Pauline Center for Media Studies

The Nativity Story:
A Film Study Guide for Households of Faith

The Nativity Story is a major motion picture about the year leading up to Jesus’ birth and concluding with Mary and Joseph fleeing to Egypt to save Jesus from Herod’s soldiers. The Nativity Story tells about the spiritual journeys of Mary and Joseph as they make the actual journeys that mark the events recounted in the Infancy Narratives of the Gospels of Matthew (Chapters 1 & 2) and Luke (Chapters 1 & 2). The film presents a unique opportunity for us to visualize this well-known story during as we journey through Advent and then celebrate the Christmas season in ways that are as inviting as they are inspiring

This online guide is an extract from The Nativity Story: A Film Study Guide for Catholics (available from your nearest Pauline Books & Media Center or by calling 1-800 876-4463 or ordering online at www.pauline.org).

While we recommend that each person, especially parents and catechists have their own personal copy of the guide, this abbreviated version can assist in whole parish community catechesis and families in particular as households of faith, to reflect, and have conversations about The Nativity Story (which premiered at the Vatican on November 26), using questions based on the Sunday’s Gospel reading. The guide is a way to bring faith and life together.

Preparation: See The Nativity Story as a small group or family. Post these weekly questions in a central place in your home so that you will remember to talk about them. Read the Gospel passage the night before, or before you leave for Mass. Use one or more of the questions as appropriate for your family.

First Sunday of Advent – December 3
Lk 21: 25-28, 34-36

What sign did the magi see in the sky in The Nativity Story and what do you think it meant to them? What does it mean to you?
Just as Mary recalled 1 Kings 19:12 (“a still small voice”) throughout the film, what meaningful quote from today’s Gospel will our family, our household of faith, remember this week, as we prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ coming at Christmas?

Feast of the Immaculate Conception – December 8
Luke 1:26-28

The angel tells Mary not to be afraid in the Gospel and in the movie; how do you pray when you are afraid?
What favorite prayer is based on this event that we read about in today’s Gospel and see in the film?
In what ways can we pray The Hail Mary together to remember the day Mary was conceived without sin – and why this mystery is so important?

Second Sunday of Advent – December 10
Lk 3: 10-18

Light is a powerful symbol in the Bible and in movies. What does the light mean in the Gospel and in The Nativity Story? What can you do this week to bring the light of Christmas to someone else’s life?
What can you do this week to put into practice what John the Baptist tells the people in the Gospel: to share with others, to give food to the hungry, and say good things about other people?

Third Sunday of Advent – December 17
Lk 3: 10-18

What can you do this week to put into practice what John the Baptist tells the people in the Gospel: to share with others, to give food to the hungry, and say good things about other people?
How many ways are you inspired to change or do good by John the Baptist’s exhortation in today’s Gospel and by the actions of the Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and the magi in The Nativity Story?

Fourth Sunday of Advent – December 24
Lk 1:39 – 45

What is it that makes you feel happy as the celebration of Jesus’ birth gets closer?
What can we do to welcome a new baby into our family or the parish?

Christmas Vigil Mass – December 24
Mt 1:1-25 or 1:18-25

In the film, as Mary and Joseph are leaving for Bethlehem, Joaquim tells Mary, “You are a strong young woman.” These are his first words of praise to her. In what practical ways can we assure that positive communication happens between the generations of our families?
What can you do to be a person of peace in your family, especially at family get-togethers?
Jesus is also called Emmanuel, a name that means “God is with us”. What does your name mean?
The Gospel is about Jesus’ ancestry, traced through Mary. How can our whole family celebrate tonight as if we were there together when Jesus was born, as if we were present at the amazing event portrayed in The Nativity Story?

Christmas – Mass at Midnight and Dawn December 25
Lk 2: 1-14; Lk 2: 15 - 20

What does the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Savior, celebrated each Christmas, and seen in The Nativity Story, really mean to you?
In The Nativity Story we watched Mary and Joseph’s difficult journey to Bethlehem. It was also a spiritual journey of faith and hope in God’s promises. What can you do to take the next best step in your spiritual journey to being a closer friend and follower of Jesus?
Have you ever been in a Christmas play? What was it like? What part did you play? As the Gospel and the movie shows us, all the characters are important, aren’t they? Why do you think so?
In The Nativity Story the shepherd tells Mary he has been waiting with hope for a gift. What is the gift all the shepherds receive on Christmas? How did this scene from the movie make you feel about Jesus, God’s gift for you?

Christmas Mass during the Day – December 25
Jn 1: 1 – 18 or 1:1-5, 9-14

How does St. John’s Gospel outline God’s plan for our salvation? Why is this Gospel important for us to contemplate at Christmas?
Today’s Gospel says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Which character in the film says almost the same thing? Why do you think the character says it?
Whose birthday is today? What gift did you prepare during Advent to give him?
According to the Gospel and The Nativity Story, who really is the child in the manger? What does he mean to our family and what gifts has he brought to us?

Feast of the Holy Family – December 31
Lk 2: 41-52

Joseph and Mary had to flee with Jesus to the safety of Egypt to get away from the threat of Herod’s soldiers. What concrete step are you willing to make for the good of your family?
As we see in The Nativity Story, Joseph and Mary loved Jesus very much. Mary and Joseph had to get up in the middle of the night to take Jesus to a safe place because he was in danger. What sacrifices are we willing to make so that our family will be safe and happy? How did Mary and Joseph’s relationship in The Nativity Story make you feel about marriage and parenting?

Feast of Mary, Mother of God – January 1
Lk 2:16 – 24

In the film and today’s Gospel, the shepherds understood who Jesus is. Who is Jesus for you? How do you visualize your relationship with Jesus, the Word made flesh?
Circumcision is a rite of initiation for Jewish boys called a bris and we see it in The Nativity Story when John the Baptist is circumcised and receives a name. What does your name mean? Why are names important to Christians?
In the movie, after Jesus is born, we see Mary thinking about all that has happened to her. How do you feel when you think about Christmas? Why?
Both the Gospel and The Nativity Story show us that Mary thought about, that is, contemplated God’s marvelous involvement in her life when he asked her to be the Mother of God. What does God ask each of us to do, concretely, to grow spiritually through contemplation of the mysteries of our redemption?

Epiphany of the Lord – January 7 th
Mt 2: 1 – 12

The film not only combines the Infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke but also telescopes the time frame of the events to fit a two-hour movie. This is especially true at the end when the magi arrive almost on Christmas day. What does the magi’s witness to Jesus mean, since they were not Jewish and came from other countries?
The magi were different from Mary, Joseph, and Jesus because they were not Jewish. Yet, Mary says in the film that Jesus is for all people and she welcomes the magi. As a Catholic Christian, how do you treat or welcome people who are different from you? Be specific in your answers.
Imagine that you are just an ordinary person who has come from a long distance to honor Jesus. What gift would you bring to him?
All through The Nativity Story, we have traveled with the three magi from a far away country to the grotto in Bethlehem. How did you feel when they finally found Jesus and presented their gifts, especially Gaspar? What does their search for Jesus mean for us and people of the world today?