Yesterday I spent almost the whole day sitting at my computer, taking care of some business; therefore, today, I am not going to spend much time on my computer, so I will be brief.
It took me a while to figure out where Mary and Joseph were going to rest on their way to Bethlehem this year because I moved their regular sitting place. I finally decided that the center of the Advent Wreath would be nice.
I've been thinking about their journey. It was about 80 or 90 miles, so it had to have taken several days, so where did they sleep on the way? All those people who were filling the inns in Bethlehem, must have been on the road, too. Did they sleep in tents, or just in the open? It must have been an incredibly hard journey for a 9 months pregnant woman. When we drive 500 miles to see our son in a comfortable truck, I feel like I have been run over by said truck when we get there. How tired Mary must have been, and how concerned Joseph must have been.
Today is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which I wrote about here. If you live in an area where there are a lot of Hispanics, you have almost certainly seen this image around.
We know that Mary is pregnant in this image, which appeared miraculously on the tilma or cloak of a Mexican peasant, by the black belt tied above her waist, which was the custom of women in that place. There is a lot more information in the post I linked to.
AMDG
I've often thought about that grueling journey for Mary and the nights on the way--- where they slept and how she managed.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Janet. I know what you mean, too much time in front of the computer calls for a break!
ReplyDeleteI want to read about Our Lady of Guadalupe, because I just noticed that the church school lesson for the younger children last week was about her -- yes, in the Orthodox Church! I didn't have time to read it, and I don't need to, because the class I teach doesn't follow that curriculum, which is on a 3-year rotation, and this third year of the cycle is themed around Goodness, Beauty and Truth. You have reminded me about my desire to follow up on something, someone, I have never given one thought to before.
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