A Miracle for Mother Angelica?

Christmas in the spring? What's this guy talking about? Well...if you believe what the Gospel says, It's Christmas time! What is Christmas or Christ's Mass? It is a celebration of the birth of our Saviour. Do you think Jesus was born on December 25th? Nope!!! Not according to the Gospel. December 25th is actually the Feast of Saturn (which was extremely popular in its day). The Feast of Saturn was the completion of the Winter Solstice celebration among Romans. Talk about fun!?! For a week, the Romans would roam from house to house eating and drinking...and drinking...and drinking...and drinking! Whoa!!! ...but that's exactly how it was.
How did we get to the point of celebrating Christ's Mass and His birth on a day that was set aside to worship and celebrate the Father of Jupiter, King of the Gods? Well...first let's see what it says in the Gospel about Jesus' birth...
8 Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. 9 The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. 10 The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you:you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests
(Luke 2:8-14 NABre)
Notice what it says in verse 8... “there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.” Keeping the NIGHT WATCH...IN THE FIELDS over their flock, is the key. Sheep were normally penned up at night and in fact there are verses in the Gospels that allude to this. Only during the “Lambing Season” will the shepherds keep watch over their flocks by night...in the fields! This is when the pregnant ewes will just stop, drop and give birth to their lambs. The flock cannot move. The shepherds therefore keep a 24 hour vigilance to protect the vulnerable ewes and lambs from predators! The Lambing Season runs from March through May, typically. The spring...
Since the shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks by night when Jesus was born, it is logical to assume that Jesus was born sometime in the spring. We may never know the exact day, but it was the spring!
How did we end up celebrating Christ's Mass on December 25th? There could be several reasons, but the most likely is that during the early Church, Rome and the Christian population were not on good terms! Being invited to “lunch” at the Coliseum is an invitation that most Christians would decline (being that they were to be the “lunch”)! How would a group of people celebrate the birth of their Lord and God (who was born in the spring) get away with having a big party when the ruling class (aka...the Romans) were not doing anything celebratory?
“How's is going, Romulus?”
“So so, Remus! Grapes are beginning to sprout. Should make some good wine and a good size harvest this year.”
“Who are those people over there and what are they doing?”
“I don't know. Looks like a party to me.”
“Is it a holiday?”
“I don't think so...if I'm not drunk, it's not a holiday!”
“I think it's those blasted Christians having some kind of religious affair! Better call the guards!!!”
Partying when the Romans aren't partying was a sure way to be noticed and to arouse suspicions! Then, some clever Christians said, “Hey...let's have our big party when the Romans are having their biggest party!!! They'll mostly be drunk so even if they catch us...a glass of wine will send them on their way! ...and more importantly, they'll be none the wiser!!!”
So I suspect, that tradition eventually won out and by hiding one party within another, many Christians escaped a very unappetizing lunch or dinner invitation with the Romans.
Some may not agree with me. There is always the possibility that I'm wrong. We will never know the exact day Our Lord was born. However, it would seem to me that there is something logical and symbolic about Our Lord...The Lamb of God, being born during the Lambing Season!