Quote of the day, 28 December: St. Thérèse
Saint Joseph gets up at once and taps lightly at the door of the little room where Mary is at rest.
SAINT JOSEPH
Mary, wake up, for the life of Jesus is in danger.
THE BLESSED VIRGIN, entering with little Jesus
Joseph, sleep in peace, no danger threatens the Divine Child. See how He is resting peacefully in my arms.
SAINT JOSEPH
Yes, in His sweet sleep, the King of the Heavens seems to be unaware of the message of one of His angels…. Still, He knows everything… O, Mary! Why doesn’t Jesus speak to you Himself? Why am I charged with delivering Heaven’s orders to the Mother of my God?…
THE BLESSED VIRGIN
Don’t be afraid. Speak. You are God’s representative, the head of the family; tell me what the angel ordered you on behalf of the Lord. I am entirely ready to obey.
SAINT JOSEPH
He is ordering us to flee into Egypt, because Herod is determined to put the Child to death. We must leave within the hour; tomorrow may be too late…. (He looks at Mary with a sad expression.)
THE BLESSED VIRGIN
Don’t be troubled, Joseph. Since the day of the presentation of Jesus in the temple, I’ve been continually prepared to be put to the test, for the words of the holy elder Simeon pierced my soul with a sword of sorrow. Already his prophesy is coming true; Jesus is suffering persecution before He is even old enough to defend Himself. I know that if He willed it, a single word from His infant lips would suffice to wipe out all His enemies; however, He chooses to flee from a weak mortal, since He is the Prince of peace….
The Word made Child will not crush the half-broken reed, He will not extinguish a wick that is still burning. If He is rejected by those of His own heritage, that will not stop Him from giving His life for poor sinners who fail to recognize the time of His visit….. Let us leave without fear, let us go sanctify an infidel shore with the presence of the Savior.
SAINT JOSEPH
Alas, how it costs me to expose you to the weariness and danger of so long and difficult a journey. How happy I’d be if I were permitted to take all the pain on myself… But I must resign myself to seeing you soon deprived of everything. Here we have the necessities; in Egypt, we will be reduced to the most extreme poverty.
THE BLESSED VIRGIN
The poverty we’ll find in exile doesn’t frighten me, since we will always have the Treasure that makes up the wealth of Heaven. His Divine Providence, which feeds the little birds without forgetting a single one, will give us our daily bread.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
The Flight into Egypt (RP 6), Act I, Scene 4
Note: The Flight into Egypt was written for performance at the evening recreation on the feast day of her sister Pauline—Mother Agnès of Jesus—21 January 1896.
of Lisieux, T 2008, The Plays of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: “Pious Recreations”, translated from the French by Conroy S and Dwyer D J, ICS Publications, Washington, DC.
Featured image: Le Repos pendant la fuite en Égypte (Rest on the Flight into Egypt) is an oil on canvas painting executed in 1879 by Luc-Olivier Merson (French, 1846–1920). This artwork is an 1879 variant of Merson’s original painting, Le Repos en Égypte, which was exhibited in the Salon—the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris in May 1879. Image credit: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
#BlessedVirginMary #DivineProvidence #Egypt #HolyInnocents #migrants #persecution #poverty #PrinceOfPeace #StJoseph #StThérèseOfLisieux