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Stations of the Crib: A Journey to Hope from Advent to Epiphany, by Joseph Nassal. Forest of Peace, 2002.
Similar to the 14 Stations for Lent, Joseph Nassal offers 15 stations of the crib, as he leads his readers from the manger to the Saviour's missions beyond it. To accomplish this journey, Nassal draws on the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Each
chapter shows a varied aspect of the story of the birth of Jesus, offering an review of how "God in our midst". A down-to-earth God is presented in a style of writing that shows excitement and imagination in every line. Written in a semi-poetic style, Nassal emphasizes the virtue of Hope in times of suffering, heart-break, and deep-seated sorrow, as well as in times of super joy, Alleluia times. The Introduction urges the readers to stop and ponder on how the busy time of Advent includes a call to "take time to reflect". The first station urges the readers to meet Zachary in the temple and come to complete silence at the magnitude of the news he received. The second station finds Mary at prayer, and the angel Gabriel as her alarm clock waking people out of slumber into deep commitment. In the third station Mary and Elizabeth reach out to each other, one too old to have
a child, the other too young. In the 4th station, Mary speaks her greatest hit, "My soul does magnify the Lord". In the 5th station, Zachary finds his voice again and says, "His name is John". In the 6th station, Joseph is visited by an angel and follows the angel's directions to flee to safety with Mary and Jesus. The 7th station takes the reader back to Bethlehem to a sign that reads, "No room in
the inn". The angels receive a birth announcement in the 8th station. After stopping at stations 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, Nassal brings readers in station 15 to acknowledge that each one is the work of God's hands, and awaits the day when God announces, "Welcome home, my child". A delightful book,
thanks to Father Joseph Nassal C.PP.S. (Thanks to Sr. Irene Hartman OP for this review) Paperback
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Saint of the Week
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St. Gregory Nazianzen (329-390): January 14
After his baptism at 30, Gregory gladly accepted his friend Basil's invitation to join him in a newly founded monastery. The solitude was broken when Gregory's father, a bishop, needed help in his diocese and estate. It seems that Gregory was ordained a priest practically by force, and only reluctantly accepted the responsibility. He skillfully avoided a schism that threatened when his own father made compromises with Arianism. At 41, Gregory was chosen
suffragan bishop of Caesarea and at once came into conflict with Valens, the emperor, who supported the Arians. An unfortunate by-product of the battle was the cooling of the friendship of two saints. Basil, his archbishop, sent him to a miserable and unhealthy town on the border of unjustly created divisions in his diocese. Basil reproached Gregory for not going to his see. When protection for
Arianism ended with the death of Valens, Gregory was called to rebuild the faith in the great see of Constantinople, which had been under Arian teachers for three decades. Retiring and sensitive, he dreaded being drawn into the whirlpool of corruption and violence. He first stayed at a friend's home, which became the only orthodox church in the city. In such surroundings, he began giving the great sermons on the Trinity for which he is famous. In time, Gregory did rebuild the faith in the city,
but at the cost of great suffering, slander, insults and even personal violence. An interloper even tried to take over his bishopric. His last days were spent in solitude and austerity. He wrote religious poetry, some of it autobiographical, of great depth and beauty. He was acclaimed simply as "the Theologian." americancatholic.org site
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