GRM 27.3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
What is Caesar after all? An instrument in the hands of God. Since the time when the Father decided to forgive man, He pre-arranged the events so that His Christ may be born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem, the smallest town in Judah, did not yet exist and its glory was already destined. And there… a powerful man has risen, very far from here, and he conquered us, and now he wants to know all his subjects, now, while the world is in peace… so that the glory of Bethlehem may be accomplished and the word of God may not be belied, — as it would be if the Messiah were to be born elsewhere. Oh! What is our small trouble if we consider the beauty of this moment of peace? Just think, Joseph: a period of time when there is no hatred in the world! Can there be a happier hour for the rising of the ‘Star’, the light of which is divine and its influence is redemption? Oh! Do not be afraid, Joseph. If the roads are not safe, if the crowds will make the journey a difficult one, the angels will defend and protect us. Not us: but their King. If we find no accomodation, their wings will be our tents. No mishap will befall us. It cannot: God is with us.
Detail
Mary enunciates Caesar at the time of the census edict.
Luke 2:1-3:
In those days there appeared an edict from the Emperor Augustus, ordering a census of the whole earth - this first census took place when Quirinius was governor of Syria. - And everyone went to be counted, each in his home town.