Texts:
Titus 3:4–7
Luke 2:15–20
“When the goodness and kindness of God our Saviour appeared…”
— Titus 3:4
Today, the fifth day within the Octave of Christmas, the Church continues to bask in the light of the Incarnate Word. The sacred liturgy places before us a twofold mystery: first, the theological depth of the grace bestowed through Christ (Titus 3), and second, the humble adoration of the shepherds at the manger (Luke 2). Both reveal the quiet splendor of God’s mercy, manifested not in the thunders of Sinai, but in the infant cries of Bethlehem.
I. The Manifestation of Divine Goodness (Titus 3:4–7)
St. Paul’s words to Titus are an inspired commentary on what we witness in the crib of Christ: “When the goodness and kindness of God our Saviour appeared, not by the works of justice which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us.”
Here, St. Paul underscores what St. Augustine calls “the gratuitousness of grace”. The birth of the Savior is not God’s reward to humanity, but His unmerited gift. St. John Chrysostom explains:
“He did not wait for our merits; rather, He Himself first poured out His mercy upon us, when we were unworthy. For this is the greatness of God’s love—that while we were yet sinners, He sent His Son” (Homilies on Titus).
This appearance (ἐπεφάνη—“epiphany”) is the Incarnation itself: the eternal Son made visible, the Divine Charity clothed in flesh. It is not simply the arrival of a moral teacher or a prophet, but the irruption of grace into the world. St. Leo the Great proclaims in his Christmas sermons:
“The kindness of God our Saviour has appeared: not as a mere semblance, not in shadow, but in truth. In Him, the majesty of God has united with our lowliness, so that we, who had fallen, might be lifted up by the One who stooped down.”
The passage from Titus continues: “by the laver of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Ghost.” This is a clear allusion to Baptism, which communicates to us the very grace Christ came to bring. The Crib is already in the shadow of the Font. Just as Christ was born in the flesh, we must be born in the Spirit. The Regeneratio that Christmas celebrates in the world finds its echo in the Renovatio of the soul in Baptism.
II. The Humble Adorers of the Infant King (Luke 2:15–20)
The Gospel brings us to Bethlehem, not with kings or scribes, but with shepherds—men lowly in station, yet high in heavenly favor. They go “over to Bethlehem”, echoing the psalmist’s longing: “We will go into His tabernacle: We will adore in the place where His feet stood” (Ps. 131:7).
St. Ambrose marvels at the shepherds’ simplicity:
“They come in haste, they find the Lord, they believe the message of the angel, and they return glorifying God. These were simple men, yet they became the first evangelists of the Gospel. The shepherds were the first to seek the Shepherd.”
The scene is one of silence, wonder, and hidden majesty. As the shepherds adore, the Virgin Mary is silent: “But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart.” The Greek verb used here (συμβάλλουσα) suggests a kind of interior comparison or contemplation—Mary was gathering together the events, joining the puzzle pieces of divine revelation.
St. Bede the Venerable writes:
“Mary pondered these things—not as one ignorant of the mystery, but as one deepening her understanding of it. For though she bore Him, she did not cease to learn from Him.”
This interiority of Mary is a model for the contemplative soul. The Church, like Mary, treasures these things in her heart during this Octave—contemplating not only that God has become man, but why: that He might make man divine by grace.
III. Spiritual Lessons for the Fifth Day within the Octave
This sacred day within the Octave invites us into two movements:
- A theological adoration of the mercy of God, as St. Paul teaches, which must lead to thanksgiving for the gratia gratis data—the grace freely given to us in Christ.
- A mystical imitation of the shepherds and of Mary—adoring the Word made flesh with simplicity and pondering His mysteries with reverent silence.
The Crib is our school of humility, our font of renewal, and the sign of divine condescension. Christmas is not a sentiment but a sacrament in seed: the beginning of our salvation, to be fulfilled in the Cross and communicated through the Church.
Let us then return to our daily lives as the shepherds did—glorifying and praising God—carrying the memory of Bethlehem in our hearts and echoing St. Paul’s conclusion:
“That being justified by His grace, we may be heirs, according to the hope of life everlasting.” (Titus 3:7)
Prayer:
O Lord Jesus Christ, born this day into the poverty of our nature, grant us, we beseech Thee, the grace to adore Thee with the lowly, to ponder Thee with Mary, and to rejoice in Thee with the angels. Thou who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.