laid him in a manger; because there
was no room for them in the inn.

S. Luke II. 7.

It is very meet to bless thee who bore the Christ, O ever
Blessed and Immaculate Mother of God. More wondrous than the
Cherubim and of greater glory than the Seraphim art thou who
remaining Virgin didst give birth to God the Word. Verily, do
we magnify thee, O Mother of God. In thee, O full of grace,
all creation exults, the hierarchy of angels and the race of
men. In thee sanctified temple, spiritual paradise, glory of
virgins, of whom God took flesh, through whom our God Who was
before the world became a Child. Of thy womb He made a
throne, and its dominion is more extensive than the heavens.
In thee, O full of grace, all creation exults: glory to thee.

RUSSIAN.

We see a man and a woman on the road to Bethlehem where they are going
to be taxed according to the decree of Augustus. Bethlehem would be
known to them as the home of their ancestors, for they were both of the
lineage of David. It was a painful journey for them for Mary was near
the time of her delivery. We follow them along the road and into the
village, as the twilight fades, and see them seeking shelter for the
night. Bethlehem is a small place and the inn is crowded with those who
have come on the errand with them, and the only place where they can
find refuge for the night is a stable. But they are not used to luxury,
and the stable serves their purpose.

It also serves God's purpose. One understands as one reads this
narrative of the Nativity what is meant by the Providential government
of the world. We see how various lines of action, each free and
independent, yet converge to the production of a given event. The
different characters in the drama are all pursuing their own courses and
yet the result is a true drama, not an unrelated series of events.
Caesar's action, Joseph's lineage, our Lord's conception, all working
together, bring about the fulfilment of prophecy by the birth of the
Messiah in Bethlehem. There is in the universe an over-ruling will which
works to its ends by co-operating with human freedom, and not
destroying it. We are not the sport of chance, not the slaves of fate,
but free men; and yet through our freedom, through our blunders and
rebellions and sins as well as through our obedience, the work of God is
moving to its conclusion. Man did all that he could to defeat the