Savoring the Mystery of the Incarnation

Puri

      Silence. Around us, the world continues at full throttle, but today is a day of recollection in which we step back, quiet ourselves, and reflect on how good the Lord has been to us this past week. At breakfast, we are served freshly made puri, which to us seminarians is the Indian equivalent of some of the best funnel cakes we've ever eaten.

        In order to foster a spirit of reflection and gratitude, silence is to be observed throughout the whole day starting with Mass, which was celebrated at St. Jerome's tomb. It is in this very cave,  located under the Church of the Nativity, where St. Jerome wrote the Vulgate, which involved the translation of the Bible from the Hebrew and Aramiac into Latin. While having completed this monumental work around the end of the fourth century, he also wrote many beautiful letters in this cave and eventually was buried there, although his body has since been moved to Italy. 

Mosaic in St. Jerome's Study

       After Mass, the day is free for additional prayer, reading, exercise, and of course, catching up on some sleep. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament was also offered in our house chapel and we had a couple of priests available for the sacrament of confession. We were especially encouraged to reflect on Luke 2:1-20, which is the narrative of the birth of Christ, and to see how our encounter with the birthplace of Christ has transformed our hearts. St. Jerome was also a focus of our day of recollection and some of his advice was offered in the homily. We were encouraged to carefully choose our friends, to live life with joy, and to live in harmony with Jesus so that through him we might have life to the fullest.
        The tendency to get caught up with picture taking and so miss the chance to pray is a temptation pilgrims often battle. Several seminarians were able to make another visit to the grotto where Christ was born and to do a holy hour there, quietly sitting in this small space and praying. Sometimes, the other visitors, which come from all corners of the Earth, only take pictures and then move on. This time however, noticing the seminarians in quiet prayer at this holy place, they found themselves drawn to sit down or kneel for a moment and to savor the mystery of the Incarnation.