As we turn our eyes on Bethlehem and away from the rich and busy world, we recall the following lines:
A little Child,
A shining star,
A stable rude,
The door ajar.
Yet in that place
So crude, forlorn,
The hope of all
The world was born.
If only the people of this world could be made to realize where lie the things that are to their peace! As long as they seek for happiness without the Child of Bethlehem, they will never find it. All they will find at best will be something akin to thrills, which quickly pass and leave behind them a sickening sense of disappointment and frustration.
The Babe that was born in a stable at Bethlehem was God as well as man. He therefore owned the world and all that is in it, for He had made it all. He could have been surrounded with all the wealth and splendor of the work of His own hands; instead of that, He chose a stable as His shelter and a manger as His bed.
What a warning to the worldly rich who fail to use their God-given wealth for good and holy purposes, those who, in place of employing their abundance to assist the less-favored and suffering members of the human family, waste it in sin and vanity, often to the scandal of all who know or learn of their manner of life! Woe to them! Woe to the Godless rich everywhere! They misuse and abuse their treasures for a few short years of temporal life to lose their souls for ever.
The good things of this world, of whatever kind and however amply possessed, are to be used in moderation and with thanksgiving. They are not ours to squander or abuse. They are gifts of God just lent us for our use and for a time.
Charles J. Callan, OP and John F. McConnell, MM
Spiritual Riches of the Rosary Mysteries
