Story of the Incarnation and Infancy of Christ
Infancy of Christ (East Wall)
| North |
|
South |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
Meditations on the Life of Christ (pp. 15-16): And since the Blessed Virgin had returned to Nazareth, the omnipotent God called the archangel Gabriel and said to him, "Go to our beloved daughter Mary, wedded to Joseph, and dear to us above all creatures, and tell her that my Son, desiring her beauty, has chosen her as His mother. Beg her to receive Him with gladness, for I have ordered the salvation of the human race to be effected by her and will forget the injury done to me." Let us pause here and remember what I told you in the beginning, that you must learn all the things said and done as though you were present. Thus here you may imagine God and regard Him as best you can, although He has no body, beholding Him as a great God seated on a raised chair, with benign face, compassionate and paternal almost as though wishing to be or already reconciled as He speaks these words. And Gabriel, with glad and joyful face, kneeling with bowed head, respectful and reverent, received attentively the embassy of the Lord. Then he arose and cheerfully and gaily and flew down from heaven and in a minute stood in human form before the Virgin, who was in a room of her little house. |
|
|
|
| Meditations on the Life of Christ (pp. 16-18): When the faithful emissary Gabriel entered, he said to the Virgin, "Ave gratia plena; dominus tecum; benedicta tu in mulieribus" (Luke i, 28). "Hail you who are full of grace; the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women." But she was perturbed and did not reply. It was not guilt that confused her on the sight of the angel, for she was accustomed to seeing him often. But according to the Gospel she was perturbed by his words, meditating on the innovation in his words, that is, his salutation, because he had not greeted her in that way beofre. Hearing herself thrice commended in this salutation, the humble woman could not but be disturbed. She was praised that she was full of grace, that God was with her, and that she was blessed above all women. Since humble persons are unable to hear praise of themselves without shame and agitation, she was perturbed with an honest and virtuous shame. She also began to fear that it was not true, not that she did (not) believe that the angel spoke truthfully, but that like all humble people she did not consider her own virtues but memorized her defects, always considering a great virtue to be small and a little defect very big.... | The Golden Legend (March 25): And Josephy went to Bethlehem, his native city, to make all needful preparations for the marriage, while Mary returned to the home of her parents in Nazareth. Nazareth means flower.... And at Nazareth the angel appeared to her and greeted her, saying: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women...!" And when Mary heard the angel's words, she was toubled at the saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. Let us note that she was troubled at the words of the angel, and not at the sight of him; for theBlessed Virgin had often seen the angels, but had not ever heard them speak such things as these |
|
|
Meditations on the Life of Christ (p. 22-23): Consider her therefore, the queen of heaven and earth, going alone with her husband, not mounted but on foot and not attended by horsement, knights, barons, or by groups of servants and handmaidens. Instead she was accompanied by poverty, humility, and shame, and all the honest virtues. The Lord is with her: a large and honorable assembly she has, but no worldy vanity or pomp! As she entered the house she greeted Elizabeth and said, "God be with you, my sister." Full of joy and happiness and animated by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth rose and embraced her tenderly and cried in exultation, "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why is it that the mother of our Lord comes to me?" (Luke i, 42-43). That is, when the Virgin greeted Elizabeth, John, in the womb, became so imbued with the Holy Spirit that he communicated to his mother, who had not felt it before.... |
Infancy of Christ (cont.) (2nd register, South Wall)
| East | West | |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|