Thanksgiving 2025
Our Blog is inspired by The Holy Spirit.
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) Mass during the Night
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that the whole world should be enrolled.
This was the first enrollment,
when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.
And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth
to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the house and family of David,
to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
While they were there,
the time came for her to have her child,
and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields
and keeping the night watch over their flock.
The angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear.
The angel said to them,
“Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David
a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel,
praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Emphasis mine: Luke 2: 1-14
I am sure some of you are thinking that this is the Gospel reading for Thursday NOT Wednesday, and you’re right.
But,
Saint Paul in 1 Corinthians 3-2 said, I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now,
The milk then is because there was no room for them in the inn.
But,
The question that was raised in my mind years ago was, “You mean to say God the Father, the creator of the Universe, couldn’t find a room in the inn for his son to be born in?”
That doesn’t make any sense.
Then I read Kathie Lee Gifford’s book the ROCK, the ROAD, and the RABBI, in which Kathie explores Israel with Rabbi Jason Sobel.
We will summarize what Rabbi Sobel said.:
The land surrounding Jerusalem, all that was grown, raised, etc., was used in the Temple for the purpose of sacrifice.
The Sacrificial Lambs were birthed in caves in and around Bethlehem, and the caves were kept in ritual purity.
The lambs when born were first washed with salt water as the salt killed any bacteria. Joseph would have washed Jesus with salt water, which would symbolize Jesus as being the Salt of the earth, which symbolizes friendship and loyalty in the ancient Eastern world.
After washing the lamb the shepherds would wrap the Lamb in swaddling cloths that were once vestments, cut up when they couldn’t be cleaned, to prevent the clumsy new lamb from blemishing itself.
Next they would lay the lamb in a manger to further prevent injury (Blemish).
And
Lastly, the cloths were used as wicks in the Menorah.
Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” Luke 2: 8-12
So, in summary, Jesus: the Lamb of God, the salt of the earth, the light of the world, was born in a cave because Jesus would become the Perfect Sacrificial Lamb for our sins.
That is why there was no room for them in the inn.
The Cross!
The Birth of Jesus pointed directly to the Cross.
And there was no room for them in the inn – milk.
Jesus: the Lamb of God, the salt of the earth, the light of the world, was born in a cave because Jesus would become the Perfect Sacrificial Lamb for our sins. Solid Food, enjoy your Christmas dinner.
Prayer:
If you want to grow in Love, Joy and Peace, this is a result of growth in Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.
Sidebar:
We were in the jail last Thursday when I received two Christmas presents:
Rocky the previous week told me he loved our meeting and will change. We said learn the “Nine” in the proper order and we will believe you, and accept your thank you.
Well, he came in, told me the “Nine” in the proper order and also told me he is starting to find Peace.
Every week men leave our meeting telling me they are going to change and then listen to satan and don’t, but Rocky did!
Wiz came to our first meeting I think six weeks ago and, The Holy Spirit, through me, tangled with Wiz. It was a wrestling match between satan and The Holy Spirit, and it was tough enough that John Kiernan felt he had to stop me from going any further.
Wiz walked out, but showed up two weeks later, and told us ( The Holy Spirit through me) not to mess with him.
I laughed to myself, and we ignored him, but Wiz noticed others in the group who knew the “Nine” and saw a change in their lives. Wiz, again, walked out about half way through the meeting.
We knew we had him.
Last week Wiz was there, and he told me his nickname Wiz. We next asked him for the first three fruit of The Holy Spirit. This surprised him,
and
Wiz said, “Love, Peace, Joy.”
“Wrong Wiz!”
We said, “Love, Joy, Peace, get the right order” and then that’s when we asked him for his real first name.
Wiz lasted the whole meeting, and I was so moved that I told him we will pray for him every day.
A week later, yesterday, The Holy Spirit told the story through me, about the atheist who went to Heaven because of his mothers unceasing prayers, came back, became a preacher and thousands of people found Jesus because of his ministry.
Wiz said, “Stop, you told this story because you knew I was an atheist.” We said “No’ but now that you mention it I do remember you telling me this.” We explained again, “You see me, hear me, but it’s really The Holy Spirit working through me.”
The meeting ended with Wiz trying to figure out what is going on.
Six weeks ago The Holy Spirit encouraged him to attend, he didn’t realize this, that’s what happened, it surely wasn’t satan, now like Nabeel, you, and we say you, because you are reading our blog, and we have to put the pieces together, and either accept, or deny what is happening in our life.
What a Christmas!
That’s not why we told Wiz’s story. I just finished reading Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi. A very interesting book about a highly intelligent male Muslem who gets introduced to Jesus and what he goes through to accept a whole new way of life.
In thinking about it, it is also a book about dying to oneself, and accepting the leadership of our Father through the whisper of The Holy Spirit, something we are all asked to do. And yet, we rebel as Wiz did, until we realize Jesus IS the answer. Changing our life to imitate Jesus brings hardship, but that hardship is overcome by the Love, JOY and Peace we will obtain through our new found relationship.
Merry Christmas!
Picture:
A Picture of our family sending your family a prayer for a Merry Christmas, with a further prayer that 2026 will be a year filled with great health with Love, Joy, and Peace.
Please keep Snapping!
And if you want the ten calling cards shown above, email me and I will send you my address, send me a STAMPED self-addressed envelope and I will send you ten cards.
The offer for the cards is for American readers only. The Post office won’t accept foreign stamps.
If you want a copy of the prayers we discussed.
And or
If you want a copy of our version of The Nicene Creed in our book, not the book, I believe.
Send an email to: fprince101@gmail.com
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, please do not include people. We have to get permission from that person to use their photograph.
