Merry Christmas Simcha, to you and all your lovely kiddos!  I love this picture and it is a great way to start the day!

Merry Chriatmas, Simcha. Thank you for sharing this. Such a beautiful image of Christmas.

Awesome drawing! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and your family, Simcha! And thank you for sharing your son’s picture of the nativity and your commentary on it! (:>)

Love this.  Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family.

Merry Christmas to you too Simcha!

That is just a lovely meditation on the Nativity.  I just managed, cleaned, ministered communion and greeted thousands are six parish masses, and this is the moment that ‘Christmas’ hit home for me this year.

Thanks so much!

Just fantastic. Love it! Merry Christmas to you and your family!

I’m so glad I got some Simcha on my Christmas :)

Loved this post. I’m definitely “a sheep” this year.

Merry Christmas to you and your family Simcha.

Love it!!! I only hope my little guy draws beatiful, holy pictures like this when he’s a bit older. :) Blessed Christmas, Simcha!

A happy Christmas to you and yours. Yes this has been a joyful day. Thanks for sharing the drawings with us. A little while ago I returned from visiting my family. A highlight of the visit was the conversation I had with my 18 year old great niece. Despite the generational gap I think we both managed ourselves well enough.

How does such talent spring from one couple?  Your name should not be Simcha, but Eve!

Baaaa!

I’ve seen an awful lot of art, but this might be the prettiest Nativity ever!  Thanks for sharing, and Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas Fisher Family!

A very creative piece of art. Thanks for giving it life through a commentary: )

Dear Simcha:

What a precious drawing! Out of the mouths (and crayons) of babes!

I only have one objection, if I may so comment:  You mention Joseph suffering along with Mary “as she labored”. It is the teaching of the Church that, as Mary was preserved from Original Sin, she was also preserved from the effects of Original Sin, one of which was specifically mentioned by God Himself to Eve in the Garden of Eden: “In sorrow and pain shall you bring forth children”. 

The Church teaches that Mary delivered Baby Jesus WITHOUT the suffering of labor pains—a completely pain-free delivery as a happy result of being sin-free!  No original sin, no suffering in delivering the Savior of the world!

This is why I cringe at every non-Catholic produced “Nativity” movie: Mary is always depicted as screaming and writhing in agonizing pain while delivering Baby Jesus. That is actually blasphemous, as it presupposes that her painful delivery is the fulfillment of the prophecy of God that women shall suffer in childbirth…although Mary herself was uniquely exempt from this prediction!

Merry Christmas!

Linda: Is it indeed a “Church teaching” that Mary experienced no pain? If so, I’ve NEVER heard that mentioned even once in 55 years of going to Mass. (Admittedly, I wasn’t paying attention during the first 40 of those years). God bless!
www.MerryCatholic.com

@Linda - Thanks for your kind words!  But, hmm . .  I’ve heard the “painless labor” argument before, but I’m not quite convinced.  It is Church teaching that Mary remained perpetually, physically virginal even while giving birth, but I’ve never seen it spelled out that she didn’t suffer pain - whether in labor or otherwise.  After all, Simeon said that a sword would pierce her heart—and isn’t sorrow and emotional pain an effect of original sin, just as much as physical pain?  And she told Jesus, “See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.”  Surely there was no worry and fear in the world until original sin entered, and yet Mary obviously suffered these things.

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I wouldn’t bet my life on this opinion, or anything- you could probably make a case either way.

@Linda- remember the latest move- Nativity Story? (I undersand it was not made by the Church officially) The births of John the Baptist and Jesus are quite different. Elisabeth is in major pain and has many women attending her while Mary is alone with Joseph and it isn’t as bad. Mary WAS exempt from the true pain of child birth that came from the fall- but did the birth have to be completely comfortable and easy? She was not in her house, she had just traveled a far distance and she was birthing a baby (the story of Jesus just sort of passing through her as a light and appearing is NOT Church doctrine)

Merry Christmas!  Beautiful picture.  Lovely, happy, baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
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Oh how guilty I feel that I am happy that it is finally over…that the dinner was cooked, the giant crowd happy, the house {perfect},candles lit, dishes for dozens washed and put away…Something tells me I’m not the only one that sees the holidays a bit like labor.  Maybe now, as I give the kids a free day to game till the cows come home, I can enter deeper into the mystery, by reflecting with more clarity.
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I wonder if Mary suffered during labor.  My guess is that she did.  She co-redeemed with Jesus.  She stood beneath the cross.  She suffered death.  She identified completely with her son.  It was suffering freely entered into, not deserved. Jesus’ entire life of hidden labor redeemed us as well.
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The highlight of my Christmas evening was watching a big throng of the cousins, friends, priest, parents, and grandparents watching immense Chinese lanterns, as they released them into the starry night sky.

The Virgin Mary did not suffer pain in childbirth:

But as the Conception itself transcends the order of nature, so the birth of our Lord presents to our contemplation nothing but what is divine.
Besides, what is admirable beyond the power of thoughts or words to express, He is born of His Mother without any diminution of her maternal virginity, just as He afterwards went forth from the sepulchre while it was closed and sealed, and entered the room in which His disciples were assembled, the doors being shut; or not to depart from every-day examples, just as the rays of the sun penetrate without breaking or injuring in the least the solid substance of glass, so after a like but more exalted manner did Jesus Christ come forth from His mother’s womb without injury to her maternal virginity. ................ To Eve it was said: In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children. Mary was exempt from this law, for preserving her virginal integrity inviolate she brought forth Jesus the Son of God without experiencing, as we have already said, any sense of pain.
CATECHISM OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT
PART 1: THE CREED
Article III

We can also know what the Church believes from her prayers:

In the preface of the votive Mass in honor of Mary at the foot of the cross, we read the words: “She who had given Him birth without the pains of childbirth was to endure the greatest of pains in bringing forth to new life the family of the Church.”
http://www.cst-phl.com/marian.html

All of my children had to come check on me, due to my hysterical laughing. Thanks for sharing!

Merry Christmas, Simcha.  Oh, how I love Tuesdays and Thursdays. ;)  I look forward to your writing. 

I had to throw my 2 cents in here: I don’t believe it is explicitely said in church teaching that Mary didn’t experience labor pains.  I vaguely recall hearing that it is tradition (little ‘t’) in some of the Eastern Catholic churches, but I would be very, very surprised if someone pointed out a # in the CCC or encyclical. 

I would like to think it was peaceful and uneventful as she was the beautiful, strong mother of God and her son the Christ-child.  Whether it be by grace of God or practically by having seen and attended to women at their births (ie Elizabeth) as was common in those times. I really don’t like the thought of some super-natural birth, with no pushing, no work on Mary’s part to deliver the child.  That seems to smack in the face of the very human-ness we are celebrating on this holiday.  So much about this holiday is so very earthy. I want to imagine the babe being nestled in his mama’s arms, drinking from her breast, and Mary wiping away the vernix and blood. When I think of the clean up that is needed after birth, sure, it would be great if there were angel midwives that helped then, ;) but I can’t take the humanity away from the actual birth and post-birth experience. Maybe that’s because I’m only a year removed from my last home-birth but there’s something beautiful it all.

Ugh. I was tagged as spam.  Did the word vernix flag something? lol

Notice the prominence of light from above emanating from the Christ Child’s head.

I used to raise sheep & your son got the drawing just right.That’s exactly the way a sheep looks when something new grabs their attention.
Merry Christmas!

anna lisa ,
Merry Christmas!
The Eastern Orthodox Church refers to Mary’s “Dormition” rather than death, so I guess there’s more than one opinion.
Modern movies that depict the Blessed Mother in extreme labor pains kind of creep me out, but then I guess any film depicting something that should be private seems in poor taste,too.
I’d imagine at the very least poor Mary would be worn out travelling so far & having to search for shelter.Walking might be more comfortable than riding a donkey on uneven ground.
You have a blesed New Year!

I’ve been trying to get some information copied and pasted here on the Blessed Mother not experiencing painful labor as a blessed effect of her Immaculate Conception, but this site tells me it’s “spam”;

So I’ll try again:

“To Eve it was said: In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children. Mary was exempt from this law, for preserving her virginal integrity inviolate she brought forth Jesus the Son of God without experiencing, as we have already said, any sense of pain.” (Catechism of the Council of Trent)

Here’s more on the teaching of the Catholic Church on Mary’s painless labor and delivery of Baby Jesus:

In the preface of the votive Mass in honor of Mary at the foot of the cross, we read the words: “She who had given Him birth without the pains of childbirth was to endure the greatest of pains in bringing forth to new life the family of the Church.”

Three things I just love about the picture: The angels’ wings as a sturdy part of their bodies, the stars of David in all four corners, and the craters on the moon.

St. Joseph and Mary assuming the orans position?  Stars of David in the background?  I’m pretty sure Voris would not approve of this picture.  Expect many angry emails!

Kathleen,
Merry Christmas! :)Thank you for your thoughts.  My scattered 40ish brain has taken in all kinds of teachings on Mary’s death/dormition, pain/no pain in childbirth.  I remember reading somewhere that she *chose* human death so as to be more like her son, not wanting to be exempt from the chalice He chose.  I’m told that regular human babies experience pain in childbirth, so in keeping with Jesus’ embracing of the whole gamut of human suffering, I’m extrapolating that suffering was something he experienced from the get go.  As for Mary’s experience of childbirth, I would agree with you that being 40 weeks pregnant and journeying to Bethlehem, and ending up in a cave/stable, would be more than most of us could take.  Certainly she didn’t merit the punishment of Eve, so my mind tells me “no” she didn’t suffer, but my soul tells me something else.  Sometimes I get a bit suspicious, as one can come across stories of the saints which reduce our gritty story of redemption to characters without complete bodies who had angels to wash dishes, and little golden clouds to shield holy feet.  To me this sanitizes the full reality of how God became one of us.  I tend to think that Mary, also purely by choice, asked God to allow her to drink the full cup of suffering to the dregs.  Certainly she didn’t merit this kind of suffering.

Oooo, I hope he does a SERIES of drawings for Easter!

I urge those of you who still want to believe that Mary suffered pain during childbirth: Did you read the passage from the Mass of the Blessed Virgin that I submitted?  The Church definitively states that “Mary had given Him birth without the pains of childbirth”. The Catechism of Trent states the same thing. And no less than St. Thomas Aquinas concurs!

With all due respect, just hoping—or “feeling”—in your heart that Mary is more like us sinful mothers who HAVE suffered the physical pains of giving birth, rather than the specially chosen, sinless, immaculately conceived virgin mother, who NEVER was tainted with a single effect of original sin, is a mere emotional sentiment, not based in solid theology.  In truth, depicting Our Blessed Mother writhing in agonizing childbirth, as every “Nativity” movie has done, is actually blasphemous!

Hi Linda,
That works for me.  Either way isn’t a deal breaker. Do realize however that the Catechism of Trent states that unbaptized babies suffer the pains of HELL.  That DOESN’T work for me.  Good thing that little “oops” got revised.  Thomas Aquinas had one of the greatest minds of all time.—He wasn’t infallible however, and was sorely aware of this.  I am curious about one thing:  We both agree that Mary, being sinless didn’t merit the pains of childbirth, but if she freely *chose* this cup of suffering, why should we recoil from this and call it blasphemous?  Perhaps because we prefer to think of her as having an angel’s body.

Re: Linda… Thanks for posting those lovely prayers from the Mass/passages from the CCT.  Mary’s painless childbirth is a teaching of the Church indeed, and if Mary were to have chosen the pain, the Church would have acknowledged her sacrifice in the prayers of the Mass as it does for Christ, “For, though innocent, he suffered willingly for sinners
and accepted unjust condemnation to save the guilty.” But all who feel otherwise may be happy {is that the right word?} to note that this does NOT mean she was impervious to heat and cold and all other discomforts.
(Though in my childish imaginings I wonder… if we were all so perfectly in tune with our physical natures as is an unfallen creature, could we, like, physically adapt to discomforts a little better? You know, like those monks in Tibet who can warm themselves up just by thinking ‘WARMMM…?’ With our thermostat at 55 I’m working on it, but not there yet.)
Anyway… The ‘painless childbirth’ teaching also points to the fact that the sufferings of Mary in her role as Co-Redemptrix were primarily interior.  (She was not flogged, crucified, etc, but suffered these torments with Christ in a mystical way.) Sometimes I wonder if we secretly think that maybe physical suffering is worse, and therefore more meritorious, or maybe we think that the body is more important, finally, than the soul?  Merry Christmas to all!

Re: Linda… Thanks for posting those lovely prayers from the Mass/passages from the CCT.  Mary’s painless childbirth is a teaching of the Church indeed, and if Mary were to have chosen the pain, the Church would have acknowledged her sacrifice in the prayers of the Mass as it does for Christ, “For, though innocent, he suffered willingly for sinners
and accepted unjust condemnation to save the guilty.” But all who feel otherwise may be happy {is that the right word?} to note that this does NOT mean she was impervious to heat and cold and all other discomforts.
(Though in my childish imaginings I wonder… if we were all so perfectly in tune with our physical natures as is an unfallen creature, could we, like, physically adapt to discomforts a little better? You know, like those monks in Tibet who can warm themselves up just by thinking ‘WARMMM…?’ With our thermostat at 55 I’m working on it, but not there yet.)
Anyway… The ‘painless childbirth’ teaching also points to the fact that the sufferings of Mary in her role as Co-Redemptrix were primarily interior.  (She was not flogged, crucified, etc, but suffered these torments with Christ in a mystical way.) Sometimes I wonder if we secretly think that maybe physical suffering is worse, and therefore more meritorious, or maybe we think that the body is more important, finally, than the soul? (And I’m not saying it’s not important, just, you know, if you had to choose between the two, you will get another body already!) Merry Christmas to all!

Very Important Information on Mary’s painless delivery of Jesus Christ:

In the post yesterday entitled “The Nativity Story Movie - Blasphemous and Sacrilegious,” with 54 comments and counting, there have questions about whether Mary’s delivery of Christ was: A) painless, and B) left her physical virginity intact.

Some have felt that it somehow undermines the humanity of Christ to assert these Catholic beliefs. We must recall that Christ walked on water, was transfigured on Mount Tabor, exited the sepulcher before it was opened, and walked through locked doors. None of these facts undermine the humanity of Christ. Consequently, to believe that Christ exited the womb of the Blessed Mother in a mysterious way is neither credulous or impious. Rather, it is the conviction of the holiest and brightest saints of the Catholic Church. For anyone who would deny the painless and intact nativity of Christ, let us challenge you to produce a citation from any saint or pope who teaches otherwise - that is a text that affirms that the nativity of the Christ Child caused pain to Mary and broke her physical virginity.

After a little research I discovered that of the 33 Doctors of the Church, none deny the painless and intact nativity of Christ. Moreover, at least 20 of the Doctors of the Church explicitly affirm that the birth of Christ was painless and miraculously left Mary’s physical virginity intact. Again, it all goes back to Isaiah 66:7: “before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.” This prophecy refers to Christ plain and simple.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Here’s more evidence of Mary’s painless delivery! If it’s in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, how could ANYONE disbelieve it?????

Not sure if this has been mentioned but the Congregation of Divine Worship published “The Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary”. There are five Masses for the season of Lent. In the votive Mass for “The Blessed Virgin Mary at the Foot of the Cross II” are the following words: Father, in your Divine wisdom, you planned the redemption of the human race and decreed that the new Eve should stand by the cross of the new Adam: as she became His mother by the power of the Holy Spirit, so, by a new gift of your love, she was to be a partner in his passion, and she who had given him birth without the pains of childbirth was to endure the greatest of pains in bringing forth to new life the family of your Church.

What does the “0080” in the moon mean?

Linda,
It makes sense that she wouldn’t have to suffer this way.  In the order of Divine Justice, it simply wasn’t merited.  I for one, do not for a moment doubt the transfiguration of Jesus, the walking through walls, on water, etc.  Call me dramatic, but in my own experience, childbirth is the most extreme measure of physical pain a woman can suffer without actually being slowly murdered.  I’m grateful if the Virgin Mary was spared this.
Would I be surprised however if at the end of time, we discovered that Mary quietly *asked* the Lord God that she not be spared this suffering, in the way that some saints say she *asked* to be allowed to suffer death?  No, I wouldn’t be surprised. It would fall in line with the active embracing of suffering that she endured to the point of even *hastening* Jesus’ public ministry, at the wedding feast of Cana. I’m sure the full measure of what she truly suffered on this earth will leave us breathless. What does fascinate me however, is the obsessive insistence on the part of some that it was not even possible that the ever Virgin Mary could have offered her pure body to greater sacrifice.  I think this has less to do with understanding the truth, than the threat it poses to puritanical minds that she could *offer* her body in this way, and still remain “ever virgin” as she did, and which I believe with all my heart.

@Fiatlux:  Have you ever read “The Foot of the Cross”, by Father Frederick Faber? I meditate on this masterpiece every Lent. Never, never has there been such a mystical, poetic description of the Sorrows of the Blessed Mother. And none of what Fr. Faber describes is anything but interior suffering… in union with her Divine Son.  Some on this thread apparently believe I am somehow obsessed with Mary’s physical sufferings. Nothing could be further from the truth.  I simply believe what the Church has believed from Day One, and believe that it is blasphemous to depict the Virgin Mother of Christ writhing in the pain of childbirth.

Her dolors were not the effect of Original Sin, which has been alluded to by some here. Her dolors were the result of mankind’s sins… she suffered in perfect unity with her Divine Son for the sins of all men, not from the effect of Original Sin. I hope everyone has a very blessed New Year.