Anne Rice's novel Christ the Lord offers a unique glimpse into the clannish culture in which Jesus was born. According to Rice's depiction, the nuclear family as we know it now was rarely seen in ancient times. Instead, a family would have multiple generations and relations (including first and second cousins) living under the same roof. When a family would travel, they would often journey as a tribe.

This image fits well with the lengthy genealogies offered at the beginnings of the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. These meandering lists of barely pronounceable names are read in many churches in the days and weeks leading up to Christmas. Some might wish to skip them and get on to the gist of the story — the no-room-at-the-inn scene starring the very pregnant Mary and Joseph. But these lists are important because they help place the newborn Jesus in the context of generations of faith, a community stretching through time and space.

Even today, every Christian life is rooted in a heritage of faith and has a sense of continuity with all of those who have come before, who have carried the Gospel with their lives through the centuries. In many churches, this “Great Cloud of Witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) is understood to be full of holy people who, though deceased, nevertheless continue to pray and support those struggling to live for God. Throughout Christian tradition, this intangible, invisible community of saints has been made tangible and visible through icons and statues and other religious objects.

Those within the churches that believe in the living example of the “Great Cloud of Witnesses” have also continued the ancient practice of asking for the prayers of those who have gone before them, believing that those who now live with God know far better than the earthbound how to pray. Within this community, there is no prayer partner more beloved than the Virgin Mary.