Chapter 13.
And it came to pass some little time after, that
an enrolment was made according to the edict of Cæsar Augustus,
that all the world was to be enrolled, each man in his native
place. This enrolment was made by Cyrinus, the governor of
Syria.1640
It was
necessary, therefore, that
Joseph should enrol with the
blessed Mary in
Bethlehem, because to it they belonged, being of the
tribe of
Judah,
and of the
house and
family of
David. When, therefore,
Joseph and
the
blessed Mary were going along the road which leads to Bethlehem,
Mary said to
Joseph: I see two peoples before me, the one
weeping, and the other rejoicing. And
Joseph answered: Sit
still on thy
beast, and do not speak superfluous words. Then
there appeared before them a
beautiful boy,
clothed in white
raiment,
who said to
Joseph: Why didst thou say that the words which
Mary
spoke about the two peoples were superfluous? For she saw the
people of the
Jews weeping, because they have departed from their
God;
and the people of the Gentiles rejoicing, because they have now been
added and made near to the
Lord, according to that which He
promised to
our fathers
Abraham,
Isaac, and
Jacob: for the time is at
hand
when in the
seed of
Abraham all
nations shall be
blessed.
1641
And when he had thus said, the angel ordered the
beast to stand, for the time when she should bring forth was at hand;
and he commanded the blessed Mary to come down off the animal, and go
into a recess under a cavern, in which there never was light, but
always darkness, because the light of day could not reach it. And
when the blessed Mary had gone into it, it began to shine with as much
brightness as if it were the sixth hour of the day. The light
from God so shone in the cave, that neither by day nor night was light
wanting as long as the blessed Mary was there. And there she
brought forth a son, and the angels surrounded Him when He was being
born. And as soon as He was born, He stood upon His feet, and the
angels adored Him, saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace to men of good pleasure.1642
Now,
when the
birth of the
Lord was at
hand,
Joseph had gone away to
seek
midwives. And when he had found them, he returned to the
cave,
and found with
Mary the
infant which she had brought forth. And
Joseph said to the
blessed Mary: I have brought thee two
midwives—Zelomi
1643
and Salome; and
they are standing outside before the
entrance to the
cave, not
daring
to come in hither, because of the exceeding brightness. And when
the
blessed Mary heard this, she smiled; and
Joseph said to her:
Do not smile; but prudently allow them to
visit thee, in case thou
shouldst require them for thy
cure. Then she ordered them to
enter. And when Zelomi had come in, Salome having stayed without,
Zelomi said to
Mary: Allow me to touch thee. And when she
had permitted her to make an
examination, the midwife
cried out with a
loud voice, and said:
Lord,
Lord Almighty,
mercy on us! It
has never been heard or thought of, that any one should have her
breasts full of
milk, and that the
birth of a son should show his
mother to be a
virgin. But there has been no spilling of
blood in
his
birth, no
pain in bringing him forth. A
virgin has conceived,
a
virgin has brought forth,
and a
virgin she remains. And hearing these words, Salome
said: Allow me to handle thee, and
prove whether Zelomi have
spoken the
truth. And the
blessed Mary allowed her to handle
her. And when she had withdrawn her
hand from handling her, it
dried up, and through excess of
pain she began to
weep bitterly, and to
be in great
distress, crying out, and saying: O
Lord God, Thou
knowest that I have always
feared Thee, and that without recompense I
have cared for all the
poor; I have taken nothing from the
widow and
the orphan, and the needy have I not sent empty away. And,
behold, I am made
wretched because of mine
unbelief, since without a
cause I wished to try Thy
virgin.
And while she was thus speaking, there stood by her a
young man in shining garments, saying: Go to the child, and adore
Him, and touch Him with thy hand, and He will heal thee, because He is
the Saviour of the world, and of all that hope in Him. And she
went to the child with haste, and adored Him, and touched the fringe of
the cloths in which He was wrapped, and instantly her hand was
cured. And going forth, she began to cry aloud, and to tell the
wonderful things which she had seen, and which she had suffered, and
how she had been cured; so that many through her statements
believed.
And some shepherds also affirmed that they had
seen angels singing a hymn at midnight, praising and blessing the God
of heaven, and saying: There has been born the Saviour of all,
who is Christ the Lord, in whom salvation shall be brought back to
Israel.1644
Moreover, a great star, larger than any that had been
seen since the beginning of the world, shone over the cave from the
evening till the morning. And the prophets who were in Jerusalem
said that this star pointed out the birth of Christ, who should restore
the promise not only to Israel, but to all nations.
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