Diapers Amidst the Epiphany

First of all, Happy New Year!

Second of all… thank you soooo much for your prayers. I am happy to announce that Baby #4, aka Michael, has finally arrived and is happy and healthy! In fact, he’s cuddling in my lap while I write this. Isn’t he beautiful???

Last Sunday, when he was three days old, we went to his first mass for the celebration of the feast of the Epiphany. It was a lovely mass! Mind you, I admit, I was rather distracted during mass… what can I say? Newborn babies are a bit distracting and require a lot of attention! And work! (My wonderful husband might have missed part of mass for an impromptu and very necessary diaper change for our newborn.) And of course, newborn babies require lots of adoration too. Because babies are adorable and need to be adored.

Fortunately, the Christmas season is all about Baby Jesus, and Baby Jesus especially needs to be adored!

And so, without any further ado, I would like to divert your attention to this beautiful picture of the Adoration of the Magi:

This picture, of course, illustrates the gospel, which goes like this:

Now, you’ll notice, if you read the gospel closely, that there’s an important figure in the Christmas story who is missing in this gospel. In particular, Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary, is notably absent.

Which begs the question… what exactly is he doing while this grand event is going on? And what exactly would keep him away from this spectacular event???

Which is one of the reasons why I love this picture so much: it gives a suggestion as to what St. Joseph would be doing away from the scene.

And so! If you look at the main panel, you will not see St. Joseph at all. It is all about Mary. Look at it carefully… though there are plenty of spectators around, St. Joseph is still notably absent.

The three magi pay homage and give their gifts to Baby Jesus… in fact, one of them is even offering a golden statue of Jesus being lifted (or perhaps descending??) from the cross in what would be a powerful foretelling. All around, spectators look from and around the stable in a curious manner.

But St. Joseph isn’t in view.

Instead, he is off to the side in one of the side panels, which is usually reserved for lesser scenes or donors. Take a look at the whole artwork… can you see him?

Here, I’ll help you… here’s a close-up of St. Joseph:

In this picture, St. Joseph holds up clean diapers in front of the fire so they can dry faster. Mind you, his face is still turned toward the commotion and so he is watching the scene from afar. But, he is focused on the task which he needs to do. Which, in this case, was drying diapers.

And so, when my husband disappeared from mass for a bit to take care of our newborn, I had to smile. Because it’s easy to forget, in the grand Christmas excitement, how important little these little acts of love can be. Frequently, we focus only on the grandiose gestures — such as exciting presents — and take for granted these tiny actions!

And yet these little acts of love — even if these actions may seem monotonous or mundane — are what help sustain us throughout our lives.

In fact, these little acts of love are often what God calls us to do.

And so, toward the end of this Christmas season, may we count the little blessings in our life, no matter how little they may be. And may we be strengthened to love one another even more!