25 Days with St. Joseph: From Nazareth to Bethlehem-Epilogue

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.’” Matthew 2:1-2

Good evening Lord. 

It’s been twelve days since the birth of your Son. I have never felt such peace like the peace I felt on the night that He was born when it was just the three of us. The invisible had become visible. I did not have to believe in what I had not seen, all I had to do was look into His tiny face to believe. Nobody would have found out about His birth but the angels wanted the whole world to know. The shepherds have made sure to spread the news. 

Every single day, shepherds have visited the stable to adore the Child, but today, we received some unexpected visitors. The sun had already set, but our cave was full of light. A bright star had positioned itself directly above the cave, and its light filtered in through the holes on the roof. I had never seen such a bright star before.

I was contemplating the star, when I heard a big commotion outside. I thought it was the shepherds that had come to visit us again. I went to check what was happening, and I met three men who claimed to be Kings of the East. They were dressed with colorful clothing, and had come riding camels all the way from Persia to adore the Child.

I could not believe what I was seeing. I went inside to let Mary know, but the three Kings of the East followed me into the cave. I could tell that Mary was a bit scared because she grabbed the Baby and held Him in her arms.

At the sight of the Child, the three Kings prostrated themselves upon the earth, and in this position they worshiped and adored the Infant, acknowledging Him as the true God and man, and as the Saviour of the human race. Arising, they congratulated Mary, and they said that she was their Queen because she was the Mother of the Son of the eternal Father. They also congratulated me, extolling my good fortune in being chosen as the spouse of the Mother of God. 

They then approached Mary to reverence her on their knees. Mary told them that she did not deserve their reverence, that the only King in that cave was the Baby Boy, the Son of God. Therefore, they prostrated themselves anew, this time in front of the Baby, in profound humility. “They fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (1) Gold because He is a King; frankincense, an allusion to His Divinity; and myrrh signifies that the Child has been born in order to die.

I realized that Your Son does not belong to Mary or to me, He belongs to the world. And not just to our people, the Israelites, since these Kings were not of Jewish descent. These Wise Men were the first Gentiles to receive the call to salvation.

After they worshipped the Infant Boy, they introduced themselves. The youngest is Caspar. He represents the dawn of innocence. Balthazar, with the maturity of middle age, represents the noontime of life. And the oldest, Melchior, represents the setting sun. They brought with them faith, hope and charity.

The Wise Men told us that they would stay in Bethlehem for a few days. By this time, they had attracted the attention of the shepherds and many others. They were led to town to find shelter, and once more, we were left alone to marvel at the strange company that our Baby Boy draws to Himself.

Reflection:

Adoring Jesus was the sole purpose of the Magi’s journey. What is my sole purpose during this New Year? Toward what goal in my life do I direct all my energy? May we persevere in achieving our purpose just like the Magi persevered in finding Jesus. 

References:

1. Matthew 2:11

Copyright © 2025 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

If I Dream It, I can Achieve it… Hopefully

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18

My resolution for this year is to persevere. But persevere in what? In order to persevere, I must first have a dream or a vision of what I want to accomplish. 

One of the most incredible abilities that God has given us is the ability to dream. I am definitely a dreamer. I am always dreaming of new projects. The project can be something like a trip that I want to take, a group that I want to join, a book that I want to write or a class that I want to sign up for.

In my dreamy mind, I can look into the future and see the project already completed. For example, I have been planning to do the “Camino de Santiago” (The Way of St. James) for several years now. I can see myself walking it and completing it. But in order to achieve it, there are a few steps that I must take. I must plan the route. I must choose the dates. I must train for it. And I must book the trip. I am yet to undertake the Camino, but I have been envisioning it for a very long time. And having a vision is one of the key elements to persevere. As a matter of fact, a person that does not have a clear vision of what they want to achieve will not be able to persevere.

One of the biggest enemies of perseverance is discouragement. When we allow discouragement to have the upper hand, then we have already failed. Joseph and Mary were definitely discouraged when they were not able to find lodging in Bethlehem. But they persevered, and they continued knocking on doors. They did not allow the obstacles to break them. Eventually, they encountered someone that pointed them toward the stable. It was not what they had originally imagined, but they bounced back and they made the best of their situation. They cleaned the stable, and prepared a place to bring their Son into the world.

What is your vision? Let that be your guiding light as you persevere through the obstacles that life places in your path. I am envisioning doing the Camino this year. I will take all the necessary steps, and persevere until I see the project through to the end. And if for whatever reason, I cannot make it this year, I will not allow discouragement to keep me from trying. There is always next year.

Copyright © 2025 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.