11 Crib - Holy Family

Central figures of the crib are the Holy Family: Jesus, the Virgin Mary and St Joseph.  We celebrate the feast of the Holy Family on the Sunday after Christmas, unless this falls on the 1st January in which case it is celebrated on the 30th December.

Holy Family
Crib: Lancaster Cathedral 2010

Pastoral Letter - Feast of the Holy Family

Just as God’s grace supported that little family of Bethlehem and Nazareth, so too will that same grace be an ever-ready help for all our families, especially in hard times.

Today throughout the Lancaster Diocese, there was a pastoral letter from Bishop Michael Campbell, who placed before us the Holy Family and in this year of faith encouraged families to consider ways of bringing God into their homes through prayer - grace before meals, or having sacred emblems - crucifix or statue in our homes. For a copy of his pastoral letter click here. 

11 Crib - imagine the scene

As well as traditions and customs linked to the crib, we learn different things of the birth of Jesus from two of the Gospel writers, Matthew and Luke, who help us to imagine the scene of where Jesus was born and who visited him.  
In Luke we here how Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem to be registered. 

While they were there the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first-born.  She wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn, ... Luke 2:6-7

Luke then describes how shepherds in the field were visited by Angels praising God and singing:

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to men who enjoy his favour Luke 2: 14

and how the shepherds then went to look for themselves.  After their visit they shared with everyone they met.  After our visit to the crib and reflecting on the wonders of the incarnation in this Year of Faith we might think about what we news we might share.

Meanwhile in Matthew, we hear how some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east.  

The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage.  Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Matthew 2: 10-11

And as we celebrate each of the eight days of our Christmas octave we may want to think what gifts we will offer to serve the Lord.  

The news report below shows of a crib created by a street cleaner in Rome, and containing stones from around the world. 

See Cathedral Parish blog for other cribs, being used by families to help them imagine this wondrous scene.

11 Crib - the shepherds

We wish all our readers a peaceful Christmas.  

A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us

CCC 525 Jesus was born in a humble stable, into a poor family. Simple shepherds were the first witnesses to this event. In this poverty heaven's glory was made manifest. The Church never tires of singing the glory of this night:

The Virgin today brings into the world the Eternal
And the earth offers a cave to the Inaccessible.
The angels and shepherds praise him
And the magi advance with the star,
For you are born for us,
Little Child, God eternal!  

11 Crib

Crib at Lancaster Cathedral

At Christmas, cribs are displayed in Churches, schools, homes, shops and town centres as a reminder of what Christmas is really about – the birth of Jesus, the Son of God. A crib shows the stable scene where Jesus was born with the figures of Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, shepherds and kings.

The first crib was created in 1223 AD by St Francis of Assisi who wanted to show people that the Son of God was born in a very poor setting. There were no rich clothes to dress him in and no comfortable cot in which he could sleep. Animals would have provided the only warmth in the draughty stable. This humble start set the scene for Jesus' life and his teachings. 

10 Hail Mary - Full of Grace

CCC 2675 Beginning with Mary's unique cooperation with the working of the Holy Spirit, the Churches developed their prayer to the holy Mother of God, centring it on the person of Christ manifested in his mysteries. In countless hymns and antiphons expressing this prayer, two movements usually alternate with one another: the first "magnifies" the Lord for the "great things" he did for his lowly servant and through her for all human beings the second entrusts the supplications and praises of the children of God to the Mother of Jesus, because she now knows the humanity which, in her, the Son of God espoused.

Our video of the Hail Mary today is a more modern translation and is followed by a song entitled gentle woman that reminds us of the qualities of Mary.

For a final reflection on the close relationship between Mary and Christ our Lord see an earlier post on Lancaster Cathedral's Parish blog - Mary the Dawn 

10 Hail Mary - Scriptural Connections

The Hail Mary is based on these passages from the Bible:


Luke 1:28-35, 42-48.
This prayer has three parts to it. 

The first part is taken from the Annunciation when the angel praised Mary for her holiness and closeness to God. The second part is taken from the visitation, when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth proclaimed that Mary was blessed among women and that through her, God's son would enter the world.

Visitation, Lady Chapel
at Lancaster Cathedral

Anunciation, St Walburgha's
Chapel, Lancaster

The final phrases of the prayer are the prayer of the Church. We ask Mary to pray for us through her closeness to God and her relationship with Jesus.

The three parts of the prayer were put together to form the Hail Mary and was used as early as 1196.

10 Hail Mary - the joy of music

During the Year of Faith, Lancaster Cathedral's parish blog is featuring two opportunities for readers to share how they live out their faith.  On Wednesday, there are 'Wednesday Words of Witness - WWW' which include short personal posts.  On Friday there are 'Friday Photos of Faith' which offer an opportunity to share photos of things people do or images that inspire or remind them of objects or events linked to their faith journey.

Wednesday Words of Witness - the joy of music

To read Samantha Ireland's WWW click here.  Below are the words and translation of this song and background to this setting of the Hail Mary 

Simon Lindley's setting of the Angelic Salutation, Ave Maria, was devised for the Choir of Leeds Parish Church in the late 1970s and has since achieved widespread performance by choirs throughout the English-speaking world.

Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum et benedicta fructus
ventris tui, Jesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus. Amen.


[Translation: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen]