This is the Best We Can Do

From the impenetrable forests of Germania in the North, to the endless African desert in the South, from Gibraltar and Mauritania in the West, to Syria and Judea in the East, the civilized Western world is one. Roman judges dispense Roman justice. Roman laws govern commerce. There is the peace of order and law.

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus has brought order to the world. His accomplishment is without precedent, and has never been repeated in the history of Man. This is the best we have ever done. This is the best we can do.

The World is not expectant. The World does not anticipate. This is the best we can do.

There are no gaily wrapped presents under decorated trees. No midnight Mass. No carols. Dickens has written no stories, Wesley has written no hymns, Handel has composed no music.

No Resurrection. No Crucifixion. No ministry. No wedding at Cana. No stilling of the storm. No healing. No Beatitudes. The Holy Spirit has not descended at Pentecost. Paul has not written to the Churches. Athanasius has not swayed the Council of Nicaea. Attila has not been turned back from the gates of Rome.

The World groans under the curse of death and sin. Mankind knows no way but the rebellion begun in Paradise. The World is crushed by the accumulated debt of every sin since The Fall, and the slaughter of every ox, bull, sheep, and dove on Earth cannot hope to pay it. This is the best we can do.

But Our Mother is among us, the second Eve. She has already freely given the simple assent that heralds our unlooked for freedom from death: “And Mary said, ‘Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.’”

And now the days have been completed for Her to give birth.