From the Rector

Dear Mazenod Community,

On behalf of the Oblate Community of Fr Michael McMahon OMI, Fr Matthew Raj OMI, Fr Antony David Raj OMI and myself, I offer our most sincere Christmas blessings to you all. Thank you most sincerely for your contribution to our community. Christmas can be a time of incredible joy and also some significant sadness with missing family members through grief, loss, separation or distance. Every family remains in our prayers.

A Christmas Blessing

Faith makes all things possible,

Hope makes all things work,

Love makes all things beautiful,

May you have all three this Christmas.

Amen

A Christmas Story on the Spider who saved Christmas and the origins of tinsel on a Christmas Tree

I first heard the story of the Christmas Spider as a child at a Christmas Eve mass, and it has since become one of my favourite Christmas stories. It’s about a baby spider who saves the life of Baby Jesus during his family’s flight to Egypt, not long after his birth. It all starts with a jealous King Herod who was terrified of the idea of a messiah coming for the Jewish people. During the year of Our Lord’s birth, Herod had been visited by all sorts of people, including the three kings from the East, who were searching for Baby Jesus. Because Herod was so terrified of losing power, especially to a baby who was supposed to save the world, he ordered every baby, two and under, to be slaughtered in the town of Bethlehem.

Since Joseph had been warned about this by an angel in a dream, he packed up Mary and Jesus and headed toward Egypt. It was a long, hazardous journey across high mountains and desert plains. As they fled, the Roman soldiers followed. Joseph and his little family mostly travelled at night so the soldiers wouldn’t see them, but they were still in pursuit. As they made their way over the high, rugged mountains, they were guided by angels through the darkness. It was an exhausting journey, especially since Mary had just given birth and Jesus was a newborn baby. Right before dawn, they would seek a safe place to shelter and sleep. Joseph tried to stay awake to guard his family, yet every time they stopped to sleep, he could see the campfires of the Roman soldiers; they always seemed closer.

One night Mary was so exhausted, she had to stop traveling. Joseph explored a bunch of caves high in the mountains and finally found one that was deep enough that they couldn’t see the entrance, yet also deep enough that hopefully the Roman soldiers would assume wild animals lived inside. As Mary and Jesus fell asleep, Joseph (who was a carpenter and had made himself a crude weapon), stood guard. He could hear the Roman soldiers at the foot of the mountain and smell the smoke from their fires. Joseph could hear them cooking and sharpening their weapons and knew that, come morning, they would be searching the caves above them.

Unbeknownst to Joseph, the empty cave had one inhabitant. A tiny baby spider who was awoken when Joseph searched the cave before helping Mary and Jesus rest. As Joseph paced the long length of the cave, from where Mary and Jesus were sleeping to the opening (which could not be seen from their refuge), the baby spider watched and wondered about Joseph’s anxiety. When Joseph decided to leave the cave and check on the soldiers, the baby spider hopped onto his shoulder to see what was going on. When they saw the soldiers below, Joseph prayed aloud, “Father, I was guided by an angel in a dream to marry Mary. Then the angel ordered me to protect her and the baby. Yet all I see below me is death. While it would be easy to leave now, by myself and unseen by the soldiers, that be a fate worse than death itself. I may never fully understand what is happening, but I will die protecting those I love, those you have entrusted to my care. I will follow my heart and stand ready, regardless of what my reason tells me to do. I am terrified but swear to you that I will protect them, even if it means my own death.“

The baby spider was so moved by Joseph’s prayer, he knew he had to help. Although he knew nothing about baby Messiahs or new mothers, his heart was filled with love because of the sacrifices of the father. When Joseph returned to the cave, the baby spider jumped off. He wanted to help but had no idea how. After all, how could a baby spider save this family? Then he had an idea...

The baby spider made his way to the cave’s opening and began to spin a web. Although this was his very first web, he wanted it to be the biggest and best web any spider had ever made. Throughout the long cold night, and despite the fact he was a baby and spinning took him a long time, he kept weaving his beautiful web. He never rested and kept swinging through the air, desperate to finish before dawn.

When the sun rose, the Roman soldiers began their trek up the mountain. Joseph, who’d never slept, was deep in the cave watching over Mary and Jesus. As the soldiers climbed, the spider worked furiously to finish. Because he was so tiny, the job was taking him much longer compared to older spiders, but he kept spinning his web as the soldiers moved closer and closer.

Finally the soldiers stopped before the cave where Joseph and his family were hidden. All the soldiers could see was the most magnificent spider web they’d ever seen. It’d been so cold throughout the night, that the moisture in the air had frozen on the web. When the sun hit the web, it sparkled and threw off every colour of the rainbow. As the soldiers moved closer, the colours appeared to shift and shine, almost blinding them. It appeared so mystical and almost…. heavenly.

When the commander appeared, he too was astounded by the web’s beauty and couldn’t look away. It seemed as if the colours were sparkling with shifting patterns of all types of symbols. Not a soldier in the unit had ever seen anything so lovely and no one wanted to damage it. Some of the soldiers even wanted to protect it. The commander then came to the logical conclusion that since it was encrusted with ice crystals, no one could have entered the cave without disturbing the web. Therefore, no one could be inside.

As the soldiers discussed the situation, Joseph was in the back of the cave, listening. Finally, so curious about what they were talking about, he crawled towards the entrance only to be shocked by the web protecting him and his family. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus stayed in the cave for another day, both protected and kept warm by the web. When Joseph was sure the soldiers had moved toward other mountains, he led Mary and Jesus to the entrance.

They could still see the beautiful sparkling web, like shooting rainbow rays, that reflected in the sun’s setting. Jesus, upon seeing the web, laughed with joy. After the sun set, Joseph cut the web and they continued their journey to Egypt. As they were leaving, Jesus waved towards the cave. Mary and Joseph were curious about what their baby was seeing because they saw nothing. They didn’t realize that Jesus was waving at the baby spider who’d saved their lives.

Eventually, Joseph and his family made it to Egypt where they lived for years until it was safe to return home. The little spider was so honoured to have helped save their lives, he spent his life teaching other spiders how to spin beautiful webs. In return, we now decorate our trees with rainbow-colored lights and sparkling tinsel, garland and even icicles–all in honour of the baby spider who was moved by prayer and spurred on by faith to build a miracle. A miracle that saved the life of Jesus.

The spider’s beautiful work of love is remembered when we place tinsel on a Christmas tree.

Take Care and God Bless

Fr Michael Twigg OMI