The normal course of things has been upturned

Looking at the sleeping Child, Joseph and Mary understand that the normal course of things has been upturned. The normal course of things is that parents desire a child and decide for it to come. But this Child chose his father and his mother.

From all eternity, the Father of heaven has thought of this Child, it was for him that the world was created; for him that the prophets spoke; for him that they, Mary and Joseph, themselves have been attracted to virginity, then marriage. A great light enveloped them both, and their gratitude was boundless.

To be chosen by God—could there be a feeling, a certainty that can bring more happiness and make prayer more profound? To have been chosen by their own child, is there a more amazing joy for parents? Whereas for other people the child is the one who must be grateful to his parents for the life he has received from them, Mary and Joseph gave thanks to the Child and to God his Father...

And it gets better: This Child from above was entrusted to them ... Jesus expected from his parents human science, the protection of his childhood and his youth, and an education that would turn him into a man of a particular time, milieu, race, and religion. On behalf of Joseph and Mary, God divested himself, so to speak, of all his rights over the Child. He trusted them. He who created, inspired, directed, and sanctified them for that very moment and mission, delegated his paternity to them.

Father Caffarel, founder of Teams of Our Lady (Equipes Notre-Dame)

In Des équipes Notre-Dame à la Maison de prière, Parole et silence