as Pope Innocent III testifies, there was peace in Rome for twelve years; therefore, the Romans built a beautiful temple of peace and placed a statue of Romulus there. When they consulted Apollo as to how long it would last, they received the answer: until a virgin should give birth. Hearing this, they said, 'Then it will last forever.' They believed it was impossible for a virgin to give birth. So, they inscribed a title on the temple doors: The Eternal Temple of Peace. But on the very night the virgin gave birth, the temple collapsed to its foundations, and today the church of Saint Mary Major stands in its place. Second, it was done miraculously regarding the one born. For as Bernard says, the eternal, the ancient, and the new came together miraculously in the same person: the eternal, that is, the divinity; the ancient, that is, the flesh taken from Adam; the new, that is, the soul created anew. Again, as he says, God performed three mixtures or three works so miraculously unique that such things have neither been done before nor will they ever be done again. For God and man, mother and virgin, faith and the human heart are joined together. The first is truly miraculous, because dust and God, majesty and infirmity, such lowliness and such sublimity are joined together. For nothing is more sublime than God, and nothing is more lowly than mud. The second is nonetheless truly miraculous. For from the beginning of time, it has never been heard that one who gave birth was a virgin, and that one who remained a virgin was a mother. The third is inferior to the first and second, but no less powerful. For it is a wonder how the human heart has given faith to these two things. How could it be believed that God was man, and that she who gave birth remained a virgin? So says Bernard. Thirdly, it was done miraculously in terms of the manner of generation. His birth was beyond nature, for he was conceived by a virgin. It was beyond reason, because he was born of God; beyond human condition, because he was born without pain; and beyond custom, because he was conceived of the Holy Spirit—for the virgin did not conceive from human seed, but from a mystical breath. For the Holy Spirit took from the purest and most chaste blood of the virgin and formed that body from it. And so God showed a fourth, miraculous way of creating a human being. For as Anselm says: God can create a human being in four ways: without man and woman, as he made Adam; from a man without a woman, as he made Eve; from a man and a woman, as common experience proves; and from a woman without a man, as has been done miraculously today.
Signs and Wonders of the Incarnation
The birth of Christ is manifested through various levels of creation, from the collapse of idols to celestial signs and the witness of the shepherds.
Secondly, his birth was shown in many ways. For it was shown through all the levels of creation. There is a certain creature that only has existence, like purely corporeal things, such as stones; some that have existence and life, like vegetation and trees; some that have existence, life, and sensation, like animals; some that have existence, life, sensation, and discernment, like humans; and some that have existence, life, sensation, discernment, and intelligence, like angels. The birth of Christ is revealed today through all these creatures. The first type of creature—the purely physical—is threefold: opaque, transparent or permeable, and luminous. Therefore, it was first shown through the purely physical opaque creature, just as it was through the destruction of the Roman temple, as demonstrated above, and also through the ruin of other statues that fell in many other places at that time. It is also read in the Scholastic History that the prophet Jeremiah, while descending into Egypt after the death of Gedaliah, gave the kings of Egypt a sign that their idols would collapse when a virgin gave birth to a son. For this reason, the priests of the idols set up an image of a virgin carrying a child in her lap in a secret place in the temple, and they worshipped him there. But when King Ptolemy later asked them what this meant, they said it was a mystery of ancestral tradition, which their elders had received from a holy man and prophet, and so they believed in things to come. Secondly, it was shown through the purely physical transparent and permeable creature. For on the very night of the Lord's birth, the darkness of night turned into the brightness of day. In Rome, too (as Orosius and Pope Innocent III attest), a spring of water turned into a flow of oil; it burst forth and streamed all the way to the Tiber, flowing most abundantly throughout that entire day—for the Sibyl had prophesied that when a spring of oil burst forth, the Savior would be born. Third, it was shown through a purely physical, luminous creature, such as the supercelestial bodies. For on the very day of the Nativity, according to the account of the ancients (as Chrysostom says), while some were praying on a certain mountain, a star appeared near them that had the form of a most beautiful boy, and a cross shone upon his head. It spoke to the Magi, telling them to go into Judea and find the child who had been born there. On that same day, three suns also appeared in the east, which gradually merged into one solar body. This signified that the knowledge of the Triune and one God was looming over the world, or because He was born in whom three things—namely, soul, flesh, and divinity—came together into one person. In scholastic histories, however, it is said that the three suns did not appear on the very day of the Nativity, but some time before, namely after the death of Julius Caesar, as Eusebius asserts in his Chronicle; furthermore, the Emperor Octavian (as Pope Innocent III says), having subjugated the entire world to Roman rule, pleased the Senate so much that they wanted to worship him as a god. But the prudent emperor, knowing himself to be mortal, refused to claim the name of immortality; at their insistence, he summoned the prophetess Sibyl, wishing to know through her oracles whether anyone greater than him would ever be born in the world. When he had therefore called a council on this matter on the day of the Lord's birth, and Sibylla alone was persisting in the emperor's chamber with her oracles, at midday a golden circle appeared around the sun, and in the middle of the circle, a most beautiful virgin carrying a child in her lap. Then Sibylla showed this to Caesar, and while the emperor was marveling greatly at the aforementioned vision, he heard a voice saying to him, "This is the altar of heaven," and Sibylla said to him, "This child is greater than you, and therefore worship him." That same chamber was dedicated in honor of Saint Mary, which is why it's called Saint Mary Ara Coeli to this day. Realizing that this child was greater than he was, the emperor offered him incense and refused to be called God from that point on. Orosius says this about it: In the time of Octavian, around the third hour, suddenly in a clear, pure, and serene sky, a circle in the likeness of some heavenly arch surrounded the orb of the sun, as if he were about to come who alone had both made and would rule the sun itself and the whole world. That is what Orosius says. Eutropius says the same thing. The historian Timotheus also reports that he found in the ancient Roman histories that Octavian was 35. In the year of his reign, he climbed the Capitol and anxiously asked the gods who would govern the republic after him; he heard a voice saying to him: 'A heavenly boy, born of the living God, begotten before time, will be born not long from now of an untouched virgin, God and man, without stain.' Having heard this, he built an altar there and inscribed this title upon it: 'This is the altar of the Son of the living God.' Secondly, it was shown and made manifest through a creature that has being and life, such as plants and trees. For on this night (as Bartholomew reports in his compilation), the vines of Engedi, which produce balsam, blossomed, bore fruit, and released their liquid. Thirdly, through a creature that has being, life, and sensation, such as animals. For as Joseph was setting out for Bethlehem with the pregnant Mary, he took an ox with him, perhaps to sell it and pay the tax for himself and the virgin, and to live off the remainder; he also took a donkey, perhaps so the virgin could ride upon it. The ox and the donkey, therefore, miraculously recognizing the Lord, knelt down and adored him. Even a few days before the birth of Christ (as Eusebius says in his Chronicle), when some men were plowing, the oxen said to them: 'Men will fail, the crops will thrive.' Fourth, it was revealed through a creature that possesses existence, life, sensation, and the power of discernment—namely, man—just as it was through the shepherds. For at that very hour, the shepherds were keeping watch over their flock, just as they were accustomed to do twice a year during the longest and shortest nights of the year. It was an ancient custom among the nations to keep night vigils at both solstices—the summer one around the feast of John the Baptist, and the winter one around the Lord’s Nativity—out of veneration for the sun, a practice that had perhaps also taken root among the Jews through the habits of those living among them. To them, therefore, the angel of the Lord appeared and announced that the Savior was born, and he gave them a sign of how he might be found. And with him was a multitude of the heavenly host, saying, 'Glory to God in the highest,' and so on. The shepherds, therefore, came and found everything just as the angel had said. Thus, it was revealed again through Caesar Augustus, who at that time issued a decree that no one should dare to call him a god, as Orosius testifies. For perhaps when he had seen that vision concerning the sun, while reflecting at the same time on the ruin of the temple and the fountain of oil, and understanding that one was born into the world who was greater, he did not wish to be called either god or lord.
The Spiritual Fruits of the Nativity
The chapter concludes by reflecting on the spiritual benefits of the Nativity, specifically the defeat of demonic power, the offer of mercy, and the healing of human pride through Christ's humility.
It is also read in certain chronicles that, as the day of the Lord's birth approached, Octavian ordered public roads to be built throughout the world and forgave all debts owed to the Romans; it was manifested in the same way through the Sodomites, who were all wiped out in one night across the whole world, just as Jerome says regarding the verse: 'A light has risen for them,' so great, in fact, that it extinguished all who were laboring in that vice, and Christ did this to eradicate them, so that such great impurity would no longer be found in the nature He had assumed. For as Augustine says, seeing the vice against nature being committed in human nature, God ceased to be incarnate. Fifth, it was shown through a creature that possesses being, life, sensation, discernment, and understanding, such as an angel. For the angels announced the very birth of Christ to the shepherds, as mentioned above. Third, His birth was shown to us usefully: first, for the confusion of the demons. The enemy can no longer prevail against us as he did before. Hence, it is recorded that Saint Hugh, Abbot of Cluny, on the vigil of the Lord's birth, saw the Blessed Virgin holding her Son in her arms and saying, 'The day is here in which the oracles of the prophets are renewed.' Where is the enemy now, who prevailed against men before this day! At this voice, the devil burst forth from the ground to insult the Lady's words, but iniquity lied to itself. While he was prowling around the brothers' workshops, devotion from the oratory, reading from the refectory, humble bedding from the dormitory, and patience from the chapter house drove him back. It is also read in the book of Peter the Venerable of Cluny that on the vigil of the Lord's birth, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Saint Hugh, Abbot of Cluny, holding her Son in her lap and playing with Him, and He said, 'You know, Mother, that the Church celebrates the day of my birth with a great triumph of praise; and where is the devil's power now, or what will he be able to say or do?' Then the devil seemed to rise up from the ground, or to say: 'Even if I cannot enter the church where your praises are sung, I will still enter the chapter house, the dormitory, and the refectory.' When he tried, he found the door to the chapter house too narrow for his bulk, the door to the dormitory too low for his pride, and the door to the refectory blocked by obstacles—namely, the charity of those serving, their eagerness to hear the readings, and their sobriety in food and drink; and so, confused, he vanished. Secondly, it serves to obtain mercy. It is read in a certain book of stories that when a certain loose woman finally returned to her heart, she despaired of mercy; for, thinking of the judgment, she considered herself guilty of hell; thinking of heaven, she considered herself unclean; and thinking of the Passion, she considered herself ungrateful. But, reflecting that children are easily appeased, she adjured Christ by his infancy and earned the right to hear a voice granting her mercy. Thirdly, for the healing of infirmities. Regarding this benefit of the Nativity, Bernard says, 'The human race suffers from a threefold disease in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end—that is, in birth, in life, and in death.' Birth was unclean, life was perverse, and death was dangerous. Christ came and brought a threefold remedy for this threefold sickness. He was born, he lived, and he died. His birth cleansed our birth, his life instructed our life, and his death destroyed our death. That is what Bernard says. Fourth, regarding the humility that counters our pride: Augustine says that the humility of the Son of God, which he showed us in his incarnation, served as an example, a Sacrament, and a medicine for us. It was a most fitting example for man to imitate, a profound Sacrament by which the bond of our sin might be loosened, and a supreme medicine by which the swelling of our pride might be healed. That is what Augustine says. For the pride of the first man was healed by the humility of Christ. It's worth noting that the Savior's humility corresponds fittingly to the traitor's pride. The first man's pride was against God, reaching up to Him and even above Him. It was against God because it was against His command, by which He had forbidden them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It reached up to God because it reached up to a desire for divinity, believing what the devil had said: 'You will be like gods.' It was also above God, as Anselm says, in wanting what God did not want him to want. He placed his own will above God's will; but the Son of God, according to John Damascene, humbled Himself for the sake of humanity—not against it—reaching down to humanity and rising above it. He acted for the sake of humanity for their benefit and salvation; He reached down to humanity through a birth like ours, and rose above humanity through a birth unlike ours. His birth was in one sense similar to ours, because He was born of a woman and came through the same door, yet in another sense dissimilar, because He was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary.
Read the original Latin
De festivitatibus, quae eveniunt infra tempus, quod partim continetur sub tempore reconciliationis et partim sub tempore peregrinationis.
Dicto de festivitatibus, quae occurrunt infra tempus renovationis quod incepit a Moyse et prophetis et duravit usque ad adventum Christi in carnem, quod tempus repraesentat ecclesia ab adventu usque ad nativitatem domini inclusive. Sequitur de festivitatibus, quae eveniunt infra tempus, quod partim continetur sub tempore reconciliationis, partim sub tempore peregrinationis, quod tempus repraesentat ecclesia a nativitate usque ad septuagesimam , sicut supra in prologo dictum est.
Nativitas domini nostri Jesu Christi secundum carnem, ut quidam ajunt, completis ab Adam quinque millibus ducentis XXVIII annis vel secundum alios VI millibus vel secundum Eusebium Caesariensem in Chronicis suis quinque millibus nongentis tempore Octaviani imperatoris facta est et computatio autem sex millium annorum inventa fuit a Methodio potius mystice quam chronice. Veniente autem ipso filio Dei in carnem, tanta pace universus mundus gaudebat, ut toti orbi unicus Romanorum imperator pacifice praesideret. Hic dictus est Octavianus a prima impositione, Caesar a Julio Caesare, cujus fuit nepos, Augustus ab augmento rei publicae, Imperator a dignitatis honore, qui ad differentiam aliorum regum fuit primo hoc nomine insignitus. Nam sicut nasci voluit, ut nobis pacem temporis et pacem aeternitatis tribueret, sic voluit, ut nihilominus ortum suum pax temporis illastraret. Caesar igitur Augustus universo praesidens orbi scire voluit, quot provinciae, quot civitates, quot castra, quot villae, quot homines in toto orbe essent, et jussit, ut dicitur in hystorite scholasticis, ut omnes homines ad urbem, unde trahebant originem, pergerent et quilibet denarium argenteum (qui valebat decem nummos usuales, unde et denarius dicebatur) praesidi provinciae tradens, se subditum romano imperio profiteretur. Nam et nummus imaginem proferebat Caesaris et subscriptionem nominis. —Dicebatur autem professio et descriptio, sed diversa consideratione. Professio enim dicebatur, quia quilibet, quando reddebat praesidi provinciae censi caput, id est denarium illum, qui sic vocabatur, ponebat super caput suum et proprio ore profitebatur, se esse subditum romano imperio, unde dicebatur professio, id est proprio ore fassio, et fiebat hoc coram omni populo.
Descriptio autem dicebatur, quia numerus eorum, qui censum capitis ferebant, certo determinabatur numero et redigebatur in scriptis. Haec autem descriptio primo facta est a praeside Syriae Cirino. Prima dieitur, ut in iisdem hystoriis scholasticis habetur, quantum ad Cirinum. Quia enim Judaea in umbilico terrae nostrae habitabilis esse dicitur, provisum est, ut in ea inchoaretur et deinde per circumstantes regiones et alii praesides prosequerentur. Vel prima dicitur universalis, quia aliae praecesserunt particulares. Vel forte prima capitum in civitate fiebat a praeside, secunda civitatum in regione a legato Caesaris, tertia regionum in urbe coram Caesare. Joseph autem cum esset de genere David à Nasareth in Betlehem profectus est. Cum autem beatae Mariae tempus pariendi instaret et ipse de suo reditu nesciret, eam secum assumpsit et in Betlehem secum duxit, nolens thesaurum sibi a Deo commissum in aliena manu dimittere, sed ipse per se volens illum cura pervigili custodire.
Cum ergo Betlehem appropinquasset (ut frater Bartholomaeus in sua compilatione testatur, et de libro Infantiae salvatoris est sumptum), vidit beata virgo partem populi gaudentem, par. tem gementem. Quod sibi angelus exponens ait: pars populi gaudens est populus gentilis, qui in semine Abrahae aeternam benedictionem accipiet. Pars autem gemens est plebs' Judaica, a Deo suis meritis reprobata. Cum igitur ambo Betlehem venissent et quia pauperes erant et quia omnia hospitia alii, qui propter hoc ipsum venerant, occupaverant, nullum hospitium habere potuerunt, deverterunt ergo in communi transitu, qui (ut dicitur in hystoriis Scholasticis) erat inter duas domos, operimentum habens, qui de versorium dicitur, sub quo cives ad colloquendum vel ad convescendum in diebus otii vel pro aéris intemperie devertebant. Ubi forte Joseph praesepe bovi et asino fecerat vel secundum quosdam rustici, cum ad forum veniebant, animalia sua ibidem ligabant, et ideo praesepe ibi constructum erat. Ipsa igitur nocte media diei dominicae beata virgo filium suum peperit et in praesepio super foenum reclinavit, quod foenum, ut habetur in hystoriis Scholasti cis, beata Helena postmodum Romam detulit, a cujus foeni comestione bos et asinus abstinebant. Notandum autem quod nativitas Christi fuit mirabiliter facta, tum ex parte generantis, tum ex parte geniti, tum ex parte modi generandi.
Ex parte generantis, quia ipsa fuit virgo ante partum et virgo post partum, et hoc scilicet, quod virgo manens peperit, quinque modis ostensum est. Primo per prophetiam Jesaiae VIL: ecce virgo concipiet etc. Secundo per figuram: hoc enim figuratum fuit et per virgam Aaron, quae sine omni humano studio floruit, et per portam Ezechielis, quae semper clausa permansit. Tertio per custodiam: Joseph enim ex eo, quod ipsam custodivit, testis suae virginitatis exstitit, Quarto per experientiam: cum enim (ut in compilatione Bartholomaei habetur et de libro Infantiae salvatoris sumptum fuisse videtur) beatae Mariae pariendi tempus instaret, Joseph licet Deum de virgine nasciturum non dubitaret, morem tamen gerens patriae obstetrices vocavit, quarum una vocabatur Zebel et altera Salome. Zebel igitur considerans et ifíquirens et ipsam inveniens exclamavit virginem peperisse, Salome autem dum non crederet, sed hoc probare similiter vellet, continuo arnit manus ejus, jussu tamen angeli sibi apparentis puerum tetigit et continuo sanitatem accepit. Quinto per miraculi evidentiam: Romae enim, ut testatur Innocentius papa tertius, duodecim annis pax fuit, igitur Romani templum pacis pulcherrimum construxerunt et ibi statuam Romuli posuerunt. Consulentes autem Apollinem, quantum duraret, acceperunt responsum, quousque virgo pareret. — Hoc autem audientes dixerunt: ergo in aeternum durabit.
Impossibile enim crediderunt, quod unquam pareret virgo. Unde in foribus templi titulum nunc scripserunt: templum pacis aeternum. Sed in ipsa nocte qua virgo peperit, templum funditus corruit et ibi est modo ecclesia Sanctae Mariae Novae. Secundo fuit mirabiliter facta ex parte geniti. Nam sicut dicitur Bernhardus: quia in eadem persona aeternum antiquum et novum mirabiliter convenerunt, aeternum, id est, divinitas, antiquum, id est caro ab Adam transducta, novum, id est anima de novo creata. Iterum, sicnt idem dicit, tres mixturas vel tria opera fecit Deus , ita mirabiliter singularia, ut talia nec facta sint, nec amplius facienda sint. Conjuncta quippe sunt ad invicem Deus et homo, mater et virgo, fides et cor humanum. Prima valde mirabilis , quia conjuncta sunt limus et Deus, majestas et infirmitas, tanta vilitas et tanta sublimitas.
Nihil enim Deo sublimius et nihil limo vilius. Secunda nihilominus valde mirabilis. A saeculo enim nondum est auditum, quod virgo esset, quae peperit, et quod mater esset, quae virgo permansit. Tertia et prima et secunda inferior, sed non minus fortis. Mirum est enim, quomodo cor humanum fidem his dnobus accommodavit. Quomodo eredi potuit, quod Deus homo esset, et quod virgo manserit, quae peperisset. Haec Bernardus. Tertio fuit mirabiliter facta ex parte modi generandi.
Ejus enim partus fuit supra naturam, ex eo quod virgo concepit. Supra rationem, ex eo quod Deum genuit, supra humanam conditionem, ex eo quod sine dolore peperit, supra consuetudinem, ex eo quod de spiritu sancto concepit; non enim genuit virgo ex humano semine, sed ex mistico spiramine. Nam spiritus sanctus de purissimis et castissimis sanguinibus virginis accepit et inde corpus illud formavit. Et sic quartum modum mirabilem faciendi hominem Deus ostendit. — Nam sicut dicit Anselmus: Deus potest quatuor modis hominem facere, scilicet sine homine et femina, sicut fecit Adam, de homine sine femina , sicut fecit Evam, de homine et femina, sicut communis probat usus, de femina sine viro, sicut hodie mirabiliter factum est. Secundo ejus nativitas fuit multipliciter ostensa. Ostensa est enim per omnes gradus creaturarum. Est enim quaedam creatura, quae tantum habet esse, sicut pure corporea, ut lapides; quaedam quae habet esse et vivere, sicut vegetabilia et arbores; quaedam quae habet esse et vivere et sentire, sicut animalia; quaedam, quae habet esse, vivere, sentire et discernere, sicut homo; quaedam quae habet esse vivere, sentire, discernere et intelligere, sicut angelus.
Per has omnes creaturas hodie Christi nativitas est ostensa. Prima autem creatura, id est, pure corporea, triplex est, scilicet opaca, transparens sive pervia, et lucida. Primo ergo ostensa est per pure corpoream opacam; sicut per destructionem templi Romanorum, ut supra demonstratum est, et per ruinam etiam aliarum stataarum, quae tunc in aliis locis plurimis ceciderunt. Legitur etiam in hystoria scholastica, quod Jeremias propheta in Aegyptum descendens post mortem Godolyae regibus Aegypti signum dedit, quod eorum ydola corruerent, cum virgo filium parturiret. Quapropter sacerdotes ydolorum ymaginem virginis puerum in gremio bajulantem secreto loco templi statuerunt et eum ibi adorabant. Sed a Ptolemaeo rege postea interrogati, quid hoc sibi vellet, dixerunt paternae traditionis hoc esse misterium, quod a sancto viro et propheta eorum majores acceperant et sic in rebus venturis credebant. Secundo per pure corpoream transparentem et perviam. Nam in ipsa nocte nativitatis dominicae, obscuritas noctis in claritatem diei vérsa est.
Romae etiam (ut attestatur Orosius et Innocentius papa tertius) fons aquae in liquorem olei versus est et erumpens usque in Tibrim profluxit et toto die illo largissime emanavit — Prophetaverat enim Sibylla, quod quando erumperet fons olei, nasceretur Salvator. Tertio per pure corpoream lucidam, sicut per corpora supercoeclestia. Nam in ipsa die nativitatis seeundum antiquorum relationem, (ut ait Chrysostomus), magis super quendam montem orantibus, stella quaedam juxta eos apparuit, quae formam pueri pulcherrimi habebat et in ejus capite crux splendebat. Qui magos alloquens dixit, ut in Judaeum pergerent et ibi natum puerum invenirent. In ipsa etiam die tres soles in oriente apparuerunt, qui paulatim in unum corpus solare redactae sunt. Per quod signabatur, quod trini et unius Dei notitia orbi imminebat, vel quia natus erat ille, in quo tria, scilicet anima, caro et divinitas in unam personam convenerunt. In hystoriis tamen scholasticis dicitur, quod non ipsa die nativitatis tres soles apparuerunt, sed ante per aliquod tempus, scilicet post mortem Julii Caesaris, quod Eusebius in Chronica asserit, — Octavianus insuper imperator (ut ait Innocentius papa tertius) universo orbe ditioni Romanae subjugato in tantam senatui placuit, ut eum pro Deo colere vellent. Prudens autem imperator se mortalem intelligens immortalitatis nomen sibi noluit usurpare Ad illorum instantiam Sibyllam prophetissam advocat, scire volens per ejus oracula, an in mundo major eo aliquando nasceretur.
Cum ergo in die nativitatis domini consilium super hac re convocasset et Sibylla sola in cainera imperatoris oraculis insisteret, in die media circulus aureus apparuit circa solem et in medio circuli virgo pulcherrima, puerum gestans in gremio. Tunc Sibylla hoc Caesari ostendit, cum autem imperator ad praedictam visionem plurimum admiraretur, audivit vocem dicentem sibi: haec est ara coeli, dixitque ei Sibylla: hic puer major te est et ideo ipsum adora. Eadem autem camera in honore Sanctae Mariae dedicata est, unde usque hodie dicitar Sancta Maria Ara Coeli. Intelligens igitur imperator, quod hic puer major se erat, ei thura obtulit et Deus de caetero dici recusavit. De hoc autem Orosius ita dicit: Octaviani tempore hora circiter tertia repente coelo liquido ac puro et sereno circulus ad speciem coelestis ) alicujus arcus orbem solis ambivit, quasi venturus esset, qui ipsum solem solus mundumque totum et fecisset et regeret. Haec Orosius. ldem ait Eutropius. Refert quoque Timotheus hysioriograplus, se in antiquis Romanorum hystoriis invenisse, quod Octavianus XXXV.
regui anno capitolium adscendit et quis post se rempublicam gubernaret, a Diis sollicite requisivit et audivit vocem sibi dicentem: puer aethereus ex Deo vivente, sine tempore genitus, non multum post ex intemerata virgine Deus homo nasciturus sine macula. Hoc audito ibi aram aedificavit, eui hunc titulum inscripsit: haec est ara filii Dei viventis. Secundo ostensa est et manifestata per creaturam, quae habet esse et vivere, sicut sunt plantae et arbores. — In hac enim nocte (ut Bartholomaeus in sua compilatione refert) vineae Engadi, quae proferunt balsamum, floruerunt, fructum protulerunt et liquorem dederunt. Tertio per creaturam, quae habet esse, vivere et sentire, sicut sunt animalia. Proficiscens enim Joseph in Betlehem cum Maria praegnante duxit secum bovem, forte ut ipsum venderet et censum pro se et pro virgine solveret et de residuo viveret, et unum asinum, forte ut virgo super eum veheretur. Bos igitur et asinus miraculose dominum cognoscentes flexis genibus ipsum adoraverunt. Ante etiam Christi nativitatem per aliquot dies (ut ait Eusebius in Chronica) cum quidam ararent boves, ad aratores dixerunt: homines deficient, segeles proficient.
Quarto per creaturam, quae habet esse, vivere, sentire et discernere, ut est homo, sicut per pastores. Nam in ipsa hora pastores super gregem suum vigilabant, sicut bis in anno in longioribus et brevioribus noctibus anni consueverant. Mos enim fuit antiquitus gentibus in utroque solstitio, scilicet aestivali circa festum Johannis baptistae, et hyemali circa nativitatem domini vigilias noctis custodire ob solis venerationem, qui forte etiam apud Judaeos ex usu cobabitantium inoleverat. Ipsis igitur angelus domini apparens et salvatorem natum nuntiavit et quomodo inveuiretur signum dedit. Factaque est cum eo multitudo angelorum dicentiun: Gloria in altissimis Deo etc. Pastores ergo venientes totum, sicut angelus dixerat, invenerunt. Sic iterum manifestata est per Caesarem Augustum, qui tunc praeceptum dedit, ne eum aliquis Deus vocare auderet, sicut Orosius testatur. Forte enim cum visionem illam circa solem vidisset, recolens simul de ruina templi et de fonte olei et intelligens quod in mundo natus esset, qui major erat, nec Deus nec dominus vocari voluit.
In quibusdam quoque Chronicis legitur, quod appropinquante die nativitatis domini Octavianus per mundum vias publicas fieri praecepit et omnia debita Romanis dimisit, Sic etiam manifestata est per Sodomitas, qui omnes in toto mundo illa nocte exstincti sunt, sicut dicit Hieronymus super illud: lux orta est iis tanta scilicet, quod omnes laborantes in illo vitio exstinxit, et hoc fecit Christus, ut omnes eradicaret, ne in natura, quam assumpserat, tanta de caetero immunditia inveniretur. Nam, ut dicit Augustinus, videns Deus vitium contra naturam in humana natura fieri, desiit incarnari. Quinto per creaturam, quae habet esse, vivere, sentire, discernere et intelligere, sicnt angelus. Angeli enim ipsam Christi nativitatem pastoribus annuntiaverunt, ut superius dictum est. Tertio ejus nativitas nobis est ntiliter exhibita, Primo ad daemonum confusionem. Nam hostis jam nobis ut ante praevalere non potest, unde legitur, quod sanctus Hugo, abbas Cluniacensis in vigilia nativitatis domini vidit beatam virginem in ulnis tenentem filium et dicentem: adest dies, in quo prophetarum oracula renovantur. Ubi nunc est hostis, qui ante hunc diem hominibus praevalebat! Ad hanc vocem dyabolus de humo prorupit, ut verbis dominae insultaret, sed mentita est iniquitas sibi, quoniam dum officinas fratrum circumiret, ipsum ab oratorio devotio, a refectorio lectio, a dormitorio stramenta vilia, a capitulo patientia rejecit, In libro quoque Petri Cluniacensis legitur, quod in vigilia nativitatis domini sancto Hugoni abbati Cluniacensi apparuit beata virgo filium in gremio tenens et cum eo ludens, qui dicebat: nosti mater, quod diem natalis mei ecclesia cum magnae laudis tripudio celebrat; et ubi est nunc dyaboli virtus vel quid dicere poterit vel quid facere?
— Tunc dyabolus videbatur quasi de humo surgere aut dicere: etsi in ecclesiam, ubi laudes tuae fiunt, intrare non possum, sed tamen capitulum, dormitorium et refectorium introibo. Quod ille attemptans invenit ostium capituli nimis artum sibi grosso, ostium dormitorii nimis depressum sibi elato, ostium refectorii repagulatum impedimentis a caritate scilicet servientium, aviditate audiendi lectiones et sobrietate cibi et potus et sic confusus evanuit. Secundo ad veniae imperationem, unde legitur in quodam libro exemplorum, quod cum quaedam mulier lubrica ad cor tandem rediisset, de venia desperabat, nam cogitans de judicio reputabat, se esse ream de inferno, de coelo reputabat se esse immundam, de passione reputabat se esse ingratam, cogitans vero quod pueri de facili placantur, Christum per suam infantiam adjuravit et vocem de sua venia audire meruit. Tertio ad infirmitatum curationem. De hac etiam nativitatis utilitate dicit Bernardus: triplici morbo laborat genus humanum, in principio, in medio et in fine, id est, nativitate, vita et morte. Nativitas erat immunda, vita perversa, mors periculosa.
Venit Christus et contra hunc triplicem morbum attulit triplex remedium. Natus enim est, vixit et obiit. — Ejus nativitas purgavit nostram, ejus vita instruxit nostram, mors illius destruxit nostram. Haec Bernardus. Quarto ad nostram superbiae humilitatem, unde dicit Augustinus, quod humilitas filii Dei, quam nobis in incarnatione exhibuit, fuit nobis in exemplum, in sacramentum, et in medicamentum. In exemplum convenientissimum, quod homo imitaretur altum sacramentum, quo peccati nostri vinculum solveretur, et summum medicamentum, quo tumor nostrae superbiae sanaretur. Haee Augustinus. Superbia enim primi hominis sanata est per humilitatem Christi.
Et notandum, quod convenienter humilitas salvatoris correspondeat superbiae proditoris. Superbia enim primi hominis fuit contra Deum, usque ad Deum et supra Deum. Fuit contra Deum, quia fuit contra ejus praeceptum, quo praeceperat, non de ligno scientiae boni et mali comederent. Fuit etiam usque ad Deum, quia usque ad appetitum divinitatis, credens quod dyabolus dixerat : eritis sicut Dii, Fuit et supra Deum, sicut dicit Anselmus, volendo quod Deus illum velle nolebat. Tunc enim suam voluntatem posuit supra voluntatem Dei, at filius Dei, secundum Johannem Damascenum, humiliavit se propter homines, non contra homines, usque ad homines et supra homines; propter homines, quia propter eorum utilitatem et salutem, wsque ad homines per nascendi modum consimilem, supra homines per nascendi modum dissimilem. Nam ejus nativitas et secundum aliquod nobis similis fuit, quia scilicet natus est ex muliere et per eandem portam propagatus, et secundum aliquod dissimilis, quia de spiritu sancto ex Maria virgine natus est.
The Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea) companion
Continue through all 240 chapters, one saint a day
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The Legenda Aurea was organized for day-by-day use across the liturgical year, and Chosen Portion restores that original one-feast-per-day reading rhythm
- A complete saint's life or feast reading most days in 5-10 minutes
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