One night there went out over the stillness of the evening breeze, out over those chalky hills of Bethlehem, the cry of a new born babe. “The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us.” Earth did not hear the cry, for the earth slept; men did not hear the cry, for they did not know that a Child could be greater than a man; kings did not hear the cry, for they did not know that a King could be born in a stable; empires did not hear the cry, for empires did not know that an Infant could hold the reins that steer suns and worlds in their courses.

But shepherds and phi­losophers heard the cry, for only the very simple and the very learned know that the heart of a God can cry out in the cry of a Child. And they carne with gifts-and adored, and so great was the majesty seated on the brow of the Child, so great was the dignity of the babe, so powerful was the light of these eyes that shone like celestial suns, that they could not help but cry out:“Emmanuel: God is with us.”

-Archbishop Fulton Sheen