Humble Heart, Christ’s Manger

Father Solanus Guild Reflection by Br. Antony Julius Milton, OFM Cap. – December 12, 2025

The time before Christmas every year is filled with signs of preparation all around us. Even before the liturgical season of Advent begins, one cannot help but notice the Christmas decorations already on the light poles along the roads of our cities, the Christmas lights on some trees and houses in our neighborhood, and the stores dedicating entire sections to Christmas-related items. The gospel passages that describe the events preceding the birth of Christ also highlight the various levels of preparation undertaken by two groups of people who were blessed to witness the incarnation. One group of people was those who knew about the birth of Christ and prepared themselves ahead of time. One can only imagine how Mary of Nazareth, the mother of the Son of God and the mother of us all, had to prepare herself mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually to bear Christ and give birth to him. Joseph of Nazareth, the foster father of Jesus, also likely underwent similar preparations to those of Mary to care for, assist, and protect the pregnant mother before the birth of Christ. The Magi from the East also must have prepared for the long journey toward the unknown destination, following not Google Maps or Apple Maps, but a star.

There was another group of people who did not know about Christ’s birth in advance and so were not prepared—but were still blessed to witness the arrival of Immanuel. This includes the family who allowed Mary and Joseph to use the manger for the birth, the shepherds who hurried to see the newborn radiant dawn, those who showed hospitality to Joseph, Mary, and the King of all nations as they fled to Egypt, and those who welcomed the holy family in Egypt, helping them find safety and a new life.

While these two groups of people mentioned in and inferred from the Gospel passages related to the birth of the Messiah differ in how and how long they were preparing to encounter the Christ in the newborn infant, there is one disposition of the heart that they all shared undoubtedly; a disposition of the heart that made them worthy of seeing and rejoicing in the historic moment of God becoming human. And that disposition of the heart that still makes us worthy of experiencing the birth of Christ in our hearts and spirits during this Christmas is nothing other than humility. In the human heart adorned with the precious stones of humility is made the manger where Christ chooses to be born, to live, to redeem until the end of times.

Blessed Solanus Casey was very wise to understand this Gospel truth that enables one to experience the Christmas joy in one’s heart, not just during the season of Christmas but throughout the year. In a letter written by Blessed Solanus in 1949, he wrote, “We may be sure that we come nowhere in the practice of virtue or in spiritual progress without patiently humbling ourselves in the face of difficulties to check our self-conceit or pride.”[1] What is one difficulty in your life today that humbles you? Can you patiently accept it? Can you prepare the manger of your heart with humility and be ready to experience the joy of Christ being born in you this Christmas season more than ever before? Wish you a Merry Christmas and May God be praised in all His designs,

[1] Page 285 in the book, “Blessed Solanus Casey,” by Michael Crosby.