In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled (Luke 2:10). Now we can see clearly that this decree of the Roman Emperor’s was part of God’s providence. It is the reason why Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem, and Jesus was born there as had been prophesied many centuries before (Mic 5:2). Our Lady knew that Jesus’ birth was about to take place and she set out on that journey with her thoughts centered on the Child who was to be born of her in the town of David. They came to Bethlehem, both with the joy of having reached the place of their ancestors and with the tiredness caused by traveling along badly-made roads for four or five days. In her condition, Our Lady must have been very tired when she arrived. And in Bethlehem they could not find anywhere to stay. There was no place for them in the inn (cf Luke 2:7), says St. Luke briefly, perhaps Joseph judged that the crowded inn was not a suitable place for Our Lady, especially in those circumstances. St. Joseph must have knocked on many doors before taking Mary to a stable on the outskirts of the town. We can well imagine the scene: Joseph explaining time and again with growing anxiety, the same story, that they had come from …, and Mary a few feet away seeing Joseph and hearing the refusals. They did not let Christ in. They shut the doors on Him. Mary feels sorry for Joseph and for those people. How cold the world is towards its God! Perhaps it was Our Lady who suggested to Joseph that they could stay provisionally in one of those caves, which served as stables outside the own. She probably encouraged him, telling not to worry, that they would manage … Joseph would feel comforted by Mary’s words and her smile. So they made their lodging there with the few belongings they had been able to bring from Nazareth: the swaddling clothes, some items that she herself had prepared with that joy that only mothers can experience when they prepare for their first child. It was there that the greatest event of humanity’s history took place, with the utmost simplicity. And while they were there, St. Luke tells us, the time came for her to be delivered (Luke 2:6). Mary lovingly wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. The Virgin had a more perfect faith than any other before her or since. All her gestures were an expression of her faith and her tenderness. She would have kissed His feet because He was her Lord, His cheek because He was her Son. She would have remained quietly contemplating him for a very long time. Later Mary placed the Child in Joseph’s arms. Joseph well knows that his Son of the Most-High, whom he must care for, protect and teach a trade. Joseph’s whole life centers around this defenseless Child. Jesus, newly born, does not speak; but He is the eternal Word of the Father. It has been said that the manger is a Chair of learning. Today we should learn the lessons which Jesus teaches us, even when he is just a newly born child, from the very moment He opens His eyes on this blessed land of men (St. Josémaria Escrivá, Christ is passing by). He is born poor, and He teaches us that happiness is not to be found in an abundance of earthly goods. He comes into the world without any ostentation, encouraging us to be humble and not to depend on the applause of men. God humbled Himself to allow us to get near Him, so that we could give our love in exchange for His, so that our freedom might bow, not at the sight of His power merely, but before the wonder of His humility (St. Josémaria Escrivá, Christ is passing by). We make a resolution to live the virtues of detachment and humility. We look at Mary and we see her filled with joy. She knows that a new era has begun for humanity – that of the Messiah, her Son. We ask her never to let us lose the joy of being beside Jesus.