The Roman Martyrology is a definitive history of various Catholic saints listing about twenty martyrs a day from the early Church. Each martyr receives about one sentence, so it only takes two minutes a day to read. But Christmas Eve has a very unique beginning to its daily martyrs, as it also contains the history of the entire world leading up to the birth of Christ. These words are sung during Midnight Mass, as you will quickly recall:
In the year, from the creation of the world, when in the beginning God created heaven and earth, five thousand, one hundred and ninety-nine; from the flood, two thousand, nine hundred and fifty-seven; from the birth of Abraham, two thousand and fifteen; from Moses and the coming of the Israelites out of Egypt, one thousand, five hundred and ten; from the anointing of king David, one thousand and thirty-two; in the sixty-fifth week, according to the prophecy of Daniel; in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad; in the year seven hundred and fifty-two from the founding of the city of Rome; in the forty-second year of the empire of Octavian Augustus, when the whole earth was at peace, in the sixth age of the world, Jesus Christ, eternal God, and Son of the eternal Father, desirous to sanctify the world by His most merciful coming, having been conceived of the Holy Ghost, and nine months having elapsed since His conception, is born in Bethlehem of Juda, having become man of the Virgin Mary.—THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, ACCORDING TO THE FLESH.
Let’s review:
In the year, from the creation of the world, when in the beginning God created heaven and earth, five thousand, one hundred and ninety-nine…
Notice that this definitive Catholic history asserts that God created the world 5,199 years before the birth of Christ. This gels with the number of years lived by Adam and Eve and the other Patriarchs when studying the genealogies of Christ in Mt 1 and Lk 3. It is also a theological proof against Darwinian evolution. Of course, we now have many scientific and mathematical proofs against evolution over the last thirty years. But the Roman Martyrology is an ancient theological indication of the true age of the earth.
From the flood, two thousand, nine hundred and fifty-seven; from the birth of Abraham, two thousand and fifteen;
Some saints believe that the BC and AD timelines reflect each other in a nearly-exact chiastic structure. In other words, the end of the world is going to reflect the beginning of the world in a unique few ways (of course, not in a Hindu or Taoist cyclical manner.) In any case, it makes sense that Abraham “walked by faith” just around 2000 BC when the Catholic Church faces her greatest crisis of faith faces around AD 2000.
From Moses and the coming of the Israelites out of Egypt, one thousand, five hundred and ten; from the anointing of king David, one thousand and thirty-two;
These numbers are worth memorizing. Just as most of you know the Mendicant Orders (eg Franciscans and Dominicans) arose in the 13th century, and just as most of you know the Council of Trent took place in the 16th century, it is worth memorizing this Christmas Octave that Moses lived around 1500 BC and King David lived around 1000 BC. Traditional Catholic Biblical Scholars all agree upon these dates.
In the sixty-fifth week, according to the prophecy of Daniel…
As we are looking at how many centuries (not just decades but centuries) were eagerly awaiting the coming of the Redeemer, we should remember that certain prophets (like Daniel) predicted with laser-like precision various aspects of the birth of Jesus Christ. We need to stop relegating the Old Testament to the Jews. The Old Testament actually belongs to Catholics (not Jews) because it predicted not only the Birth of a Suffering Servant (Is 53) but also the beginning of the Roman Catholic Church (Daniel 2.) Anyone who rejects these prophesies rejects not only the New Testament, but also the Old Testament. Therefore, it is not “anti-semitic” to say that at the tearing of the temple at the death of Christ, Judaism became just another a false-religion of the world. The truth is that at the tearing of the temple veil, Catholicism became God’s only true world-religion.
…in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad…
This is a very interesting line in the Roman Martyrology and the history of the world. Imagine a modern Pope mentioning a Catholic feast day and then adding that it was concurrent with the date of a modern Olympics event. Wouldn’t rad-trads like me be offended? Of course! But here’s the thing: It was not “modernist” for the ancient catacombs lectors to sing about the date of the Olympics in reference to the birth of Jesus Christ. Why? Because this showed the ancient world that we Christians stuck by our historical claims that Jesus entered the flesh at an extremely specific time. This pinpointed-time was not only in reference to Jewish history, but even to pagan and gentile history. Besides showing the ancient pagan tribes that Christ was not a superstitious myth belonging to an isolated Palestinian cult, it also shows that Christ Himself came to save the gentiles—even those getting naked at the perverted Olympic games. Even they were eventually called to the baptismal waters of salvation.
…in the year seven hundred and fifty-two from the founding of the city of Rome; in the forty-second year of the empire of Octavian Augustus
Again, to name the secular emperor of Rome (Octavian Augustus) shows that the early Christians were ready to defend every historical claim of the early oral tradition and the Gospels, including the exact date of the birth of Jesus and the way He died on a cross and even the exact day of His glorious resurrection with all miracles to follow. Such vocabulary reveals to ancient pagans and modernist-baptized-pagans that miracles are historical, not mythical. Modernists, however, should especially blush after 2,000 years of miracles to doubt what all early Christians knew beyond the shadow of a doubt: That Jesus Christ was truly born on the 25th of December, not another date, like a re-constructed one in June. I mean, how could the early Catholics get that December date wrong but happen to know that Octavian Augustus was the emperor? Only if the whole thing was a farce…which is exactly what most modernist theologians believe who teach at “Catholic Universities” today. Rather, we see in today’s Roman reading (again, sung at the beginning of Midnight Mass in a few hours) that every assertion of the Old Testament and New Testament is to be taken as true Catholic history and even world history.
…when the whole earth was at peace…
I think this means relative peace, but I am not sure. If I remember correctly, the old-school Jesuit scholar Fr. Lapide takes this line most literally, in the sense that the Roman Empire had quelled many uprisings by the time Christ was born. It certainly gives quite the visual for all the wars of the ancient world taking a brief hiatus for the birth of Jesus in a cave to the Immaculate Virgin Mary that starry and silent night. Indeed, it was a “Silent Night” even across the whole Mediterranean, at least according to this ancient Roman Martyrology and the Midnight Mass history you will hopefully hear sung soon.
…in the sixth age of the world, Jesus Christ, eternal God, and Son of the eternal Father, desirous to sanctify the world by His most merciful coming, having been conceived of the Holy Ghost, and nine months having elapsed since his conception, is born in Bethlehem of Juda, having become man of the Virgin Mary.—THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, ACCORDING TO THE FLESH.
Notice how many ancient heresies are destroyed in this sentence that makes it so clear that Jesus Christ was true man having “become man of the Virgin Mary…” and “nine months having elapsed since His conception, but the reading is also solicitous to name Jesus Christ as not only “Son of the Eternal Father” but also “Eternal God” Himself! Christ is true man and true God. We also hear in this reading that Christ is not born in an ethereal land (like pagan heroes) but in a very specific land: Bethlehem of Judah. As we long for the coming of our only hope at heaven, the Heavenly Messiah, we learn from tonight’s sung history of the Catholic Church exactly what God also longs for both in time and in eternity, namely, He was “desirous to sanctify the world by His most merciful coming.” Such words from the Midnight Mass bring tears to my eyes even as I write this article. May you all enter into that longing, ever more “desirous to sanctify the world by His most merciful coming” during this Christmas Octave.
p/c NYT.