The Nativity
The Nativity is the third Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. Jesus is born in Bethlehem, where Mary lays him in a manger. Shepherds come to see him after hearing the angel's announcement. We contemplate the Son of God entering our world in poverty and ask for poverty of spirit.
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Scripture
Luke 2:1-7
Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant. While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Spiritual fruit: poverty of spirit
The Savior comes among us
The third Joyful Mystery brings us to Bethlehem. Mary gives birth to Jesus, wraps him in swaddling cloths, and lays him in a manger. Luke sets this birth within a journey required by the census, with no room available in the lodging place. Mary tends to the newborn child there, away from the family's home in Nazareth.
The fuller account in Luke 2:1–20 includes the shepherds and the angels' announcement. The shepherds receive good news and go to see the child. Mary treasures what has happened and ponders it in her heart. Her attention to these events accompanies our own meditation on Christ's birth. The Church celebrates his birth because the eternal Son has truly become man for our salvation.
The fruit of poverty of spirit
At the manger, we ask for freedom from whatever keeps us from receiving Christ. Poverty of spirit begins with recognizing our dependence on God. Concern for possessions or status can make that dependence difficult to admit. The manger gives us a different scene to contemplate: the Son of God received by Mary, with none of the honors that would ordinarily surround a king.
This mystery also directs our care toward people who lack the necessities of life. The Holy Family's need for a place to rest is concrete. Remember families without a secure home, especially parents struggling to provide for a newborn child. Their needs may be close to us, in a neighbor's household or among people helped by the parish.
A decade of adoration
Mary treasures what the shepherds tell her and ponders it in her heart. Their testimony belongs beside the quiet scene at the manger: this child, born in humble circumstances, is the Savior announced to them.