December 24
The shepherds
he simple hasten
eagerly to see the newborn king lying in a manger; they find him and acknowledge
him; they adore and rejoice and mingle their artless praises with the heavenly
hymns. These men and women are the first stones of the ecclesiastical structure:
they are the first members of the new Church, and the Shepherd of shepherds
at his very birth hired them, men skilled in feeding flocks, to care for
his own sheepfold. Because he had determined that he would later on buy
a great flock for himself with his own blood, from the outset he hired
shepherds to whom he might afterward entrust the care of his sheepfold.
How the Virgin rejoiced at the devotion of these simple folk! How delighted
and gladdened she was by their praises! For by his own announcement God
had begun to make known to human beings the mystery of divine condescension
which had occurred in her womb for their salvation.
From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from
Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
HTML text prepared by David P. Steelman
