Bethlehem, Part 2

After we visited the Church of the Nativity, we walked down a side street to visit the Milk Grotto.  Legend has it that the Holy Family took shelter here when fleeing Herod's Slaughter of the Innocents so that Mary could nurse the baby Jesus.  A drop of her milk fell, and the cave turned white.

Here is the only known artwork of Mary nursing Jesus.

You can see the white rock in this photo.  

Moms and moms-to-be get rock scrapings from this cave to either 

1) mix in their water to boost milk production or 

2) put under their pillows in order to help in conception.

Mommy and Sam in the Milk Grotto.

This last picture is NOT flattering of me.  I look hot and sweaty, and you can see my chipped tooth.  But I post it because Geoff captured my wonderment.

I didn't know how I would react, visiting these places.  While I enjoy church, I hold my beliefs close to my heart.  One of my religious mantras is one I got from the Rev. John Cruse, one of the chaplains who served at St. Dunstan's at Auburn during my time there.  He said that God gave us the Bible and our brains, and that we should use both of them as guides.  My brain tells me that the likelihood of these spots being THE DEFINITE spots of these events is not very high.  But that does not matter.  History tells us that these events occurred, and whether or not I was standing on the exact spot does not change how I felt, which was a profound connection to Mary.

I could not help thinking of her laboring in a disgusting cave full of stinky animals.  I thought back to my own two labors, the most recent one being pretty frightening despite my being in a modern day hospital.  How scared Mary must have been!  I wonder how long she had to suffer in the hay with rats and fleas and animal poop.  And she only had Joseph to help her, a man who had never been around a labor and delivery in his life!  What an inspiring woman, to persevere through all of that.

I smiled thinking of the joy she felt when she first saw Jesus' face.  She probably cried and kissed him.  Most new mothers do.  She swaddled him, nursed him, sang to him...all things that I did for my two.  I wonder if she knew then, that she would have to watch him suffer and die.  I look at my own boys and marvel at her strength and bravery because I KNOW I could not do the same.  She was an incredible woman, and I never truly appreciated her role in Christianity until I became a mother myself.  Seeing those caves put Mary's grace in an entirely new light for me and brought new meaning to Gabriel's first greeting to her.

"Hail, Mary, full of grace.  The Lord is with thee.  Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."

Yes.  Absolutely.  Yes.