“And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness.” (Isaias 11)
Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen, in his Life of Christ, asserts that if God were to send His Son as Savior of the world, the least He would do is to announce His birth and the details surrounding His birth; after all, even auto makers announce their new models and diplomats, when arriving in a country, provide papers, produced beforehand that announce their coming.
We know of numerous prophecies in the centuries before Christ’s birth, prophecies of many other cultures which foretold of the coming of Christ. For instance:
- Tacitus speaking of the ancient Roman prophecies said, “The East was to prevail and from Judea was to come the Master and Ruler of the world.”
- From the Chinese Annals of the Celestial Empire: “In the 24th year of Tchao-Wang of the Dynasty of the Tcheou, on the 8th day of the 4th moon, a light appeared in the Southwest which illumined the king’s palace. The monarch, struck by its splendor, interrogated the sages. They showed him books in which this prodigy signified the appearance of the great Saint of the West whose religion was to be introduced into their country.”
- From the ancient Greeks, Aeschylus, 6 centuries before Christ wrote, “Look not for any end to this curse until God appears, to accept upon His head the pangs of thy own sins vicarious.”
- Virgil, in his Fourth Eclogue speaks of their ancient prophecies that a King would come whom they must recognize in order to be saved, and wrote of “a chaste woman, smiling on her Infant Boy, with whom the iron age would pass away.”
And yet, we know nothing of the mother of Buddha or Confucius. The false prophets, such as Joseph Smith of the Mormons, or Mohammed for his false god, Allah, have had to take recourse in an after-the-fact myth of revelation. They just arrived and demanded, “Here I am, believe me.” But the Old Testament is replete with numerous, detailed prophecies predicting the events surrounding Christ’s birth.
The Archbishop recounts that the the Bible of the Alexandrian Jews, the Septuagint predicts the Virgin Birth, the sufferings of Christ and His everlasting reign. Abp. Sheen states that Christ’s coming is distinguished from all other claimants by three facts:
- First, He was expected; we have numerous proofs from other cultures around the world that indicate a longing for a redeemer to as Aeschylus said, unloose man from the “primal eldest curse”.
- Second, At His appearance, He made such an impact that He split history in two, dividing it into two periods, that before His coming and that after it. The Jewish and Roman civilizations were changed from that time on. (Of course, now, with satan firmly in charge, the world is fiercely working to change that, which plays into another prophecy, for another time.)
- Third, is that unlike every false savior, who came into the world to live, Jesus Christ came in order to die for our sins. Indeed, what is missing from the false christs is the true concept of sin, much as with today’s Modernists – is it any wonder that they show such ecumenical fervor for these false faiths and such disdain for faithful Christians?
As we look upon the helpless Infant born into poverty in a nondescript village in an insignificant country, we understand that truly, God reveals Himself only to the pure of heart, not to the proud, and wicked and worldly Herod, Sanhedrin, Roman rulers, or even to the other members of the house of David gathered in the town, but only to the shepherds who kept watch in silence and prayer, and therefore heard the Angel, “For unto you is born this day a Saviour Who is Christ, the Lord.” (Luke 2, 11).
Let’s use this remaining time to prepare the way for the coming of our Saviour with prayer. If we seek Him with the purity of our hearts, He will come to us, in the dark quiet of the night of our soul and with His most Blessed Mother and St. Joseph, this Holy Family will be our family, a never-failing haven from the betrayal of this sad and lost world. Although He could have come to us in power and glory, He comes to us as a Child so that we may hold Him lovingly to our hearts, and to remind us that we too, must be children of this Immaculate Mother.
Remember – Our Lady needs us to obey: First Saturdays of Reparation, daily rosary, at least 5 mysteries, wear her brown scapular and live your Total Consecration to her Immaculate Heart, offering daily duties in reparation and for the conversion of poor sinners.
† Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of our hearts, Mother of the Church, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of poor sinners, especially our Pontiff.
† Most Precious Blood of Jesus, save us, save our priests.
† Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come – Viva Cristo Rey!
† St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
† Remember, pray the rosary and confound satan!
[This post originally from 2015 by evensong. Updated and reposted by peregrine, December 20, 2017.]
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!
