MAS 7? Ni NO 6 MICROFILMED 1992 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK as part of the "Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project" Funded by the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The copyright law of the United States - Title 17, United States Code - concerns the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material... Columbia University Library reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. AUTHOR. LIGUORI, ALPHONSO MARIA DE , SAINT nTLE: THE MYSTERIES OF THE FAITH PLACE: LONDON DATE: 1854 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET Master Negative # ^^ '90 7U "0 Restrictions on Use: Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record f " ■ ■ - - III l liii II P. I ll li i wui I t nin— li III! r ■III mmmmtmtll^tiibt^mmm ■II I i Mif iii ii ._ ■■ ^jBjim ii ^ n, M' l j j .. ! ijiJBiJtif -KM iaiiriyjiipjrpryw 1 ■< ni « i iii mim i iit »B i i X i M i M I II . ■ ■>. K nfl |^tj||iaMMila[iMaM*W^ste.Ties of +he f a.\-Vh • -Hie incarYxcxiVoYi... tT. fr. the lVoL\va-n 8^ ed. by K-lA- CoFFin )5-i-2.62.p.D. L\^54. O >*M«k«M_>a.ia,Mk^ua^Hai«iAad*.M^tf^Bi2aa -< FILM SIZE:____?51i?^ IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA DATE FILMED: ± TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA IB IIB REDUCTION RATIO:____JJ.^<. INITIALS ^H./^ RLMEDBY: RESEARCH'PUBLICATIONS. INC WOODBRIDQE/CT c Association for information and image iManagement 1 1 00 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1 1 00 Silver Spring. Maryland 20910 301/587-8202 Centimeter 12 3 4 iiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiil TTT Inches 1 6 7 8 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiii T T .0 I.I 1.25 9 iilii 10 11 iiiiliiiiliiiiliii TT\ kil 2.8 2.5 Ui 1" 2.2 ■ 63 Urn 3^ ;....=i_ !^ k& 2.0 u t a mtt^tt, 1.8 1.4- 1.6 12 13 I 14 15 mm IllUlllllllllillllllllllllllllllll TTT I MfiNUFfiCTURED TO fillM STPlNDflRDS BY APPLIED IMFIGE, INC. Class ^ +^ Book\ b!0\ Columbia College Library Madison Av. and 49th St. New York. Given b7jMT^J^M.Ho:^.r\^oy\ Beside the main topic, this hook also treats of Subject No. On page Subject No, On page A. THE MYSTEBIES OF THE FHTE SJTfje Itwatnation. £. COSTAININO MEDITATIONS, DISCOURSES, AND DEVOTIONS ON THE BIRTH AND INFANCY OF OUR LORD JE3US CHRIST. BT ST ALPHON^US MABl'A DE LIGUORI. -„S„OP O. axrAOATU., *XP .OU».'.B O. TH. CO.O.BOa™. 0, THK „OSX HO.. BEDEEUEB. petals trauftlatrU from tijr ttalCan, AKD EDITED BY ROBERT A^'corriN, e^J -rUEST OF THE CONGBKOATIOK OF THE MOST HOLY BEDEEMEB. , LONDON: BURNS AKD LAMBERT, 17 PORTMAN STREET, AKD 63 PATERK08TER BOW. ~ 1854. / , A>;>ir.! •• RESCRIPT OF HIS HOLINESS PIUS IX. ^ (translation.) " Most Holy Father, " The Bishop of Southwark in England, in representing to your Holiness how the Redemptorist Fathers have had the consolation to see an immense good result from the condescension with which your Holiness was pleased to praise the Oerman edition of the works of St. Alphonsus, humhly begs to be authorised to bless, in the name of your Holiness, the translation already commenced, and in part published, of the pious works of St. Alphonsus in English " In an audience with his Holiness on the 13th of November, 1853, our most holy Lord, by Divine Providence, Pope Pius IX., at the request of me, the undersigned Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, was graciously pleased to grant the above petition ; charging, however, the conscience of the petitioner with faithfulness in the translation. " Given at Rome, from the Palace of the Sacred Congregation, on the day and in the year as above. " Gratis, &c. &c. Al. Barxafo, Secretary." TO THE BELOVED CHILDREN OF THE CONFRATERNITIES OF THE HOLY FAMILY Z IN \ ENGLAND AND IRELAND, S^t)i0 I^olumr, FOB THE LOVE OF THE INFANT JESUS, 3mpnmatur. N. CARD. WISEMAN. October 20, 1854. IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. S 96741 C^ mEFACE. The present volume contains all that St. Alphonsus wrote on the Incarnation and Infiincy of our Blessed Lord. It is ex- clusively a volume of devotion and spiritual reading ; and brings out in a more touching and striking manner than per- haps any of his other writings the deep, but at the same time simple and childlike, love and tenderness of the Saint. It shows how the Saints considered and meditated upon that mystery of mysteries, the Incarnation of the Eternal Word ; how they shrank not from dwelling boldly— supported as they were by the power and reality of faith — ^upon the wondrous consequences which that mystery involves ; how they reaped from such meditation fruits which were their nourishment and support, as well in the work of their own sanctification, as in that of building up and leading to salvation the souls of others. St. Alphonsus may be justly called the Preacher of the In- fancy of Jesus in these latter times. We do not, of course, forget that there were others also especially devoted to this sweet mystery of love, among whom Father Patrignani of the Society of Jesus deserves especially to be named j but it was reserved to St. Alphonsus to put forth this devotion in the most popular way, and to bring it within reach of the capa- cities of all. His manner of treating it is such, that while his meditations and prayers can be used with the greatest profit by the most simple and unlearned, they cannot fail at the same time to delight even the most profound student of theology. Such a one, when he turns from the great doctors and scho- lastic authors who have written on the subject, and seeks re- freshment and relaxation of mind in exercising the affections of VI PREFACE. his heart upon that same mystery which erewhUe had occupied and taken possession of his understanding, will be delighted to find that those very truths which he had been just now viewmg mainly in an intellectual way, are put before him with aU that unction and sweetness with which God inspires His Samts. He will find that, while they lose none of their vigour and reality, they at once inspire the spirit of pmyer and practical devotion. And thus he will return to his studies with a keener faith, and with the intellect rendered all the more vigorous, and more ca- pable of grasping in its full extent this Divine mystery, from its having been chastened and purified in the fire of Divme love which St. Alphonsus, with the Infant Jesus in his arms, had lit up within his soul. In this way it would seem that the volume we now present to the reader will render invaluable service, not only to the faithful in general, as we shall presently show, but also to the theological student. It is hardly necessary to say, that the study of theology without prayer brings but little fruit. It is certain that those who have dived most deeply into the abyss of the love of God to man were men of prayer. St. Thomas, Suarez, De Lugo, and others whose treatises, espe- cially on the Incarnation, fill us with wonder and admiration, were all men of the highest prayer ; and hence that keen and piercing insight into the hidden things of God, and that fear- less assertion and defence of truths which to the unbeliever and to the Christian of natural and shallow mind appear either as frivolous puerilities, or as irreverent, far-fetched, and danger- ous deductions. It is for this reason that we would hope that the devotions and discourses of St. Alphonsus on the Incarnation will receive a hearty welcome from all those who are theologically engaged in the study of that mystery, and that they will find in them a most valuable means for advancing in the spirit of prayer. To the faithful in general they cannot fail to be of the greatest service. If eternal life consists in the knowledge of God, and of Jesus Christ whom He has sent ; if God has be- come indeed very and true Man ; if in all things, sin only ex- cepted, He has made Himself like unto us ; if we cannot arrive at the knowledge of the Eternal Father save through and by K PREFACE. Yll His Incarnate Son,— then the knowledge of the Sacred Humanity of the Eternal Word is the most precious of all knowledge, and the consideration of the infinite mysteries which it develops to us becomes of the highest importance for our progress in the knowledge of God. The Sacred Humanity is that miiTor of mirrors, in which we see reflected and brought within reach of our limited un- derstanding the infinite perfections and attributes of God. In that mirror we can contemplate His wisdom. His love. His mercy. His omnipotence. His unspeakable condescension to us His creatures; and through the Sacred Humanity, God, who is immeasurably removed from us when considered in His Divine essence and nature, is brought so near to us, that we can indeed exclaim that He is " bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh," and console ourselves with the thought that He who once seemed so far off from us, and from whom our sins had estranged us, has become through the Incarnation so one with ourselves, that we can justly claim Him as our own, and call Him, not only our Lord and our God, but our Brother and our Friend. By meditation on the Sacred Humanity, as proposed to us by St. Alphonsus, we shall certainly arrive at a more perfect and enlarged knowledge of God. This is the way which the Saints have trod ; in which they always felt secure, and free from the danger of illusions, remembering that Jesus is " the way, the truth, and the life," and that " no one cometh to the Father except through Him." St. Teresa, that great lover of Jesus, tells us from her own experience how hard it is, and even unsafe, for the generality of souls to aim at union with God through any other way. " I have seen," she says in her Xi/l?,* written in obedience to her confessor, " that by this gate we must enter, if we wish His Sovereign Majesty to communicate great secrets to our souls. Thus it is that I wish your reverence not to choose any other way, though you should have arrived at the very height of contemplation ; for here you will be safe, since this * Life of Teresa, wiitten by herself, ch. xxii. Very Rev. J. Dalton's translation. Vlll PREFACE. PREFACE. IX is our Lord, from whom all blessings come : if you consider His life, your own will be improved ; for He is the very best pattern we can have. What can we desire more than to have so good a Friend by our side, who will never desert us in our afflictions and tribulations, like men in the world do ? Blessed is that man who loves our Lord truly, and who always has Him near to him. Let us consider the glorious St. Paul, who had the name of Jesus continually on his lips, because he had it deeply engraven in his heart. And from the time I have known this truth, I have carefully considered the lives of many other great contemplative Saints, and I have noticed that they walk along no other way. St. Francis shows this clearly by his Wounds, and St. Anthony of Padua by the Infant Jesiis, St. Bernard took great delight in the Humanity of our Lord ; so also did St. Catherine of Sienna, and many other saints." But it is not only to those who are led on by Divine gi-ace to the higher degrees of prayer, as were those favoured souls referred to by St. Teresa, that frequent meditation on the Sa- cred Humanity of our Lord is productive of such blessed results, but to the faithful in general it is the sure and certain way of advancing in the love of God. And if this be true with regard to the mysteries of the Passion and of the Blessed Sacrament, it is especially so of the Infancy and Hidden Life of our dear Bedeemer. He is indeed, as St. Teresa says, our pattern, and the very best : the life of eveiy Christian must be moulded and fashioned after His ; travelling along the road to eternity, his one sole thought must be to keep his eyes for ever fixed on this Divine example, " looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith." In proposing, then, the Infancy of our Blessed Sa- viour as the mystery of His Sacred Humanity especially fitted for our meditation and example, it must not, of course, be understood that we would say that the whole life of our dear Lord, fi-om His birth even to His death, is not to be our model, nor that we would compare mysteiy with mystery, or set one above the other. We must without doubt strive to imitate Him in all things, and to have His whole life continually be- fore us ; but this does not prevent its being true that certain portions of it are more beyond our feeble reach than others. and too high, too divine, to be closely imitated by us. And if, too, as St. Teresa says, " our frail nature or our infirmities will not allow us always to be meditating on the Passion on account of its painfulness, because it is true that no one can bear always to be meditating on all the sufi"erings which He en- V ,' dured," then we can turn, as the Saint suggests, to the Blessed Sacrament, or, to come back to our present subject, to the In- fancy and Hidden Life. There every moment, each single step, the slightest word, the smallest action, while they are all in- finite, unfathomable mysteries, as being the words and actions of an Incarnate God, are at the same time full of practical lessons within our reach ; they are examples which we can minutely follow ; they will console and strengthen us in our daily life, will meet us at every step, will ever be to us the gi-acious and loving expressions of that Word which is " the lamp to our feet and the light to our paths." Those who carefully study the meditations and discourses of St. Alphonsus on the Sacred Infancy will at once perceive what use he makes of even the most minute details and cir- cumstances in the Birth and Hidden Life of our Blessed Lord. To him, as to St. Bernard and others who had written before him on this mystery, every thing connected with the Infancy of Jesus has a meaning, conveys a lesson, is a fresh motive for gratitude and love. The time, the manner, the place of the Nativity, the cold j' damp cave, the manger and the straw, the breath of the animals with whom Jesus shared His resting-place, the tears and cries of the Divine Infant, the milk of His most blessed Mother, the poor rags and swaddling-clothes,— all, all is gi-eat, all is full of wonder, all is divine ; it is the excess and prodigality of the love of God, the rays of that fire which bums within the Sacred Heart, and which is ever seeking to find an entrance into, and to consume, the hearts of men. If then, dear Christian reader, thou wouldest follow in the steps of the Saints, and make good use of this treasury of grace, the Sacred Humanity of our Lord, meditate upon it as did the Saints ; with St. Alphonsus as your guide, enter the cave of Bethlehem, approach the crib, and gaze on that Divine Child X PREFACE. who is weeping, trembling, and suffering the hardships of po- verty and cold for thee. If thou wouldest order well thy daily life, sanctify even the most ordinary actions, and turn them into merits for eternity, perform the duties of thy state in the spirit of prayer and in union with God ; bid St. Alphonsus conduct thee to the cot of Nazareth, dwell there with the Holy Family, with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph ; watch well the actions of that young Boy, thy Redeemer and thy God, His obedience to Mary and to Joseph, His profound humility. His divine simplicity. Wouldest thou know how to gain heaven in the midst of daily toil, in a hidden and common life, in the round of ordi- nary duties, which glitter not in the eyes of men, unnoticed and unknown, saving perhaps to thyself and God ; learn of Jesus as He carries water from the well, as He labours in the shop of Joseph, as He takes His share in the household duties of that Holy Family ; consider Him in His prayer. His silence. His recollection, in His union with His eternal Father : and forget not that all these things were for thee ; that they were all the actions of an Incarnate God, of an infinite value in the sight of the Heavenly Father, that they merited for thee what- ever thou hast of grace here, whatever thou hopest for of glory hereafter. In the cave of Bethlehem, in the house of Nazareth, thou wilt find a boundless, inexhaustible ocean of merit, satisfection, and grace ; enter, then, in with faith, draw deeply from that treasury of mercy and of love ; and thus clothed with the merits of Jesus, strengthened by His grace, and with the good-will to follow His example, present thyself to His eternal Father, to repose with the Infant Jesus in the bosom of His love for time and for eternity. One word more, and we bring these few introductory remarks to a close. The devotion to the Infancy and Hidden Life of our dearest Lord would seem in a special manner suited to the times in which we are living. Not to enter into all that might be said upon this subject, we will briefly advert to two points suggested to us by the present volume. PREFACE. XI « ^ }l If there is one thing which must strike all who meditate on the Infancy of our Lord, it is the poverty in which He chose to be bom, and which He took as the inseparable companion of His whole life. Whereas if we leave the cave of Bethlehem, and look out upon the world in which our lot is oast, what do we see, but that which Jesus chose and loved become the subject of horror and disgust ? Poverty is now in the eyes of the world a simple disgrace ; and our poor, the chosen ones of the Heart of Jesus, are considered at best as a necessary though intolerable e\il; and to relieve them, or provide means for their permanent support, is done rather in the spirit of removing an object which disgusts and annoys the sight, than in that of Christian charity and devotion to the Person of our Lord in His distressed and suffering members. How different are the thoughts of one who has made himself familiar with the cave of Bethlehem and the holy house of Nazareth ! How will he not, after meditating on the poverty of Jesus, on the cold and suffering of that first Christmas night, on the thirty years of hardship and of toil, — ^how will he not feel his heart moved more and more with compassion and tenderness for the poor of Jesus ! What care will he not take, lest from living in the world he become himself but ever so slightly infected by its spirit ; what devotion and readiness will he not show to assist and co-operate, as far as it is in his power, in all the works of mercy, corporal and spiritual — and especially in the latter, in which the faithful children of the Church are ever, and pai-ticularly at the present time, so zea- lously and unselfishly engaged ! The second point suggested by the Infancy of our Lord, which, in conclusion, we will just touch upon, is this. We live in an age of untiring activity, in an age which measures success by immediate, visible, and palpable results, in which no sooner is a work begun than men are at once impatient to see its completion. The world cannot bear to work step by step, to watch the proper place, and time, and occasion, for its designs : all must be done at once ; to begin and finish must be, were it possible, simultaneous; calmly to wait and let things maturely grow, is considered a sign of weakness, is in itself a failure. The patience, and forbearance, and gentle pro- vidence of God, is forgotten j neither do men remember how U Xll PREFACE. even Wisdom itself, though " slie reacheth from end to end mightily," yet " ordereth all thiogs sweetly.'* Would we learn to be patient as God is patient, to order things as He does sweetly, to he content with the knowledge that, when we have done our best, whether in the work of our own sanctification or in our efforts for the good and salvation of others, we must after all wait patiently, and hope and pray, leaving the result to the good providence of God : would we cherish hidden ways, and humble unpretending aims, and rest satisfied that we are only allowed to plant and sow, while it is for othei-s to reap the fruits of our labours ;-then let us tiy to live with Jesus in His Hidden Life, and not be over-anxious to see the results and success even of our purest undertakings ; for God Himself, after having waited four thousand years to redeem mankind, thought it not too long to wait even yet a period of thirty more, before He accomplished that work of love for which He had expressly come into the world. And now, dear reader, farewell. We leave thee with Mary, Joseph, and Alphonsus, in the cave of Bethlehem ; mayest thou love to dwell there, and learn of Jesus the virtues of His Sacred Infancy, and the art of dying to thyself, that thou mayest live to Him. " What can the world profit thee without Jesus ? «« To be without Jesus is a gi-ievous hell ; and to be with Jesus a sweet paradise. " It is a great art to know how to converse with Jesus, and to know how to keep Jesus is great wisdom. " Stand, then, with an even mind resigned to the will of God, and bear for the glory of God whatever shall befal thee : b ccause after winter comes summer ; after the night the day returns ; after a storm there follows a great calm.*' {Imitation, book ii. c. viii.) Robert Asto:^ Coffin, C.SS.R, St. Manfs, Clapla.n, Sept. 30, 1854. CONTENTS. ♦ PAGE Eight Meditations on the great Mystery of the Incarnation OF THE ErERNAL WORD, FOR THE FIRST EIGHT DAYS OF ADVENT 1 Meditations for the first days of Advent till the Novena OF Christmas ^^ Meditations for the Novena for Christmas , . . '48 Another Novena FOR Christmas Med. I. On the love of God in becoming man . . . • * ^^ II. On the love of God in being born an infont . . . a III On the life of poverty which Jesus led even from His bu-th /J IV.* On the Ufe of humility which Jesus led even from His infancy i*- u * '^- V On the life of son'ow which Jesus led even from His birth . t a Vl! On the mercy of God in coming down from heaven to save us by His death l^ VII. On the journey of the Infant Jesus into Egypt . . . / < VIII*. On the sojourn of the Infant Jesus in Egypt and in Naza- fV» • • • • . < «/ IX. On the birth of the Infant Jesus in the cave of Bethlehem 80 i iHttJitatioit^ for tl;c (S^ctabe o! tT)e i^attbiti), AND FOR THE FOLLOWING DAYS UNTIL THE EPIFHANY. CO Med. I. On the birth of Jesus °- II. Jesus is born an infant ^^ III. Jesus in swaddUng-clothes. * ' * ' ' go *» IV. On Jesus taking milk I Xiv CONTENTS. PAGX Med. V. Jesus King on the straw ^* VI. Jesus sleeping ^^ VII. Jesus weeping ^^ VIII. On the Name of Jesus ^ IX. On the solitude of Jesus in the stable . . . . w X. On the occupations of the Infant Jesus in the stable of Bethlehem |^^ XI. On the poverty of the Infent Jesus 1"^ fHeTJitation^ for t!)e (^tiaht of tje epip]&an|). Med. I. The adoration of the Magi |^ II. On the presentation of Jesus in the Temple . . . lOo III. On the flight of Jesus into Egypt ^^ IV. On the dwellmg of Jesus in Egypt 1|1 V. On the return of Jesxis from Egypt 11* VI. On the dwelling of Jesus in Nazareth . . • -Ho VII. The same subject continued -^ j^ VIII. On the loss of Jesus in the Temple 11^ Another Meditation for the Feast of the Circumcision Epiphany . Sacred Name of Jesus 122 123 124 i CONTENTS. XV PAGK Disc. IX. The Eteraal Word from being high made Himself low , 209 X. On the birth of Jesus Christ, for Christmas Night . , 219 XI. On the Name of Jesus 227 Examples of the Infant Jesus 238 The Way of BErHLEHEM, or Stations of the Infant Jesus . 245 Appendix 261 iSijJcouritjf for t!)e j3obena of Cf)ris;tma^. Disc. I. The Eternal Word is made Man 126 II. The Eternal Word from being great made Himself little . 140 III. The Eternal Wor J from being Lonl made Himself a servant 150 IV. The Eternal Word from being innocent made Himself guilty 159 V. The Eternal Word from being strong made Himself weak 170 VI. The Eternal Word from being His own made Himself ours 179 VII. The Eternal Word from being happy made Himself af- flicted .188 VIII. The Eternal Word from being rich made Himself poor . 199 ;• I EIGHT MEDITATIOi^'S UPON THE GREAT MYSTERY OP THE INCARNATION OF THE ETERNAL WORD, TO BE MADE IN THE FIRST EIGHT DAYS OP ADVENT, BEQINNINQ WITH THE FIRST SUNDAY. Meditation I. I. "And the Word was made flesh" (St. John i. 14), God has created us to love Him in this life, and afterwards to enjoy Him in the next ; but we ungratefully rebelled against God by sinning, and refused to obey Him, and therefore we have been deprived of Divine grace, and ex- cluded from Paradise, and besides condemned to the eternal pains of hell. Behold us, therefore, all lost ; but this God, moved by compassion for us, resolved to send on earth a Redeemer, who should repair our great ruin. II.' But who shall this Redeemer be 1 Shall it be an angel, or a seraph 1 No ; to show us the immense love that He bears us, God sends us His own Son : " God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh " (Rom. viii. 3). He sent his only-begotten Son to clothe Himself with the same flesh as we sinners, but without the stain of sin; and He willed that by His sufferings and His death He should satisfy the Divine justice for our crimes, and should thus deliver us from eternal death, and render us worthy of Divine grace and eternal glory. I thank Thee, my B ) 1/ 4 i 2 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION God, on behalf of all mankind ; for, if Thou hadst not thought (^f saving us, I and all the world would have been lost foi' ever. III. Let us dwell here on the infinite love which our God haB'aiU<»*r4 for us in this great work of the Incarnation of the Word, ordaining that His Son should come and sacrifice His life upon the Cross by the hands of execu- tioners, m a fsea, of sorrows and of shame, to obtain for us pardon and eternal salvation. Oh, infinite goodness ! Oh, infinite mercy ! Oh, infinite love ! A God to become man and die for us, poor worms ! I beseech Thee, my Saviour, make me know how much Thou hast loved me, in order that, at the sight of Thy loving-kindness, I may discover my own ingratitude. Thou hast delivered me by Thy death from perdition ; and I, ungrateful that I am, have turned my back upon Thee, to ruin myself again ! I repent with all my heart of having done Thee this great injury. O my Saviour, forgive me, and save me in future from sin ; do not suffer me again to lose Thy grace. I love Thee, O my dear Jesus ; Thou art my hope and my love ! O Mary, Mother of this great Son, recommend to Him my soul ! Meditation II.* I. " And became incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Vir- gin Mary ; and was made man." God created Adam, and enriched him with gifts ; but man, ungrateful, offended Him by sinning, and thus both he and all we his descendants remained deprived of Divine grace and Paradise. Thus, then, all mankind was lost and without a remedy. Man had offended God, and therefore was incapable of giving Him an adequate satisfaction ; it was necessary then that a Divine person should satisfy for man. What does the eternal Father to save lost man ? He sent this same Son to become man, and clothe Himself with the same flesh as sin* fill men, in order that by His death He might pay their debts to Divine justice, and thus obtain for them a resto^ ration to Divine grace. O my God, if Thy infinite bounty had not discovered this remedy, who of us could ever have asked it, or even imagined it 1 :i MED. III.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. II. God what a subject of wonder must not this ffreat love which God showed to rebellious man have been tS the angels ! What must they have said when they saw the eternal Word become man, and assume the same flesh as sinful man, msomuch that this Word incarnate appeared to the whole world in the form of a sinful man, as were all others. O my Jesus, how much do we not owe Thee and how much more than others am I not indebted to Ihee who have offended Thee so much more than others ! It Ihou hadst not come to save me, what would have become of me for all eternity ? Who could have saved me from the pams that I deserve? Mayest Thou be ever blessed and praised for such great love ! III. Thus, then, the Son of God comes from heaven on earth, and becomes man : He comes to live a life of suffer- ing ; He comes to die upon the cross for the love of man ; and shall men who believe all this love any other object besides this incarnate God ? O Jesus my Saviour, I will love none other but Thee ; Thou alone hast loved me, Thee alone will I love. I renounce all created goods- Thou alone art sufficient for me, O immense and infinite Good ! If hitherto I have displeased Thee, I am now heartily sorry for it, and would wish that this sorrow might make me die, to compensate in some measure for the displea- sure I have caused Thee. Oh, permit me not in future to be ever again ungi-ateful for the love Thou hast borne me. No, my Jesus, make me to love Thee, and then treat me as Thou pleasest. O infinite Bounty, O infinite Love, I will only live henceforth to love Thee ! O Mary, Mother of mercy, this one favour I ask of thee, obtain for me the gi-ace of always, always loving God. I. Consider, my us His beloved Son no stronger motives His infinite bounty; certain token of the immense love which Meditation III. soul, how the eternal Father, in giving for our Redeemer, could have given us for confiding in His mercy and loving for He could have given us no more desire He has for our good, and of the He bears us, inasmuch as in giving us 4 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION His Son, He hag nothing left to give us Let all men, therefore, O eternal God, praise Thy infinite chanty- II " How hath He not also, with Him, given us all thin-sr' (Rom. viii. 32.) Since God has g'/e" »%H.8 Son, whom He loved as Himself how can we fear that He will deny us any other good that we ask of Him I it, rherefore^ He haJ given us His Son, He will not refuse us lardon for the offences which we have committed against E provided we detest them ; He will not refuse us the ^c; to resist temptations, if we mplore it of H.m ; He ^ill not refuse us His holy love, if we desire it ; He will not finally, refuse us Paradise, if we do not render our- c4ves unworthy of it by falling into sin. Behold how Jesus Himself Lures us of this : "If )- -J„*^,^«j*i unv thin" in My name. He will give it you (bt. Jonn xvi 23)° Encouraged, therefore, O my God, by this pro- mise I beg of Thee, for the love of Jesus Thy Son, t* Sn me all the injuries that I have done Thee ; give Le holy peieveranci in Thy grace until death ; give me Thv holy love; may I detach myself from every thing to love ThJe alone, O infinite Goodness; give me Paradise n order that I may come and love Thee there with all my strength, and for ever, without fear of ever ceasing to love^^^iee^^ a word, the apostle says, that having ob- tained Jesus Christ, we have been enriched with every Bood, so that there is no grace wanting to us : in all ?hTngs you are made rich in Hini . . so «-* -tlung is wanting to you in any grace" (1 Cor. i. 5, .). 5(es, mv Jesus, Thou art everv good; Thou alone sufficest me ; fo^ Thee alone do I siglil if once I drove Thee away from me by my sins, I repent of it now with my whole heart Forgive me, and return to me, O Lord , ana it Thou art already with me, as I hope, leave me not again or rather, suffer me not to drive Thee away from my soul a^ain. My Jesus, my Jesus, my Treasure, my Love, my All I love Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee, and will love Thee for ever. Mary, my hope, make me always to love Jesus. ! MED. IV.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. Meditation IV. " When the fulness of the time was come, God sent His Son"' (Gal. iv. 4). How thankful should we not be to Almighty God for having caused us to be born after the great work of man's redemption was accomplished! This is what is meant by Hhe fulness of time,' a time blessed by the fulness of grace, which Jesus Christ ob- tained for us by coming into the world. Miserable should we have been if, guilty as we are of manifold sins, we had lived on this earth before the coming of Jesus Christ. II. Oh, what a miserable state were all men in beford' the coming of the Messias ; the true God was hardly known even in Judea, and in every other part of the world idolatry reigned, so that our forefathers worshij^ped stones, and wood, and devils ; they worshipped innumerable false gods, but the true God was neither loved nor known by them ; even now, how many countries are there in which there are scarcely any Catholics, and all the rest of the inhabitants are either infidels or heretics, and all these are certainly in the way to be lost. What obligation do we not owe to God for causing us to be born, not only after the coming of Jesus Christ, but also in countries where the true faith reigns : I thank Thee, Lord, for it. Woe to me, if, after so many transgressions, it had been my lot to live in the midst of infidels or heretics ! I know, O my God, that Thou wiliest that I should be saved; and I, miserable wretch, have willed so many times to damn myself by losing Thy favour. Have pity, my Blessed Redeemer, on my soul, which has cost TJiee so much. III. " God sent His Son, that He might redeem them that were under the law' (Gal. iv. 4). The slave there- fore sins, and by sinning gives himself into the power of the devil, and his own Lord comes and ransoms him by His death. O immense love, O infinite love of God to- wards man ! O my Saviour, if Thou hadst not redeemed me by Thy death, what would have become of me 1 Of me, who so many times have deserved hell by my sins. 6 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION Oh, if Thou, my Jesus, hadst not died for me, I should have lost Thee for ever, and there would have been no hope for me of recovering Thy grace, or of seeing Thy beautiful face in Paradise. My dearest Saviour, I thank Thee ; and I hope to come to heaven, there to thank Thee for all eternity. I regret above every evil that of having despised Thee in times past. In future, I pui-pose to choose every trouble, every kind of death, rather than offend Thee. I beseech Thee, my Jesus, let me never do so ; ' never let me be separated from Thee^ never let me be separated from Thee.*- I love Thee, O infinite Goodness, and I will always love Thee in this life, and in all eternity. O my queen and advocate, Mary, keep me always under thy protection, and deliver me from sin. Meditation V. I. " He loved me, and delivered Himself for me" (Gal. ii. 20). If, therefore, my Jesus, Thou hast for love of me embraced a lal)orious life and a bitter death, I may, in- deed, say that Thy death is mine. Thy sufferings are mine, Thy merits are mine, Thou Thyself art mine; since for me Thou hast given Thyself up to such great sufferings. Ah, my Jesus, there is no trouble that afflicts me more than the thought that once Thou wert mine, and that I have so often willingly lost Thee. Forgive me, and unite me to Thyself; suffer me not in future ever to offend Thee again. I love Thee with all my heart. Thou wiliest to be all mine; and I will be entirely Thine. II. The Son of God being true God is infinitely happy; and yet, as St. Tliomas says, He has done and suffered as much for man as if He could not be happy without him. If Jesus Christ had been obliged to earn for Himself upon this earth His eternal beatitude, what could He have done more, than to burden Himself with all our weaknesses, and r.ssume all our infirmities, and then end His life with a death so severe and ignominious 1 But no. He was inno- cent. He was holy, and was in Himself blessed ; whatever He did and suffered was all to gain for us Divine grace and Paradise, which we had lost. Miserable is he that ' MED. VI.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. does not love Thee, my Jesus, and that does not pass his life enamoured with so much goodness. III. If Jesus Christ had permitted us to ask Him for the greatest proofs of His love, who would have dared to pro- pose to Him to become a child like one of us, to embrace all our miseries, to make Himself of all men the most poor, the most despised, the most ill-used, even to dying in tor- ments the infamous death of the Cross, cursed and for- saken by all, even by His ow^n Father] But that which We should not have dared even to think of, He has both thought of and done. My beloved Redeemer, I beseech Thee to obtain for me that grace which Thou hast merited for me by Thy death. I love Thee, and am sorry for having offended Thee. Oh, take my soul into Thy hands; I will not let the devil have dominion over it any more; I desire that it may be entirely Thine, since Thou hast bought it with Thy blood. Thou alone lovest me, and Thee alone will I love. Deliver me from the misery of living without Thy love, and then chastise me as Thou wiliest. O Mary, my refuge, the death of Jesus and thy intercession ai'e my hopes. Meditation VI. I. "My sorrow is continually before me" (Ps. xxxvii. 18). All the aflflictions and ignominies which Jesus Christ suffered in life and death, all were present to His mind from the first moment of His life : ' Dolor mens in con- spectu meo semper;' and He offered them all every mo- ment of His life in satisfaction for our sins. Our Lord revealed to one of His servants that every sin of men gave Him during His life so much sorrow, that it would have sufficed to cause His death, if His life had not been preserved in order that He might suffer more. Behold, O my Jesus, what gratitude hast Thou received from men, and especially from me. Thou hast spent thirty-three years of life for my salvation, and I have done as much as I could, as far as it depended on me, to make Thee die with sorrow, as often as I have committed sin. II. St. Bernardine of Sienna writes, that Jesus Christ I 8 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION ' had a particular regard to every single sin. Each of our sins was present continually to our Saviour, even from Hi3 infancy, and afflicted Him grievously. St. Thomas adds,i that this one sorrow of knowing all the injury which re- sulted to the Father from every sin, and all the evil which it occasioned to us, surpassed the sorrow of all the contrite sinners that ever were, even of those who died of pure con- trition ; because no sinner ever arrived at loving God and his own soul as Jesus Christ has loved the Father and our souls. Therefore, my Jesus, if no man ever loved me more than Thou hast done, it is only just that I should love Thee above all men. Since, then, I can say that Thou alone hast really loved me, so will I love Thee alone. III. That agony which Jesus suffered in the garden at the sight of our sins, for which He had taken upon Him- self to satisfy. He suffered from the time He was conceived iu His mother's womb. If, therefore, Jesus Christ passed a life full of tribulations for no other reason than on ac- count of our sins, we ought not, during our life, to afflict ourselves for any other evils than for the sins which we have committed. My beloved Hedcemer, I could wish to die of sorrow at the thought of all the bitterness I have caused Thee during my life. My Love, if Thou lovest me, give me such a sorrow as may take away my life, and so obtain for me Thy pardon, and the grace to love Thee with all my strength. I give Thee my whole heart; and if I do not know how to give it Thee entirely, oh, do Thou take it Thyself, and inflame it with Thy holy love. O Mary, advocate of the wretched, I recommend myself to thee. Meditation VII. T. "I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptised; and how am I straitened until it be accomplished !' (St. Luke xii. 50.) Jesus could have saved us without suffer- ing ; but He chose rather to embrace a life of son-ow and contempt, deprived of every earthly consolation, and a death of bitterness and desolation, only to make us under- stand the love which He bore us, and the desire which He had that we should love Him. He passed His whole life li MED. VII.] OP THE ETERNAL WORD. 9 in sighing for the hour of His death, which He desired to offer to God, to obtain for us eternal salvation. And it was this desire which made Him exclaim : " I have a bap- tism wherewith I am to be baptised; and how am I strait- ened until it be accomplished I" He desired to be baptised in His own blood, to wash out, not, indeed, His own, but our sins. Oh^^ infinite Love, how miserable is he who does not know Thee, and does not love Thee ! II. This same desire caused Him to say, on the night before His death, "With desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you" (St. Luke xxii. 15). By which words He shows that His only desire during His whole life had been to see the time arrive for His passion and death, in order to prove to man the immense love which He bore him. So much, therefore, O my Jesus, didst Thou desire our love, that to obtain it Thou didst not refuse to die. How could I then deny any thing to a God who, for love of me, has given His blood and His life 1 III. St. Bonaventure says, that it is a wonder to see a God suffering for the love of men; but that it is a still greater wonder that men should behold a God suffering so much for them, shivering with cold as an infant in a manger, living as a poor boy in a shop, dying as a criminal on a cross, and yet not burn with love to this most loving God; but even go so far as to despise this love, for the sake of the miserable pleasures of this earth. But how is it pos- sible that God should be so enamoured with men, and that men, who are so grateful to one another, should be so ungrateful to God 1 Alas ! my Jesus, I find myself also among the number of tliese ungrateful ones. Tell ine, how couldest Thou suffer so much for me, knowing the in- juries that I should commit against Thee? But since Thou hast borne with me, and even desirest my salvation, give me, I pray Thee, a great sorrow for my sins, a sorrow equal to my ingratitude. I hate and detest, above all things, my Lord, the displeasure which I have caused Thee. If, during my past life, I have despised Thy gi'ace, now I value it above all the kingdoms of the earth. I love Thee with my whole soul, O God, worthy of infinite love, and I desire only to live in order to love Thee. Increase the I 10 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION flames of Thy love, and give me more and more love. Keep alive in my remembrance the love Thou hast borne me, so that my heart may always burn with love for Thee, as Thy heart burns with love for me. Oh, burning heart of Mary, inflame my poor heart with holy love. Meditation VIII. " You shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour's fountains" (Is. xii. 3). We have three fountains of grace in Jesus Christ. The first is the fountain of mercy, in which we may purify ourselves from all the filth of our sins. I'or this end did our blessed Redeemer form, for our good, this fountain out of His own blood. "He hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood" (Apoc. i. o). My dearest Saviour, how much do I owe Thee ! Thou hast done for me what no servant would have done for his master, and no son for his father. No, I cannot cease to love Thee; for Thou hast, by Thy love, entailed on me the necessity of loving Thee. II. The second fountain is that of love. He that me- ditates on the sufferings and degradations undergone by Jesus Christ, for the love of us, from His birth even until His death, must of necessity feci himself inflamed with that blessed fire which He came on earth to enkindle in the hearts of men. Thus it is that the waters of this foun- tain wash, and at the same time inflame, our souls. Grant, therefore, O my Jesus, that the blood which Thou hast shed for me may not only wash away all the sins which I have committed against Thee, but may also inflame me v/itli holy ardour towards Thee. Make me forget every thing, so that I may be intent only on loving Thee, my God, who art worthy of infinite love. III. The third fountain is that o^ peace. This is what Jesus Christ meant wlien He said, "If any man thirst, let him come to Me" (St. John vii. 37). He that desireth peace of mind, let him come to Me, who am the God of peace. The peace which the Lord gives to the souls that love Him, is not the peace which the world promises in the pleasures of sense, or in temporal goods, which do not sa- i MED. VIII.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 11 tisfy the heart of man. The peace which God gives to His servants is true peace, perfect peace, which satisfies the heart, and surpasses all the enjoyments that creatures can afford. '' But he that shall drink of the water that I will give him shall not thirst for ever" (St. John iv. 13). He that truly loves God leaves every thing, despises every thing, and seeks nothing but God. ' Yes, my God, I de- sire Thee alone, and nothing else.' There was, indeed, a time wdicn I sought for other goods besides Thee ; but when I think of the injustice which I have done Thee,* in pre- ferring such vile and fleeting goods to Thee, I am ready to die of sorrow. I acknowledge the sin I have committed, and I grieve for it with my whole heart. I acknowledge also that Thou art worthy of all my love; and therefore I repeat, and hope always to repeat in this life and in the next, *My God, my God, I desire Thee alone, and nothing more; I desire Thee alone, and nothing more.' Mary, thou wert the first lover of this God; oh, make me partake in thy love. 'r MED. I.] INCARNATION OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 13 MEDITATIONS FOR THE FIRST DAYS OF ADVENT TILL THE NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. Meditation I. tt And was incarnato of the Holy Ghost, and was mado man." Consider how that God, having created the first man, in order that he might serve Him and love Him in tliis life, and be conducted afterwards to reign with Him for ever in Paradise, enriched him for this end with knowledge and grace. But ungrateful man rebelled against God, re- fusing Him the obedience which he owed Him in justice and gratitude; and thus, miserable sinner, was he left with all his posterity as a rebel, deprived of Divine grace, and for ever excluded from Paradise. Behold, then, after this ruin, caused by sin, all men lost ! All were living in blindness, or in the darkness of the shadow of death. The devil had dominion over them, and hell destroyed innu- merable victims amongst them. But God, seeing men re- duced to this miserable state, was moved with pity, and resolved to save them. And how ? He did not send an angel, a seraph; but to show to the world the immense love that He bore to these ungrateful worms, " He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Rom. viii. 3). He sent His own Son to become man, and to clothe Himself with the same flesh as sinful men, in order that, by His sufferings and death, He might satisfy the Divine justice for their crimes, and thus deliver them from eternal death; and reconciling them with His Divine Father, might ob- tain for them Divine grace, and might render them worthy to enter into life eternal. Here consider, on the one hand, the immense ruin that sin brings upon souls, as it deprives (- ' / ► them of the friendship of God and of Paradise, and con- demns them to an eternity of pain. And, on the other Land, consider the infinite love which God showed in this great work of the incarnation of the Word, causing His only-begotten Son to sacrifice His Divine life by the hands of executioners on a cross, in a sea of sorrows and of in- famy, to obtain for us pardon and life eternal. Oh, in con- templating this great mystery and this excess of Divine love, how can we do otherwise than exclaim : Oh, infinite goodness I Oh, infinite mercy ! Oh, infinite love ! for a God to become man, and to die for me ! affections and prayers. But how is it, my Jesus, that after Thou hast repaired this ruin of sin by Thy own death, I have so often wilfully renewed it again by the many offences I have committed against Thee ? Thou hast saved me at so great a cost, and I have so often chosen to damn myself, in losing Thee, infinite Good ! But what Thou hast said gives me con- fidence, that when the sinner who has turned his back upon Thee is converted to Thee, Thou wilt not refuse to embrace him : " Turn ye to Me, and I will turn to you" (Zach. i. 3). Thou hast also said : " If any man shall . . . open to Me the door, I will come in to him" (Apoc. iii. 20). Behold, Lord, I am one of these rebels, an ungrate- ful traitor, who have often turned my back upon Thee, and driven Thee from my soul ; but now I repent with all my heart for having thus ill-used Thee and despised Thy grace; I repent of it, and love Thee above every thing. Behold, the door of my heart is already open ; enter Thou in, but enter never to leave it again. I know well that Thou wilt never leave me, if I do not again drive Thee away; but this is my fear, and this is the grace which I ask of Thee, and which 1 hope always to ask ; let me die rather than be guilty of this fresh and still greater ingratitude. My dearest Re- deemer, I do not deserve to love Thee, after all the offences I have committed against Thee ; but for Thy own merits' sake I ask of Thee the gift of Thy holy love, and therefore I beseech Thee make me know the great good Thou art, H MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION MED. II.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 15 the love Thou hast borne me, and how much Thou hast done to oblige me to love Thee. Ah, my God and Saviour, let me no longer live ungrateful to Thy great goodness. My Jesus, I ^vill never leave Thee again ; I have already offended Thee enough. It is only right that I should em- ploy the remaining years of my life in loving Thee and pleasing Thee. My Jesus, my Jesus, help me ; help a sin- ner that wishes to love Thee. O Mary, my Mother, thou hast all power with Jesus, seeing thou art His Mother; be^ of Him to forgive me ; beg of Him to enchain me with His holy love. Thou art my hopej in thee do I confide. Meditation II. " And tho Word was made flesh."— .S^ John i. 14. ro^"Tr^^^^ ^^"* ^*- ^"^^stine to write upon the heart of St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi the words, ' Verbum caro factum est.' Oh, let us also pray the Lord to enlighten our mmds, and to make us understand what an excess and what a miracle of love this is, that the eternal Word, the ^i'" 1.^ 1 ri' ^^°"^^ ^'""""^ become man for the love of us. 1 he holy Church is struck with awe at the contemplation , *mI-;^^* mystery: "I considered Thy works, and was afraid. (Resp. ni. ; Nocturn. ii.; in fest. Circumc.) If (jrod had created a thousand other worlds, a thousand times greater and more beautiful than the present, it is certain that this work would be infinitely less grand than the in- carnation of the Word: "He hath showed might in His arm.^ To execute the great work of the Incarnation, it required all the omnipotence and infinite wisdom of God in order to unite human nature to a Divine person, and that a Divine person should so humble Himself as to take upon Him human nature; thus God became man, and man became God; and hence, the divinity of the Word bein<. united to the soul and body of Jesus Christ, all the actions of this Man-God became divine; His prayers were divine His suffenngs diyme. His infant cries divine, His tears di^ vine, His steps divme, His members divine, His veiy blood divme, which became as it were a fountain of health to wash out all our sins, and a sacrifice of infinite value to appease the justice of the Father, who was justly offended with men. And who then are these men? miserable, un- grateful, and rebellious creatures. And yet for these God becomes man; subjects Himself to human miseries; suf- fers and dies to save these unworthy sinners : " He hum- bled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross" (Phil. ii. 8). Oh, holy faith ! If faith did not assure us of it, who would believe that a God of infinite majesty should abase Himself so far as to become a worm like us, in order to save us at the cost of so much suffering and disgrace, and of such a cruel and shameful death ? * Oh, grace ! oh, power of love !' cries St. Bernard. Oh, grace, which men could not even have imagined, if God Himself had not thought of granting it to us! Oh, divine love, which can never be fathomed I Oh, mercy ! Oh, in- finite charity, worthy only of an infinite bounty 1 affections and prayers. soul, body, O blood of my Jesus, I adore you and thank you ; you are my hope ; you are the price paid to save me from hell, which I have so often merited. Oh, my God, what a miserable and hopeless life would await me in eternity, if Thou, my Kcdeemer, hadst not thought of saving me by Thy sufferings and death ! But how is It that souls, redeemed by Thee with so much love, know- mg all this, can live without loving Thee, and can despise the grace which Thou hast acquired for them with so much suffering? And did not I also know all this? How, then, could I offend Thee, and offend Thee so often? But I repeat it. Thy blood is my hope. I acknowledge, my Saviour, the great injuries that I have done to Thee. Oh, that I had rather died a thousand times ! Oh, that I had always loved Thee! But I thank Thee that Thou yet givest me time to do so. I hope in the time that remains to me in this life, and for all eternity, to sing for ever Thy praises for the mercies Thou hast shown me. I have de- served, on account of my sins, to be more and more in darkness ; but Thou hast given me more and more light. I deserved that Thou shouldst abandon me ; but Thou, u MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION with calls still more loving, didst come to me and seek me. I deserved that my soul should remain more hardened ; but Thou hast softened and touched it with compunction, so that by Thy grace I now feel great sorrow for the offences 1 have committed against Thee; I feel within me an ardent desire of loving Thee ; I feel fully resolved to lose every thing rather than Thy friendship; I feel a love towards Thee that makes me abhor every thing that dis- pleases Thee. And this sorrow, this desire, this resolution, and this love, who is it that gives them to me ? It is Thou, Lord, in Thy great mercy. Therefore, my Jesus, this is a proof that Thou hast pardoned me; it is a proof that Thou now lovest me, and that Thou wiliest me at all costs to be saved; Thou wiliest that I should be saved, and 1 will save myself principally to give Thee pleasure. Thou lovest me, and I also love Thee; but my love is but little. Oh, give me more love ; Thou deservest more love from me, for I have received from Thee more special favours than others; I pray Thee, do Thou increase the flames of my love. Most holy Mary, obtain for me that the love of Jesus may consume and destroy in me every affection that has not God for its object. Thou dost listen to the prayers of all that call on thee ; listen to me also, obtain for me love and perseverance. Meditation III. " God so loved the world, as to give His only-begotten Son."— iSt.Johii iii. 16. Consider how that the eternal Father, in giving us His Son for a Redeemer, for victim and price of our ransom, could not have given us stronger motives for hope and love, to inspire us with confidence, and to oblige us to love Him. In giving us His Son (says St. Augustine), He could give us nothing more. He desires that we should avail ourselves of this immense gift in order to gain for ourselves eternal salvation, and every grace that we want; whilst in Jesus wc find all that we can desire; we find light, strength, peace, confidence, love, and eternal glory ; for Jesus Christ is a gift which contains all the gifts that MED. III.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 17 ^ we can seek for or desire : " How hath He not also, with Him, given us all things?" (Rom. viii. 32.) God having given us His beloved only-begotten Son, Avho is the foun- tain and treasure of all good, who need fear that He should deny us any favour that we ask of Him ? " Christ Jesus is of God made unto us ivisdom, and justice, and sanctifica- tion, and redemption" (1 Cor. i. 30). God hath given Him to us in order that He might be to us ignorant and blind creatures light and wisdom, wherewith to walk in the way of salvation ; in order that to us who are deserving of hell He might be justice, enabling us to aspire to Paradise ; that to us sinners He might be sanctification, to obtain for us holi- ness; that, finally, to us slaves of the devil He mighj>J)e a ransom to purchase for us the liberty of the sons of God. In short, the apostle says, that with Jesus Christ we have been enriched with every good gift and every grace, if we ask it through His merits : " In all things you are made rich in Him, ... so that nothing is wanting to you in any grace" (I Cor. v. 7). And this gift which God has made us of His Son is a gift to each one of us; for He hath given Him entirely to each of us, as if He had given Him to each one alone, so that every one of us may say : Jesus is all mine; His body is mine; His blood is mine; His life is mine; His sorrows. His death. His merits, are all mine. Wherefore St. Paul said, " He loved me, and delivered Him- self for me" (Gal. ii. 20). And every one may say the same thing : * My Redeemer has loved me ; and for the love that He bore me He hath given Himself entirely to mc.' AFFECTIONS AND PRATERS. O eternal God, who could ever have given us this trea- sure of infinite value, but Thou, who art a God of infinite love 1 O my Creator, what more couldst Thou have done to give us confidence in Thy mercy, and to put us under an obligation of loving Thee 1 O Lord, I have repaid Thee with ingratitude ; but Thou hast said, " To them that love God all things work together unto good" (Rom. viii. 2%), Therefore, notwithstanding the great number and the enormity of my sins, I will not despair of Thy bounty ; c 18 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION rather let my trans^essions serve to humble me the more whenever I meet with any insult ; other insults and humi- liations does he deserve who has had the temerity to offend Thy Divine majesty. I wisli tliat my sins may serve to reconcile me the more to the crosses which Thou shalt send me, that I may be more diligent to serve and honour Thee, in order to compensate for the injuries I have committed against Thee. O my God, I will always remember the dis])leasure I have caused Thee, in order that I may the more exalt Thy mercy, and be inflamed with love for Thee, who hast brought me back when I was flying from Thee, and who hast done mc so much good after I had behM-ed so ill to Thee. I trust, O Lord, that Thou hast already forgiven me. I repent, and will always repent, of the outrages I have committed against Thee. I will en- deavour to please Thee by making comi)ensation by my love for the ingratitude I have shown Thee ; but I depend upon Thee to help me ; from Thee I hope to obtain the grace to fulfil this my desire. O my God, for Thy glory's sake, vouchsafe to grant that, as I iiavc offended Thee much, I may also love Tliee much. My God, my God, how can T ever leave off loving Thee, and separate myself again from Thy love ! O Mary, my queen, do thou assist me ; thou knowest my weakness ; grant that I may have recourse to thee whenever the devil tries to separate me from God. My Mother, my hope, do thou help me. _ Meditation IV. r . 4: \ " Whcu the fulness of timo was como, God sent Ilia Sou.*— (7a7. iV. 4. Consider how that God allowed four thousand years to pass, after the transgression of Adam, before He sent His Son upon earth to redeem the world. And in the mean time, oh, what fatal darkness reigned upon Che earth ! The true God was not known or adored, except in one small corner of the world. Idolatry reigned every where ; so that devils and beasts and stones were adored as gods. But let us admire in this the Divine Wisdom : He de- ferred the coming of the Redeemer in order to render MED. IV.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 19 His advent more welcome to man, in order that the ma- lice of sin might be better known, as well as tlie neces- sity of a remedy and the grace of the Saviour. If Jesus Christ had come into the world immediately after the fall of Adam, the greatness of this favour would have been but slightly appreciated. Let us therefore thank the goodness of God for having sent us into the world after the great work of redemption was accomplished. Behold the happy time is come which was called tlie fulness of time : " AVhen the fulness of time was come, God sent His Son, .... that He midit redeem them that were under the law." It is called fulness, on account of the fulness of grace which the Son of God came to communicate to men by the re- demption of the world. Behold the angel who is sent as ambassador into the town of Nazareth to announce to the Virgin Mary the coming of the Word, who desires to be- come incarnate in her womb. The anp^ei saU»t«fi her, calfe her full of gnice and blessed among women. Tbc Imimblc Virgin, chosen to be the Mother of the So« of God, is trou- bled at these praises on account of her grofct humility : but the angel encourages her, and tells her that rfiO hiu £o«iiiid grace with God ; that is to say, that gnioe wbich brought peace between God and man, and the r6|)«raUon of the ruin caused by sin. He then tells Lcr lluit ehc miwt jfive her Son the name of Saviour : " Thou «huU <3»ll His naiac Jesus ;" — and that this her Son is tbc vvr^* Sou of God, who is to redeem the world, and thun to rHgti oiver the hearts of men. Behold, at last Mary ccoseais to bc tbo Mother of such a Son : ** Be it unto me ocoonUotf U> Thj word." And the eternal Word takc8 ^t%\\ oad M001IM8 mxm : " And the Word was made flc:»h.** Let w Ui«nk this Son, and let us also thank His Motlicr, wlio, iu coa- seuting to be the ^Mother of such a Son, cOMcntcd ateo to be the Mother of our salvation, and MoUiitr ttlto of sor- rows, accepting at that time the deepikb^HM otiocrowa tbit it would cost her to be the Mother of n Sonwbo waa to come into the world to sufier and diu for ni4X). 20 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. O Divine Word, become man for me, though I behold Thee thus humbled and become a little infant in the womb of Mary, yet I confess and acknowledge Thee for my Lord and King, but a king of love. My dearest Saviour, since Thou hast come down upon earth and clothed Thy- self with our miserable flesh, in order to reign over our hearts, I beseech Thee come and establish Thy reign in my heart also, which was once, alas, ruled over by Thine enemies, biit is now, I hope, Thine, as I desire that it may be always Thine, and that from this day forth Thou mayest he its only Lord ; ** Rule Thou in the midst of Thy ene- mies" (Ps. cix. 2). Other kings reign by the strength of arms, but Thou comest to reign by the power of love ; and therefore Thou dost not come with regal pomp, nor clothed in purple and gold, nor adorned with sceptre and crown, nor surrounded by armies of soldiers. Thou comest into the world to be born in a stable, — poor, forsaken, placed in a manjrer on a little straw, because thus Thou wouldst begin to reign in our hearts. Ah, my infant King, how could I so often rebel against Thee, and live so long Thy enemy, deprived of Thy grace, when, to oblige me to love Thee, Thou hast put ofl'Thy Divine majesty, and hast hum- bled Thyself even to appearing, first, as a baby in a cave ; then as a servant in a shop ; then as a criminal on a cross? Oh, happy me, if now that I have been freed (as I hope) from the slavery of Satan, I allow myself for ever to be governed by Thee and by Thy love ! O Jesus, my King, who art so amiable and so loving to our souls, take possession, I pray Thee, of mine ; I give it entirely to Thee ; accept it, that it may serve Thee for ever, but serve Thee only for love. Thy majesty deserves to be feared, but Thy goodness still more deserves to be loved. Thou art my King, and shalt be always the only object of my love ; and the only fear I shall have will be the fear of displeasing Thee. This is what I hope. Do Thou help me with Thy grace. O Mary, our dear Lady, it is for thee to obtain for me that I may be faithful to this beloved King of my BOuL MED. v.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 21 D Meditation V. ;?. " Taking the form of a servant." — Phil.Ji. 7- The eternal Word descends on earth to save man ; and whence does He descend 1 " His going out is from the end of heaven" (Ps. xviii. 7). He descends from the bo- som of His Divine Father, where from eternity He was begotten in the brightness of the saints. And where does He descend 1 He descends into the womb of a Virgin, a child of Adam, which in comparison with the bosom of God is an object of horror ; wherefore the Church sings, *Thou didst not abhor the Yirgin's womb.' Yes, because the Word being in the bosom of the Father is God like the Father, — is immense, omnipotent, most bles- sed, and supreme Lord, and equal in every thing to the Father. But in the womb of Mary He is a crcaiiire, Bmoll^ weak, afflicted, a servant inferior to the Katlier^ •* t&king the form of a ser\'ant." It is related hs n great ]irodij||y of humility in St. Alexis, that although be wua tlie sotk of a Koman gentleman, he chose to live a.i a scmmt in h\» father's house. But how is the humility of tim sAint to be compared to the humility of Jesu; Chrut T IVtwcen the son and the servant of the father of Si Alexis tliCTQ was, it is true, some difference ; but lA*twoeu Qod aikI U)6 servant of God there is an infinite dLifurevioCL Betfid who art so good a Father; cause me^ever to burn with love towards Thee, who art so loving a Father My Father, I love Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee ! O Mary God is mv Father, and thou art my Mother. Thou canst do all things with God ; help me ; obtain for me holy persever- ance and His holy love. Meditation YII. *' God sending His own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, even of sin, condemned sin in the flosh."-i2om. vin. 3. Consider the humble state to which the Son of God chose to abase Himself ; He not only vouchsafed to take upon Him the form of a servant, but that of a sinful servant : In the likeness of sinful flesh" Therefore St. Bernard writes : ' He not only assumed the form of a servant, that He might be under subjection, but even that of a wicked servant, that He mi-ht be beaten.' He not only would assume the con- dition of a servant to be subject to others, He who was Lord of all; but even the appearance of a criminal servant, to be punished as a malefactor, He who was the Saint of all saints^ For this end He clothed Himself with the same flesh of Adam which had been infected by sm. And althou-h He did not contract the stain of sin nevertheless He too\ upon Himself all the miseries which human nature had contracted as a penalty for sin. Our Redeemer, in order to obtain for us salvation, off^ered Himself voluntarily to His Father to make satisfaction for oiir sins : He was off"ered because it was His own will" (Is. liu. 7). And His Father loaded Him with all our crimes;. He hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Is. Im. 6). And thus behold the Divine Word, innocent, most P^re, and holy, behold Him even from His infancy charged wi h all the blasphemies, with all the unsighthness with aU the sacrile-cs, and with all the crimes of men; become foi the love of us the object of the Divine malediction, on account of the sins for which He had bound Himself to satisfy the Divine justice. So that Jesus charged Himself with as many maledictions as there have ever been, or ever shall 2^ MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION MED. VIII.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 27 be, mortal sins committed by all mankind. And thus He presented Himself to His Father, when He came into the world, even from His birth, as a criminal and a debtor, guilty of all our sins, and as such was condemned by His Father to die as a malefactor accursed on a cross : " And of sin hath condemned sin in the flesh" (Rom. viii. 3), Oh, if the eternal Father were capable of feeling sorrow, what anguish of mind would He not have felt at being obliged to treat as a criminal, and as the most viilanous criminal in the world, this innocent Son, His beloved One, who was wortliy of all His love I " Behold the Man," said Pilate, when he showed Him to the Jews covered with stripes, in order to move them to compassion towards this innocent One who had been thus ill-treated. " Behold the Man," the eternal Father seems to say to us all, showing Him to us in the stable of Bethlehem. This poor child (He says) whom you behold, laid on a manger for beasts, and stretched on straw, is my beloved Son, who is come into the world to take upon Himself your sins and your soiTows; love Him, therefore, because He is infinitely worthy of your love, and you are under infinite obligations to love Him. AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. O my innocent Saviour, mirror without spot, love of the eternal Father, chastisements and maledictions did not belong to Thee, but to me, a miserable sinner ; but Thou wouldst show to the world the excess of love Thou didst bear us by sacrificing Thy life to obtain for us pardon and salvation, and paying by Thy sufferings the penalties which we had incurred by our sins. May all creatures praise and bless Thy mercy and Thy infinite bounty! I thank Thee on behalf of all men, but especially for myself; be- cause as I have off*ended Thee more than others, so Thou hast suffered the pains which Thou didst endure more for me than fur others. Accursed a thousand times be all those sinful pleasures which I have delighted in, and which have cost Thee so much sorrow. But since Thou hast paid tlie price of my ransom, I beseech Thee let not the blood which Thou hast spilt for love of me be lost to me. I am sorry that I have despised Thee, O my love ; but oh, grant me more sorrow ; make me know the evil I have com- mitted in offending Thee, my lledeemer and my God, who hast suffered so much to oblige me to love Thee ! I love Thee, O infinite Bounty, but I desire to love Thee more; I desire to love Thee as much as Thou deservest to be loved. O my Jesus, do Thou cause Thyself to be loved both by me and by all men ; for Thou dost indeed deserve to be loved. I pray Thee, enlighten the minds of those sinners who will not know Thee or will not love Thee ; make them understand what Thou hast done for the love of them, and the ardent desire Thou hast for their salvation. Most holy Mary, pray to Jesus for me, and for all sinners; obtain for us light and grace to love thy Son, who has loved us so much. Meditation VIII. " But God (who is i-ich in mercy) for His exceeding chaiity wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ"— A>/i. ii. 4, 5. ^ Consider that sin is the death of the soul; because this enemy of God deprives us of Divine grace, which is the life of the soul. We, therefore, miserable sinners, were already by our sins dead and condemned to hell. God, through the immense love which He bears to our souls, determined to restore us to life; and how did He do so? He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die, in order that by His death He might restore us to life. With reason therefore does the Apostle call this work of love "exceeding charity ;" too much love; yes, indeed, for man could never have hoped to receive life in such a lovin"* manner, if God had not found this means of redeeming him : "Having obtained eternal redemption" (Heb. ix. 12). All men were therefore dead — there was no remedy for them. But the Son of God, through the bowels of His mercy, hath come down from hciivcn, tlie Orient from on high, and has given us life. Justly, therefore, does the Apostle call Jesus Christ our life : " When Christ shall I 2S MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION appear, who is your life" (Coloss. iii. 4). Behold, our Re- deemer, clothed with flesh and become an infant, says to us : " I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abuiidjintly"' (St. John x. 10). For this end He accepted death, that lie might give us life. It is but reasonable therefore that we should live only to God, who has condescended to die for us : " Christ died, that they who live may not live to themselves, but unto Him who died for them" (2 Cor. iv. 15). It is reasonable that JeSus Christ should be the only sovereign of our heart, since He has spent His blood and His life to gain it to Himself : " To this end Christ died and rose again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living'* (Kom. xiv. 9). O my God! who would be such an un- grateful wretch as to believe as an article of faith that God died to secure his love, and yet refuse to love Him, and renouncing His friendship, choose voluntarily to make himself a slave of hell ? AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. O my Jesus, if Thou hadst not accepted and suffered death for me, I should have remained dead in my sins, without hope of salvation and without the power of ever loving Thee. But after Thoii, by Thy death, hast obtained life for me, I have again many times voluntarily forfeited it by returning to sin. Thou didst die to gain my heart to Thyself, and I by my rebellion have made it a slave of the devil. I lost all reverence for Thee, and I said that I would no longer have Thee for my master. All this is true ; but it is also true that Thou desirest not the death of the sinner, but that he should be converted and live ; and therefore didst Thou die to give us hfe. I repent of having offended Thee, my dearest lledeemer; and do Thou pardon me through the merits of Thy passion ; give me Thy grace; give me that life which Thou hast purchased for me by Thy death, and from henceforth do Thou take entire dominion over my heart. Never let the devil have possession of it again ; he is not my God, he does not love me, and has not suffered any thing for me. In past times MED. ix.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 29 he was not the true sovereign, but the robber of my soul ; Thou alone, my Jesus, art my true Lord, who hast created and redeemed me with Thy blood ; Thou alone hast loved me, and oh, how much ! It is therefore only just that I should be Thine alone during the Hfe that remains to me. Tell me what Thou would st have me to do ; for I will do it all. Chastise me as Thou wilt; I accept every thing Thou sendest me; only spare me the chastisement of living without Thy love ; make me love Thee, and then dispose of me as Thou wilt. Most holy Mary, my refuge and con- solation, recommend me to thy Son : His death and thy intercession are all my hope. ^ Meditation IX. ^ r ' 3 • ! *' He hath loved us, and hath delivered Himself for \xa"—Ej)h,A. 2. Consider that the eternal Word is that God who is so infinitely happy in Himself that His happiness cannot be greater than it is, nor could the salvation of all mankind have added any thing to it or have diminished it ; and yet He has done and suffered so much to save us miserable worms, that if His beatitude (as St. Thomas says) had de- pended on that of man. He could not have done or suffered more : ' As if without him He could not be happy ;' and indeed, if Jesus Christ could not have been happy without redeeming us, how could He have humbled Himself more than He has done, in taking upon Himself our infirmities, the miseries of infancy, the troubles of human life, and a death so barbarous and ignominious 1 None but God was capable of loving to such an excess such Avretched sinners / as we are, and who were so unworthy of being loved. A \ devout author says : If Jesus Christ had permitted us to | ask of Him to give us the greatest proof of His love, who > would have ventured to ask of Him that He should become / a child like unto us, that He should clothe Himself with all our miseries, and make Himself of all men the most poor, the most despised, and the most ill-treated, even to being put to death by the hands of executioners, and in the greatest torments upon an infamous gibbet, cursed and forsaken by i l\ 30 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION all even by His own Father, who abandoned His Son that He mioht not abandon us in our ruin ? But that which we should not have had the boldness even to think of, the Son of God has thoui-ht of and accomplished. Even trom His childhood He has sacrificed Himself for us to sufferings, to opprobrium, and to death: "He hath loved us, and hath delivered Himself for us/' He hath loved us, and out of love hath given us Himself, in order that we, by offenng Him as a victim to the Father, in satisfaction for our debts, miMit through His merits obtain from the Divine goodness alfthe graces that we desire ; a victim dearer to the Father than if we had offered Him the lives of all men and of all the an-els Let us therefore continually offer to God the merits ''of Jesus Christ, and through them let us seek and hope for every good. ' AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. My Jesus, I should indeed do great injustice to Thy mercy and Thy love, if, after Thou hast given me so many proofs of the love Thou bearest me, and the desire Ihou iiast to save me, T should still distrust Thy mercy and Thy love My beloved Redeemer, I am a poor smner ; but Thou hast* said that Thou didst come to seek sinners : " I am not come to call the just, but sinners" (St. Matt. ix. 13). I am a poor infirm creature,— Thou camest to cure the inhrm, and Thou didst say : *' They that are whole need not the physician, but they that are sick^' (St. Luke v. 31). I was lost through my sins ; but Thou didst come to save the lost : " The Son of man is come to save that which was lost" (St. Matt, xviii. U). What then can I fear, if I am will- ing to amend my life and to become Thine 1 I have only myself and my own w^caiaiess to fear ; but my own weakness and poverty ought to increase my confidence in Thee, who hast declared Thyself to be the refuge of the destitute ; " The Lord is become a refuge for the poor" (Ps. ix. 10). And Thou hast promised to grant their desires : " The Lord hath heard the desire of the poor" (Ps. x. 17). Therefore I implore this favour of Thee, my Jesus ; give me con- fidence in Thy merits, and grant that I may always recom- mend myself to God through Thy merits. Eternal Father, OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 31 MED. X.] save me from hell, and fii-st from sin, for the love of Jesus Christ ; for the merits of this Thy Son enlighten my mind to obey Thy will ; give me strength against tempta- tions ; grant me the gift of Thy holy love ; and above all I beseech Thee to give me the grace to pray to Thee to help me, for the love of Jesus Christ, who hast promised that Thou wilt grant to him who prays in His name whatever he asks of Thee. If I continue to pray to Thee in this way I shall certainly be saved ; but if I neglect it, I shall certainly be lost. Most holy Mary, obtain for me this S<. Luke u. 16. The Holy Church, in contemplating this great mystery and prodigy of a God being born in a stable, exclaims, full of admiration, f^ O great mystery 1 O wonderful sacrament ! for animals to behold the Lord lying in a mangerJt^Offic. Nat. resp. i. noct. 2). In order to contemplate with ten- derness and love the birth of Jesus, we must pray the Lord to give, us a lively faith. If without faith we enter into the grot of Bethlehem, we shall have nothing but a feeling of compassion at seeing an infant reduced to such a state of poverty, that, being born in the depth of win- ter, he is laid in a manger of beasts, without fire, and in the midst of a cold cavern. But if we enter with faith, and consider what an excess of bounty and loVe it was in a God to humble Himself to appear like a little child, wrapped in swaddling-clothes, placed on straw, crying and shivering with cold, unable to move, depending for sub- sistence on His Mother's milk, how is it possible that we should not feel ourselves gently constrained to give all our affections to this Infant God, who has reduced Himself to this state to make us love Him ! St. Luke says that the shepherds, after having visited Jesus in the manger, ''re- turned glorifying and praising Gq^ for all the things they had heard and seen" (St. Luke if^20). And yet what had they seen ? Nothing more than a poor child trembling with cold on a little straw ; but being enlightened by faith, they recoguised in this child the excess of Divine love; and in- flamed by this love they went on their way glorifying God, that they had the happiness to behold a God C who had emp- tied Himself' \nd annihilated Himself for the love of menTl 42 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. 1 ,<#. i my amiable and sweet Infant, although I behold Thee so poor and lying on straw, yet I confess and adore Thee as my Lord and Creator. I know what it was that reduced Thee to such a miserable state ; it was the love that Thou didst bear mc. But when I remember, O my Jesus, how I have treated Thee in times past, the injuries I have committed aj^ainst Thee, I wonder in myself how Thou hast borne witli me. Accursed sins, oh, what have you done ! You have made me cause bitterness to the Heart of my beloved Saviour. Oh, my dearest Redeemer, for the sake of the sufferings Thou didst endure and the tears Thou didst shed in the stable of Bethlehem, give me tears, give me a great sorrow, that may make me all my life long lament the displeasure I have caused Thee. Grant me a love for Thee, but such a love as may compensate for the offences I have committed against Thee. I love Thee, my Infant Saviour ; I love Thee, my Infant God ; I love Thee, my love, my life, my all. I promise Thee from this day forth to love none but Thee. Do Thou help me by Thy grace, without which I can do nothing. Mary, my hope, thou dost obtain whatever thou wiliest from thy Son, obtain for me His holy love ; my Mother, hear me ! MediTxVtion XVI. ** You shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour's fountains." — Is. xii. 3. Consider the four fountains of grace that we have in Jesus Christ, as contemplated by St. Bernard. ^ The first is that of mercy, in which we can wash ourselves from all the filthiness of our sins. This fountain was formed for us by our Bedeemer with His tears and His blood: "He loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood"' (Apoc. 15). The second fountain is that of peace and consolation in our tribulations : " Call upon Me" (saith Jesus Christ) " in the day of trouble, and I will console thee" (Ps. xlix. 1 5). •' He that thirsteth, let him come to Me" (St. John vii. 37). I MED. XVI.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD, 43 He that thirsteth for true consolations even in this world, let him come to Me, for I will satisfy him. He that once tastes the water of My love will for ever disdain all the delights of the world : '' But he that shall drink of the water that I will give him shall not thirst for ever" (St. John iv. 13). And thoroughly contented will he be when he shall enter into the kingdom of the blessed, for the water of My grace shall raise him from earth to Heaven. It will "become in him a fountain of water springing up into life everlasting" (St. John iv. 14). The peace which God gives to the souls that love Him is not the peace that the world promises from sensual pleasures, which leave in the soul more bitterness than peace ; the peace Avhich God bestows exceeds all the pleasures of the senses : " Peace which surpasscth all un- derstanding." Blessed are those who long for this divine fountain. " Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice" (St. Matt. v. 6). The third fountain is that of devotion. Oh, how devout and ready to execute the Divine will, and increasing every day in virtue, is he who constantly meditates on all that Jesus Christ has done for our sake ! He will be like the tree planted by a stream of water : " He shall be like a tree that is planted near the running waters" (Ps. i. 3). ^ The fourth fountain is that of love: "In my meditation a fire shall flame out" (Ps. xxxviii. 4). It is impossible to meditate on the sufferings and ignominy borne by Jesus Christ for the love of us, and not to feel inflamed by that blessed fire which He came upon earth to enkindle. How true it is, then, that he who avails himself of these blessed fountains of Jesus Christ will always draw from them waters of joy and of salvation ! " You shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour's fountains." AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. O my sweet and dearest Saviour, how much do I not owe Thee ! What an obligation hast Thou put upon me of loving Thee, since Thou hast done for me what no son would have done for his father, and no servant for his master. If Thou, therefore, hast loved me above every one |i f 44 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION else, it is only just that I should love Thee above all others. I could wish to die with sorrow at the thought that Thou hast suffered so much for me, and that Thou didst accept for my sake the most painful and ignominious death that it is possible for a man to endure ; and yet I have so often despised Thy friendship. How many times hast Thou for- given me, and I have despised Thee afresh? But Thy merits are my hope. I now esteem Thy grace above all the kingdoms of the world. I love Thee, and for Thy love I accept every sorrow, every kind of death. And if I am not worthy to die for Thy glory by the hand of executioners, I accept at least willingly that death which Thou hast allotted to me ; and I accept it in the manner and at the time that Thou shalt choose. My dear Mother Mary, obtain for me the grace always to live and to die loving Jesus. Meditation XVII. y *' But unto you the sun of justice shall arise, and health in hU wings." ^ Mai. W. 2. Your physician will come, says the prophet, to cure the infirm ; and he will come swiftly like the bird that flies, and like the sun, which, on rising from the horizon, instantly sends its light to the other pole. But behold Him, He is already come. Let us console ourselves, and return thanks to Him. St. Augustine says, '^He des- cends to the bed of the sick^Y that is to say, even to taking upon Him our flesh, for our bodies are the beds of our infirm souls. Other physicians, if they love their patients, do indeed use all their eftbrts to cure them ; but what physician, in order to cure the sick man, ever took upon himself his disease? Jesus Christ has been that physician, who charged Himself with our infirmities in order to cure them. Neither would He content Himself with sending another in His place, but He chose to como Himself to fulfil this charitable office, in order to gain to Himself all our love : " He hath borne our infirmities, and carried our sorrows" (Is. Ihi.' 4). He chose to heal our wounds with His own blood, and by His death to deliver MED. XVIII.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 45 us from eternal death, which we had deserved ; in short. He chose to swallow the bitter draught of a life of con- tinual sufferings and a painful death, to obtain for us life, and deliver us from our many evils : '' The chalice which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it ?" said He to St. Peter (^. John xviii.^Jl). It was necessary, then, that Jesus Chl-ist should suffer so many ignominies to heal our pride ; that He should embrace such a life of poverty to cure our covetousness ; that He should be overwhelmed in a sea of troubles, and even die of pure sorrow, to cure our eagerness after sensual pleasuresTi AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. May Thy charity, O my Redeemer, be for ever praised and blessed. And what would become of my soul, thus in- firm and afflicted with the many sores of my sins, if I had not Thee, my Jesus, who both art able and willing to heal me 1 O blood of my Saviour, I trust in thee ; wash me and cure me. I repent, O my love, of having offended Thee. Thou hast led a life of such tribulations, and hast died such a bitter death to prove to me the love Thou dost bear me. I would fain show Thee how much I love Thee ; but what can I do, who am so miserable and weak ? O God of my soul, Thou art omnipotent; Thou canst heal me, and make me holy. Oh, kindle in me a great desire of pleasing Thee. I renounce all my pleasures to please Thee, my Redeemer, who dost deserve to be pleased at all costs. O sovereign Good, I esteem Thee and love Thee above every good ; make me love Thee with all my heart, and always implore Thy love. I have hitherto offended Thee, and have not loved Thee, because I have not sought Thy love. I now beg of Thee this love, and the grace always to seek it. Oh, grant my prayer by the merits of Thy passion. ^Mary my Mother, thou art always pre- pared to hear the prayer of him that calls upon thee. Thou lovest him that loves thee. I love thee, my Queen j ob- tain for me the grace to love God, and I ask nothing more of thee. / 46 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION Meditation XVIII. " He that spared not oven His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all"— Horn. vijA. 32. Consider that, since the Eternal Father has given us His own Son to be our mediator and advocate with Him, and the victim in satisfaction for our sins, we can- not despair of obtaining from God whatever favour we ask of Him, if we avail ourselves of tlie help of such a Redeemer. " How hath He not also, with Him, given us all things?" adds the apostle. What can God deny us when He has not denied us His Son 1 None of our prayers deserve to be licard or granted by the Lord, for we do not deserve gi'aces, but punishment for our sins; but Jesus Christ, who intercedes for us, and offers for us all the sufl'erings of His life, His blood, and His death, does indeed deserve to be heard. The Father cannot refuse any thing to so dear a Son, who offers Him a price of in- finite value. He is innocent; all that He pays to Divine justice is to satisfy our debts ; and the satisfaction He offers is infinitely greater than all the sins of men. It would not be just that a sinner should perish who repents of his sins, and offers to God the merits of Jesus Christ, who has al- ready superabundantly atoned for him. Let us therefore thank God, and hope all things from the merits of Jesus ChristTl FFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. No, my God and my Fatlier, I can no longer distnist Thy mercy ; I cannot fear that Thou wilt refuse me the pardon of all the sins I have committed against Thee, and that Thou wilt withhold from me the graces necessary for my salvation, since Thou hast given me Thy Son, in order that I should offer Him to Tliee. Thou hast given me Jesus Christ on purpose to pardon me, and to render me capable of receiving Thy grace, and Thou hast commanded me to offer Him to Thee, and to hope for salvation from Thee for His merits. Yes, my God, I will obey Thee, and I thank Thee. I offer Thee the merits of this Thy Son, \ MED. XVIII.] OP THE ETERNAL WORD. 47 and through them I hope for grace to remedy my weakness, and all the injuries that I have done myself by my sins. I repent, O infinite Goodness, of having offended Thee, and I love Thee above every thing ; and from this day forth I promise Thee to love none but Thee. But my promise will ])e of no avail if Thou dost not help me. For the love of Jesus Christ, give me light and strength to accomplish all Thy holy will. Trusting, therefore, in the merits of Jesus Christ, I hope that Thou wilt grant my prayer. Mary, my Mother and my hope, I beseech thee also, for the love of Jesus Christ, to obtain for me this grace. my Motlier, listen to my prayer ! tie #1 "I MEDITATIONS FOR THE NOVENA FOR CHRISTMAS. Meditation T. " I have jvivcn Thee to be the li|:rht of the Gentiles, that Thou mayest bo My salvation even to the farthest part of the earth." — Is. xlix. 6. Consider how the Eternal Father addressed these words to the Infant Jesus at the instant of His concep- tion : * " I have given Thee to be the light of the Gen- tiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation." My Son, I have given Thee to the world for the light and life of all peo- ple, in order that Thou mightest procure for them their salvation, which I have as much at heart as if it were My own. Thou must therefore employ Thyself entirely for the well-being of men : * Wholly given to man, Thou must be wholly spent in his service.'^ Thou, must there- fore, at Thy birth, suffer extreme poverty, in order that man may become rich, * that Thou mayest enrich them by Thy poverty.' Thou must be sold as a slave to acquire liberty for man ; and Thou must be scourged and crucified as a slave to satisfy ^ly justice for the punishment due to man. Thou must give Thy blood and Thy life to deliver man from eternal death ; in short, Thou art no longer Thine own, but Thou belougest to man : " A child is born to us, a son is given to us" (Is. ix. 6). Thus, my beloved Son, man will be constrained to love Me, and to be Mine, when he sees that I give Thee, My only-begotten One, entirely to him, and that there is nothing left for Me to give him.' " God so loved the world" — (oh, infinite love ! only worthy of an infinite God !) — "God so loved the world as to give His only-begotten Son" (St. John iii. 16). The Infant Jesus, far from being sorrowful at this proposal, is MED. I.] INCARNATION OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 49 pleased at it, accepts it with love, and exults in it : " He hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way" (Ps. xviii. 6); and from the first moment of His incarnation He gives Himself entirely to man, and embraces with pleasure all the sorrows and ignominy that He must suffer on earth for the love of man. These were (says St. Bernard) the mountains and hills that Jesus Christ had to pass with so many labours in order to save man : " Behold, He conieth leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills" (Cant. ii. 8). Here consider that the Divine Father, in sending His Son to be our Redeemer and Mediator between Himself and man, has in a certain sense bound Himself to forgive us and love us, on account of the covenant He made to receive us into His favour, providing His Son satisfied for us His Divine jus- tice. On the other hand, the Divine Word, having accepted the decree of His Father (who, by sending Him to redeem us, has given Him to us), has also bound Himself to love us ; not, indeed, for our own merits, but in order to fulfil the merciful will of His Father. AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. My dearest Jesus, if it is true (as the law says) that dominion is acquired by gift, since Thy Father hath given Thee to me, Thou art mine j for me Thou wert born, to me hast Thou been given : " A child is born to us, a Sou is given to us." Therefore I may well say: *My Jesus and my all.' Since Thou art mine, every thing that be- longs to Thee is also mine. Of this I am assured by Thy Apostle : ** How hath He not also with Him given us all things?" (Rom. viii. 32.) Thy blood is mine, Thy merits are mine. Thy grace is mine. Thy paradise is mine ; and if Thou art mine, who shall be able to take Thee from me % 'No man can take God away from me,' said with joy the abbot St. Anthony. So, from this day forth, will I also continually say. It is only through my own fault that I can lose Thee and separate myself from Thee ; but if in past times I have abandoned Thee and lost Thee, O my Jesus, I now repent of it with all my soul, and I am re- solved to lose my life and every thing sooner than lose Thee, infinite Good, and only love of my soul I I thank E 50 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION Thee, Eternal Father, for having given me Thy Son ; and since Thou hasC given Him entirely to me, I, miserable sin- ner, give myself entirely to Thee. For the sake of this same'^Son, accept me, and bind me with the chains of love to this my Redeemer ; but bind me so strongly that I also may be able to say : " Who shall separate me from the love of Christ V What good shall there ever be in the world that shall separate me from my Jesus 1 And Thou, my Saviour, if Thou art all mine, know that I am all Thine. Dispose of me, and of all that belongs to me, as shall best please Thee. And how can I refuse any thing to a God who has not refused me His blood and His life 1 Mary, my Mother, do thou guard me with thy protection. I will no longer be my own. I will be all my Saviour's. Do thou help me to be faithful ; I trust in thee. Meditation II. : «' Sacrifice and oblation Thou woiildest not ; but a body Thou hast fitted -- to Uo"—2Ieb. £. 5. Consider the great bitterness with which the Heart of the Infant Jesus must have felt itself afflicted and oppressed in the womb of Mary at the first moment when His Father proposed to His consideration all the series of contempt, sorrow, and agonies which He was to suffer during His life, to deliver men from their miseries : " In the morning he wakeneth my ear, and I do not resist ; I have given my body to the strikers" (Is. I^^4, 6). Thus did Jesus speak by the mouth of the prophet •^*^" In the morning he wakeneth my ear," that is to say, from the first moment of my con- ception my Father made me feel that it was His will that I should lead a life of sorrows, and in the end should be sacrificed on the cross : " And I do not resist ; I have ^ven my body to the strikers." And all this I accepted for your salvation, O ye souls of men, and from that time forth I gave up my body to the scourges, to the nails, and to the death of the cross. Consider that whatever Jesus Christ suffered in His life and in His passion, was all placed before Him whilst He was yet in the womb of Mary, and He accepted every thing that was proposed to Him with delight ; but in accepting all this, and in overcoming the MED. II.] of the eternal word. 51 natural repugnance of sense, O my God, what anguish and oppression did not the innocent Heart of Jesus suffer I Well did He understand what He was first of all to endure, shut up for nine months in the dark prtson of the womb of Mary ; in suffering the shame and the sorrows of His birth, being born in a cold grotto that was a stable for beasts ; in having afterwards to lead for thirty years a humble life in the shop of an artizan ; in considering that He was to be treated by men as ignorant, as a slave, as a seducer, and as one guilty of death, and of the most in- famous and painful death that ever was allotted to the most worthless of criminals. All this did our dearest Redeemer accept every moment, but each moment that He accepted it He suffered at once all the pains and humiliations that He would afterwards have to endure even unto death. The very knowledge of His Divine dignity made Him feel still more the injuries that He would have to receive from men : "All the day long my shame is before me" (Ps. xliii. 16). He had continually before His eyes His shame, especially that confusion which He should one day feel at seeing Him- self stripped naked, scourged, and suspended by three iron nails ; and so to end His life in the midst of the insults and curses of those very men for whom He was to die : " Becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross" (Phil. iK 8). And for what ? To save us miserable and ungrateful sinnersTj affections and prayers. My beloved Redeemer, oh, how much did it cost Thee, even from Thy first entrance into the world, to raise me from the ruin which I have brought on myself by my sins I Thou hast consented to be treated as the lowest of slaves, in order to deliver me from the slavery of the devil, to whom I had willingly sold myself by sin ; and yet, know- ing all this, I have had the boldness to afflict continually Thy most amiable Heart, which has loved me so much I But since Thou, who art so innocent, and art my God, hast accepted such a painful life and death, I accept for Thy love, O my Jesus, every trouble that shall come to me from Thy hands. I accept it and embrace it, because it comejei !l 52 MKDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION MED. III.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 53 y from those hands which were once pierced through, in order to deliver me from the hell which I have so often de- served. Thy love, O my Redeemer, in oifering Thyself to suffer so much foi* me, does more than oblige me to accept for Thy sake every sorrow, every humiliation. O my Lord, for Thy own merit's sake, give me Thy holy love ; Thy love will render all sufferings and ignominy sweet and pleasant to me. I love Thee above every thing : I love Thee with my whole heart ; I love Thee more than myself. But during Thy whole life how many and what great proofs of Thy love didst Thou not give me ; and yet, ungrateful that I am, how many years have I not lived in the world without giving Thee any proofs of my love ! I dread ap- pearing before Thee when Thou shalt come to judge me, poor as I now am, without having done any thing for the love of Thee. But what can I do without Thy grace % I can do nothing but pray that Thou wilt succour me ; but even this prayer comes simply from Thy grace. O my Jesus, help me through the merits of Thy sufferings, and of the blood Thou hast shed for me. Most holy Mary, re- commend me to thy Son, for the love that thou bearest Him. Behold, I am one of those sheep for which thy Sou has died. a l— Meditation III. I "A child is boni to lis, and a son is given to ns." — Is. yi. 6. Consider that after so many centuries, after so many prayers and sighs, the Messias, whom the holy patriarchs and prophets were not worthy to see, whom the nations sighed for, * the Desire of the eternal hills,' our Saviour, is come; He is already born, and has given Himself entirely to us : "A Child is born to us, and a Son is given to us." The Son of God has made Himself little, in order to make us gi-eat ; He has given Himself to us, in order that we may give ourselves to Him ; He is come to show us His love, in order that we may respond to it by giving Him ours. Let us, therefore, receive Him with affection; let us love Him, and have recourse to Him in all our necessities. ^* A child gives ea3ily,*^says St. Bernard; children readily give any thing that is asked of them. ''\ Jesus came into the world a child, in order to show Him- self ready and willing to give us all good gifts : " In whom are hid all treasures" (Coloss.-li: 3). "The Father hath given all things into His hands." If we wish for light, He is come on purpose to enlighten us. If we wish for strength to resist our enemies, He is come to give us com- fort. If we wish for pardon and salvation. He is come to pardon and save us. If, in short, we desire the so- vereign gift of Divine love, He is come to inflame our hearts with it; and, above all, for this very purpose. He has become a child, and has chosen to show Himself to us worthy of our love, in proportion as He was poor and humble, in order to take away from us all fear, and to gain our affections. '' So,'' said St. Peter Chrysologus, ( * should He come who willed to drive away fear, and seek for love.'^ Jesus has besides chosen to come as a little child to make us love Him, not only with an appreciative, but even with a tender love. All infants attract the ten- der affection of those who behold them; but who will not love, with all the tenderness of which they are capable, a God whom they behold as a little child, in want of milk to nourish Him, trembling with cold, poor, abased, and forsaken, weeping and crying in a manger, and lying on straw? It was this that made the loving St. Francis exclaim /'Let us love the child of Bethlehem, let us love the child of Bethlehem.' Come, ye souls, and love a God who is become a child, and poor; who is so amiable, and who ha^ome down from heaven to give Himself entirely to you.' ] affections and prayers. Oh, my amiable Jesus, whom I have treated with so much contempt, Thou hast descended from heaven to save us from hell, and to give Thyself entirely to us ; how can we, then, have so often despised Thee, and turned our backs upon Thee 1 Oh, my God, how different is the gra- titude of men towards their fellow- creatures ! If any one makes them a gift, if any one comes from afar to pay them a visit, if any one shows them a particular mark of affec- tion, they cannot forget it, and feel themselves obliged to 54 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION repay their benefactors. And yet they are so ungrateful towards Thee, who ait their God, and so worthy of their love, and who, for their sake, didst not refuse to give Thy blood and Thy love. But, alas 1 I have been worse than others in my conduct towards Thee; because I have been more loved by Thee, and more ungrateful towards Thee. Ah, if Tliou hadst bestowed those graces with which I have been favoured on a heretic, or an idolator, he would have become a saint; and yet I have done nothing but offend Thee. O my Saviour, I pray Thee, forget the injuries I have committed against Thee ! But Thou hast indeed said, that when a sinner repents. Thou rememberest no longer the injuries Thou hast received from him : " All his iniquities I will not rememl>er." If in times past I have not loved Thee, in future I will do nothing else but love Thee. Thou hast given Thyself entirely to me, and I give Thee my whole will; O Lord, I love Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee; and I will continually repeat to Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee ! While I live, I will constantly say this; and when I die, I will yield my last breath with these sweet words on my lips, * My God, I love Thee ;' and from the moment of my entrance into eternity, I will begin to love Thee with a love that shall last for ever, without ever again ceasing to love Thee. And in the meantime, O my Lord, my only good and my only love, I intend to prefer Thy will to every pleasure of my own. Let the whole world offer itself to me, I will refuse it; for I will never cease to love Him that hath loved me so much; I will never again offend Him who deserves from me an infinite love. Do Thou, O my Jesus, aid my desire with Thy grace. O Mary, my Queen, I acknowledge all the graces I have re- ceived from God through thy intercession; cease not, then, to intercede for me. Do thou obtain for me perseverance, thou who art the Mother of perseverance. Meditation IV. "My sorrow is continually before me." — Ps. xxvii. 18. Consider that in the first moment that the soul of Jesus Christ was created and united to His little body in the * MED. IV.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 55 womb of Mary, the Eternal Father intimated to His Son His will that He should die for the redemption of the world; and in this same moment lie presented to His view the entire dreadful scene of the sufferings He would have to endure, even unto death, in order to redeem mankind. He brought before Him in that moment all the labours, contempt, and poverty that He would have to suffer during His whole life, as well in Bethlehem, as in Egypt and in Nazareth; and then all the sufferings and ignominy of His passion, the scourges, the thorns, the nails, and the cross; all the weariness, the sadness, the agonies, and the aban- donment in which He was to end His life upon Calvaiy. When Abraham was leading his son to death, he would not afflict him by giving him notice of it beforehand, even during the short time that was necessary for them to arrive at the mount. But the Eternal Father chose that His In- carnate Son, whom He had destined to be the victim of His justice in atonement of our sins, should suffer then all the pains to which He was to be subject during His life and at His death. Wherefore, from the first moment that He was in His mother's womb, Jesus suffered continually that sorrow which He endured in the garden, and which >vas sufficient to have taken away His life (as He said, "My soul is sorrowful unto death"). So that from that time forth He felt most vividly, and endured the united weight of all the sorrows and contumely that awaited Him. The whole life, then, of our blessed Redeemer, and all the years that He spent, were a life and years of pains and tears : *' My life is wasted with grief, and My years in sighs" (Ps. XXX. 11). His Divine Heart never passed one moment free from suffering. Whether He watched or slept, whether He laboured or rested, whether He prayed or spoke. He had continually before His eyes that bitter representation which tormented His holy soul more than all their sufferings tormented the holy martyrs. The mar- tyrs have suffered; but, assisted by grace, they suffered with joy and fervour: Jesus Christ suffered; but He suf- fered with a heart full of weariness and sorrow; and He accepted ail for the love of us. 56 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. O sweet, amiable, O loving Heart of Jesus, even from Thy infancy Thou wert full of bitterness, and Thou didst suffer agonies in the womb of Mary without consolation, and without having any one to look upon Thee and to con- sole Thee by their sympathy. All this Thou didst suffer, O my Jesus, in order to satisfy for the eternal sorrow and agony which I deserved to endure in hell for my sins. Thou didst then suffer, deprived of all relief, to save me, who have had the boldness to forsake God, and to turn my back upon Him, in order to satisfy my miserable inclina- tions. I thank Thee, O afflicted and loving Heart of my Lord ; I thank Thee, and I sympathise with Thee, especially when I see that whilst Thou dost suffer so much for the love of man, these very men do not even pity Thee. O love of God, O . ingratitude of man ! O men, O men, behold this little innocent lamb who is in agony for you, to satisfy the Divine justice for the injuries you have committed against Him. See how He prays and intercedes for you with His eternal Father ; behold Him and love Him. O my Eedeemer, how few are those who think on your sor- rows and your love. O God, how few are those that love Thee ! But unhappy me, for I also have lived so many years in forgetfulness of Thee I Thou hast suffered so much in order to be loved by me, and I have not loved Thee. Forgive me, my Jesus, forgive me, for I will amend my life and love Thee. Ah, wretched me, O Lord, if I still resist Thy grace, and in resisting it damn myself? All the mercies that Thou hast shown me, and above all, Thy sweet voice, which now calls me to love Thee, would be my greatest punishment in hell. My beloved Jesus, have pity on me, let me not live any longer ungrateful to Thy love ; give me light, give me strength to conquer every thing, in order to accomplish Thy will. Grant my prayer, I be- seech Thee, for the merits of Thy passion. In this is all my confidence, and in tliy intercession, O Mary ! My dearest Mother, help me ; it is thou who hast obtained for me all the favours I have received from God: I bless thee for them ; but if thou dost not persevere in helping me, I shall persevere in being faithless, as I have been in times past. ' MED. v.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 57 1 r, Meditation V. *' He was offered because it was His own will." — Is. liif. 7. The Divine Word, from the first instant that He was made man and an infant in Mary's womb, offered Himself of His own accord to suffer and to die for the ransom of the world : " He was offered because it was His own will." He knew that all the sacrifices of goats and bulls offered to God in times past had not been able to satisfy for the sins of men, but that it required a Divine Person to pay the price of their redemption ; wherefore He said, as the Apostle tells us, " When He cometh into the world He saith : Sacrifice and oblation Thou wouldest not, but a body Thou hast fitted to me Then said I, Behold, I come" (Heb. il 5). * My Father,* said Jesus, '^all the victims hitherto oft'ered to Thee have not sufficed, nor could they suffice, to satisfy Thy justice ; Thou hast given Me this passible body, in order that by shedding My blood I might appease Thee and save men : '* Behold, I come 7 here I am ready, I accept every thing, and I submit Myself in every thing to Thy will.'^ The inferior part felt repugnance, for it naturally was averse to this life and death, so full of sufterings and shame ; but the rational part, which was entirely subordinate to the will of His Father, conquered and accepted every thing ; and Jesus began from that moment to suffer all the anguish and sor- rows that He would have to suffer during all the years of His life. Thus did our Redeemer act from the very first moment of His entrance into the world. But, O God, how have we conducted ourselves towards Jesus since we began, as adults, to know by the light of faith, the sacred Mysteries of Redemption % What thoughts, what designs, what goods have we loved ! Pleasures, amusements, ven- geance, sensuality ; these are the goods that have engrossed the affections of our hearts. But if we have faith, we must at last change our life and our affections. Let us love a God who has suffered so much for us. Let us represent to ourselves the sufferings which the Heart of Jesus endured 5S MEDITATIONS ON THE INCABNATION for US, even from His infancy; for then we shall not be able to love any thing else but that Heart which hath loved us SO mucli. J AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. My Lord, wilt Thou know how I have behaved to Thee during all my life 1 Ever since I began to have the use of reason, I began to despise Thy grace and Thy love. But Ihou knowest it much better than I do ; nevertheless Ihou hast borne with me, because Thou still carest for mv we fare. I fled from Thee, and Thou didst follow after and call me. The very same love that made Thee come down from heaven to seek the lost sheep has made Thee bear with me and not forsake me. My Jesus, Thou now seekest me, and I seek Thee. I feel that Thy grace is assisting me : It assists me with the sorrow I feel for my sins, which I abhor above every other evil ; it assists me by makin^r me feel a great desire to love Thee and to plea.se Thee! lea, Lord, I will love Thee and please Thee as much as I can. On one sue I feel afraid, it is true, at the thoughts of my frailty and the weakness which I have contracted by my siiis ; but Thy grace gives me a greater confidence and causes me to hope in Thy merits ; so that I can say from the bottom of my heart : " I can do all thincrg in Him who strengtheneth me." If I am weak, Thou'' wilt give me strength against my enemies ; if I am infirm I hope that Thy blood will be my medicine ; if 1 am a sin- ner I hope Ihou wilt make me a saint. I acknowledge that I have hitherto co-operated to my own ruin, because I liave neglecte;!, on dangerous occasions, to have recourse to Thee. Lu from this day forth, my Jesus and my hope I will always have recourse to Thee ; and from Thee I hope for every assistance and every good. I love Thee above all thmgs, and I will always love Thee alone. Have pitv on me and lalp me through the merits of all those sufferings which from rhy infimcy Thou hast endured for me. Eter- na lather for the sake of Jesus Christ accept of my love. If I have oflended Thee, let the tears of the Infant Jesus W 'f^r^'rn^.^?^ me appease Thy wrath : ^ook on the face of Ihy Chnst.' I do not deserve favours, but this Thy MED. VI.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 59 guiltless Son deserves them, who offers Thee a life of suf- ferings, in order that Thou mayest be merciful to me. And thou, O Mother of mercy, Mar}^, cease not to inter- cede for me. Thou knowest how much I confide in thee ; and I know well that thou dost not forsake him that has recourse to thee. Meditation VI. " I am become tm a man without help, free among^ the dead." — Ps. Ixxxvii. 5, 6. Consider the painful life that Jesus Christ led in the womb of His Mother, and the long confined and dark imprisonment that He suffered there for nine months. Other infants are indeed in the same state; but they do not feel the miseries of it, because they do not know them. But Jesus knew them well, because from the first moment of His life He had the perfect use of reason. He had His senses, but He could not use them ; eyes, but He could not see ; a tongue, but He could not speak ; hands, but He could not stretch them out ; feet, but He could not walk ; — so that for nine months He had to re- main in the womb of Mary like a dead man shut up in the tomb : " I am become as a man without help, free among the dead.*' He was free, because He had of His own free- will made Himself a prisoner of love in this prison ; but love deprived Him of liberty, and bound Him there so fast in chains, that He could not move : * Free among the dead! oh, great patience of our Saviour!' said St. Ambrose, while He considered the sufferings of Jesus in the womb of Mary. The womb of Mary was, therefore, to our Redeemer a voluntary prison, because it was a pri- son of love. But it was also not an unjust prison : He was indeed innocent Himself, but lie had offered Himself to pay our debts and to satisfy for our crimes. It was therefore only reasonable for the Divine justice to keep Him thus im- prisoned, and so begin to exact from Him the due satisfac- tion. Behold the state to which the Son of God reduces Himself for the love of men ; He deprives Himself of His liberty and puts Himself in chains, to deliver us from the I- \ 60 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION chains of hell. What gratitude and love should we not show in return for the love and goodness of our deliverer and our surety, who, not by compulsion but only out of love, offered Himself to pay, and has paid for us, our debts and our penalties by giving up His divine life ! " Forget not the kindness of thy surety ; for He hath given His life for thee" (Ecclus. xxix. 19). AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. '' Forget not the kindness of thy surety." .Yes, my Jesus, the prophet has reason to warn me not to forget the immense favour which Thou hast shown me. I was the debtor, I the criminal, and Thou the innocent one ; Thou, O my God, hast chosen to satisfy for my sins by Thy suf- ferings and Thy death. But after all this kindness I have forgotten Thy favours and Thy love, and I have had the boldness to turn my back upon Thee, as if Thou hadst not been my Lord, and tliat Lord who has loved nic so much. But if in times past I have forgotten Thy mercies, O my dear Redeemer, I will in future never forget them again. Thy sufferings and Thy death shall be the constant "sub- jects of my thoughts, because tliey will always recall to my mind the love that Thou hast borne mc. Cursed be the days in which, forgetting what Thou hast suffered for me, I have made such a bad use of my liberty. Thou hast given it me to love Thee, and I have used it to despise Thee. But I now consecrate entirely to Thee this liberty which Thou hast given me. I beseech Thee, my Saviour, * deliver me from the misery of seeing myself again sepa- rated from Thee, and again made the slave of Lucifer. I implore Thee to bind my poor soul to Thy feet by Thy holy love, so that it may never again be separated from Thee. Eternal Father, by the imprisonment of the infant Jesus in the womb of :\Iary, dcHver me from the chains of sm and of hell. And thou, O ^lother of God, help me ' Thou hast in thy womb the Son of God imprisoned and confined ; as, therefore, Jesus is thy prisoner. He will do every thing that thou tellcst Him. Tell Him to pardon me j tell Him to make me holy. Help me, my Mother, for MED. VII.] OP THE ETERNAL WORD. 61 the sake of the favour and honour that Jesus Clirist con- ferred upon thee by dwelling within thee for nine months. Meditation VIL "He came unto His owu, and His own received Him not.** tSt.Joh?i i. 11. In these days of the holy Nativity St. Francis of Assisi went about the highways and woods with sighs and tears and inconsolable lamentations. When asked the reason, he answered : ^low should I not weep when I see that love is not loved ? I see a God become as it were foolish for the love of man, and man so ungrateful to this God ! Now, if this ingratitude of man caused such great sorrow to the heart of St. Francis, let us consider how much more it must have afflicted the Heart of Jesus Christ. He was hardly conceived in the womb of Mary when He saw the cruel return He was to receive from man. He had de- scended from heaven to enkindle the fire of Divine love, and this desire alone had brought Him down to this earth, to suffer there an abyss of sorrows and ignominies : "I am come to cast fire on the earth ; and what will 1 but that it be kindled 1" (St. Luke xii. 49.) And then He beheld an abyss of sins which men would commit after having seen so many proofs of His love. It was this, says St. Bemar- dine of Sienna, which made Him feel an infinite sorrow : 'And therefore He sorrowed infinitely.' Even among us it is an insufferable sorrow for one man to see himself treated with ingratitude by another ; for the blessed Simon of Cassia observes, that ingratitude often afflicts the soul more than any pain afflicts the body : * Ingratitude often causes more bitter sorrow in the soul than pain causes in the body.'^o What sorrow, then, must our ingratitude have caused to Jesus, who was our God, when He saw that His benefits and His love would be repaid Him by offences and injuries ! '* And they repaid ^Me evil for good, and hatred for My love" (Ps. cviii. 5). But even at the present day it seems as if Jesus Christ was going about complaining : " I am become a stranger to My brethren" (Ps. Ixviii. 9). For He sees that many neither love nor know Him, as if 62 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION He had not done them any good, neither had suffered any thing for love of them. O God, what value do the ma- jority of Christians even now set upon the love of Jesus Christ ? Our Blessed Redeemer once appeared to the blessed Henry Suso in the form of a pilgrim who went ^^gS^^g from door to door for a lodging, but every one drove Him away with insults and injuries. How many, alas ! are like those of whom Job speaks : " Who said to God, Depart from us. Whereas He had filled their houses with good things" (Job xxii. 17). We have hitherto united ourselves to these ungrateful wretches ; but shall we al- ways be like them ? No; for that loving Infant does not deserve it, who came from Heaven to sufl'er and die for us, in order that we might love Him. AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. Is it, then, true, O my Jesus, that Thou didst descend from heaven to make me love Thee; didst come down to embrace a life of suffering and the death of the cross for my sake, in order that I might welcome Thee into my heart, and yet I have so often driven Thee from me, and said, * Depart from me. Lord ; go away from me, Lord ; for I do not want Thee T O God, if Thou wert not mfinite goodness, and hadst not given Thy life to obtain my pardon, I should not have courage to ask it of Thee • but I feel that Thou Thyself dost ofler me peace : " Turn ye to me, saith the Lord, and I will turn to you" (Zach. 1. 3). Thou Thyself, whom I have offended, O my Jesus, hast made Thyself my intercessor : ^'He is the propitiation for our sins" (1 St. John ii. 2). I will therefore not do Ihee this fresh injury of distrusting Thy mercy. I repent with all my soul of having despised Thee, O sovereijm Good ; receive me into Thy favour for the sake of the blood which Thou hast shed forme: *' Father, I am not worthy to be called Thy son." No, my lledeemer and my i ather, I am no longer worthy to be Thy son, havin^ so often renounced Thy love ; but Thou dost make me worthy of Thy merits. I thank Thee, oh, my Father • I thank Thee, and I love Thee. Ah, the thought alone of the patience with which Thou hast borne with me for so MED. VIII.] OP THE ETERNAL WORD. 63 many years, and of the favours Thou hast conferred upon me after so many injuries that I have done Thee, ou^ht to make me live constantly on fire with Thy love. Come, then, my Jesus, for I will not drive Thee away any more, come and dwell in my poor heart. I love Thee, and will always love Thee ; but do Thou inflame my heart every clay more and more by the remembrance of the love Thou Hast borne me. O Mary, my Queen and Mother, help me, pray to Jesus for me ; make me during the days that are eft me in this world live grateful to that God who f d d H* ""'^ ^"^ "^^^^'^ ^^^"^ ^^*^'' "^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^""^^^ ^^" sr — ^IedITATION VIII. ' "'^„%fjj^^^^^°^«"r Saviour hath appeared to all men, instmcting ' - Wp.«p^ V ' ^^«l^ouldhvo . . . godly in this world, lookhig for the ItZt T °P' n?"^- ?T^"^. «f ^^^ gl«ry of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Chnst."— Titus ii. 11. Consider that by the grace that is said here to have ap- peared IS meant the tender love of Jesus Christ towards men --a love that we have not merited, which therefore is called grace This love was, however, always the same in God, Dut did not always appear. It was at first promised in many prophecies, and foreshadowed by many figures : but at the birth of the Redeemer this Divine love Tndeed ap- peared and manifested itself by the Eternal Word showing Himself to man as an infant, lying on straw, crying and shivering with cold; beginning thus to make satisfaction lor us tor the penalties we have deserved, and so making known to us the affection which He bore us, by giving up His life for us : " In this we have known the chariry of C^od because He hath laid down His life for us" (1 ^eT John m. 10). Therefore the love of our God appeared to all, omnibus Jwminihus: But why is it, then, that all men fiave not known it, and that even at this day so many are Ignorant of it ? This is the reason : - The light is come into tne world, and men loved darkness rather than the light" (^t John i^.J9). They have not known Him, and they do not know'Him, because they do not wish to know Him, J 64 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION loving rather the darkn^s of sin than the light of grace. But let us endeavour not to be of the number of these un- happy souls. If in past times we have shut our eyes to the light, thinking little of the love of Jesus Christ, let us try, during the days that may remain to us in this life, to have ever before our eyes the sufferings and death of our Kedeemer, in order to love Him who hath loved us so much : " Looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Thus may we justly expect, according to the divine pro- mises, that paradise which Jesus Christ has acquired for us by His blood. At His first coming Jesus appeared as an infant, poor and humble, and showed Himself on earth born in a stable, covered with miserable rags, and lying on straw; but at His second coming He will come on a throne of majesty: "We shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and majesty." Blessed then will he be who shall have loved Him, and miserable those who have not loved Him. j AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. O my holy Infant ! now I see Thee lying on straw, poor, afflicted, and forsaken ; but I know that one day Thou wilt come to judge me, seated on a throne of splen- dour, and attended by the angels. Forgive me, I implore Thee, before Thou dost judge me. Then Thou wilt have to conduct Thyself as a just judge; but now Thou art my Kedeemer, and the Father of mercy. I have been one of those ungrateful ones who have not known Thee, because I did not choose to know Thce;^«nd therefore, instead of being inclined to love Thee by the consideration of the love Thou hast borne me, I have only thought of satisfying my own desires, despising Thy grace and Thy love. But into Thy sacred hands I commend my soul, which I have lost; do Thou save it : " Into Thy hands I commend my spirit; Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth" (Ps. XXX. 6). In Thee do I place all my hopes, knowing that, to ransom me from hell. Thou hast given Thy blood and Thy life : " Thou hast redeemed me, Lord, the God of MED. IX.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 65 truth." Thou didst not condemn me to death when I was living in sin, but hast waited for me with infinite patience, in order that, having come to myself, I might repent of having offended Thee, and might begin to love Thee, and that thus Thou mightest be able to forgive and save me. Yes, my Jesus, I will please Thee. I repent, above every other evil, of all the offences I have committed against Thee ; I repent, and love Thee above all things. Do Thou save me in Thy mercy, and let it be my salvation to love Thee always in this life and in eternity. My dearest Mother Mary, recommend me to thy Son. Do thou represent to Him that I am tliy servant, and that I have placed all my hope in thee. He hears thee, and refuses thee nothing. Meditation IX. " And Joseph also went np . . . to be enrolled with Mary his espoased wife, who was with child." — St. Luke ii. 4. God had decreed that His Son should be born not in the house of Joseph, but in a cavern and stable of beasts, in the poorest and most painful way that a child can be born ; and therefore He caused Caesar to publish an edict, by which people were commanded to go and enrol themselves, every one in his own citv from whence he drew his orijjin. When Joseph heard this order, he was much agitated as to whether he should take with him or leave behind the Virgin Mother, as she was now so near childbirth. My spouse and my lady, said he to her, on the one hand I do not wish to leave you alone ; on the other, if I take you with me, I am much afflicted at the thought of all that you will have to suffer during this long journey, and in such severe weather. My poverty will not permit me to conduct you with that com- fort which you require. But jMur}" answers him, and tries to give him courage with tliese words : My Joseph, do not fear. I will go with you ; the Lord will assist us. She knew, both by divine inspiration, and also because she was well versed in the prophecy of Micheas, that the Divine In- fant was to be born in Bethlehem. She therefore takes the swaddling-clothes, and the other miserable garments already prepared, and departs with Joseph. "And Joseph also P \ 66 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION went up . . . to be eDroUed with Mary." Let us now con- sider all the devout and holy discourses which these two holy spouses must have held together during this journey concerning the mercy, goodness, and love of the Divine Word, who was shortly to be born, and to appear on the earth for the salvation of men. Let us also consider the praises, the benedictions, the thanksgivings, the acts of hu- militv and love, which these two illustrious pilgrims uttered by the way. This holy Virgin, so soon to become a mother, certainly suffered much in so long a journey, made in the midst of winter, and over rough roads; but she suffered with peace and with love. She offered to God all these her trials, uniting them to those of Jesus, whom she earned in her womb. Oh, let us unite ourselves also, and let us ac- company Mary and Joseph in the journey of our hfe; and, with them, let us accompany the King of Heaven who is born in a cave, and makes His first appearance in the world as an infant, but as the poorest and most forsaken infant that ever was born amongst men. And let us beseech Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, that, through the merits of the pains which they suffered in this journey, they would accompany us in the journey that we are making to eternity. Uh, blessed shall we be if, in life and in death, we keep com- pany with, and are always accompanied by, these three great personages ! AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. My beloved Eedeemer, I know that in this journey Thou wast accompanied by hosts of angels from heaven ; but on this eai-th who was there that bore Thee company ] Thou hadst but Joseph and ]Mar>' who earned Thee with her. Refuse not, O my Jesus, that I also accompany Thee. Miserable ungi-ateful sinner that I have been, I now see the injuries I have done Thee; Thou didst come down from heaven to make Thyself my companion on earth, and 1 by my frequent offences have ungratefully abandoned Thee ! When I remember, O my Saviour, that for the sake of my own cursed inclinations I have often separated myself from Thee and renounced Thy friendship, I could wish to die of sorrow. But Thou didst come into the MED. IX.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 67 world to forgive me; therefore forgive me now, I beseech Thee, for I repent with all my soul of having so often turned my back upon Thee and forsaken Thee. I purpose and hope, through Thy grace, never more to leave or separate myself from Thee, O my only love ! My soul has become enamoured of Thee, my amiable Infant God. I love Thee, my sweet Saviour; and since Thou hast come upon earth to save me and to dispense to me Thy graces, I ask this one only grace of Thee, permit me not to be ever again separated from Thee. Unite me, bind me to Thyself, enchain me with the sweet cords of Thy holy love. O my Redeemer and my God, who will then have the heart to leave Thee, and to live without Thee, deprived of Thy grace ? Most holy Mary, I come to accompany thee in this journey; and thou, O my Mother, cease not to accompany me in the journey that I am making to eternity. Do thou assist me always, but especially when !• shall find myself at the end of my life, and near that moment on which will depend either my remaining always with thee to love Jesus in paradise, or my being for ever separated from thee and hating Jesus in hell. My Queen, save me by thy intercession ; and may my salvation be to love thee and Jesus for ever, in time and in eternity. Thou art my hope ; I hope every thing from thee. ANOTHER NOVENA FOR CHRISTMAS : CO:?SISTIKG OF NINE MEDITATIONS FOR EVERY DAY OF THE NOVENA. CHAPLET TO BE RECITED BEFORE EVERY MEDITATION. 1 My most sweet Jesus, ^vho wert born in a cave and ^^ert 'afterwards laid in a manger upon straw, have mercy upon us. B. Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy upon us. Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father, &c. 2 My most sweet Jesus, who wert presented and offered by IMary in the temple, to be afterwards one day sacrificed for us upon the cross, have mercy upon us. B, Have mercy, &c. . , i tt i 3 :My most sweet Jesus, who wert persecuted by Herod and constrained to fly into Egypt, have mercy upon us. Ji. Have mercy, &c. , ,, . -n i. r 4 My most sweet Jesus, Avho didst dwell m hgJT^ ^^^ seven years, poor, unknown, and despised by that barbarous nation, have mercy upon us. B. Have mercy, &c. 5. My most sweet Jesus, who didst return to iliy country to be one day crucified there in the midst of two thieves, have mercy upon us. B. Have mercy, (kc. G :My most sweet Jesus, v/lio at the ago of twelve years didst remain in the temple to dispute with the doctors, and after three days wert found by Mary, have mercy upon us. B. Have mercy, &c. 7. My most sweet Jesus, who didst live concealed from the world for so many years in the shop at Nazareth, serving Mary and Joseph, have mercy upon us. B. Have mercy, ^^c. . 8. My most sweet Jesus, who for three years before BIED. I.] OP THE ETERNAL WORD. 69 Thy Passion didst go about preaching and teaching the way of salvation, have mercy upon us. B. Have mercy, »kc. 9. My most sweet Jesus, who for the love of us didst terminate Thy life by dying on the cross, have mercy upon us. B. Have mercy, &c. Meditation I. ON THE LOVE OF GOD IN BECOMING MAN. Let us consider the immense love which God showed us in becoming man in order to procure us eternal life. Our first parent, Adam, having sinned and rebelled against God, was driven out of Paradise and condemned to everlasting death with all his descendants. But be- hold the Son of God, who, seeing man thus lost, in order to deliver him from death offers to take upon Himself human flesh, and to die condemned as a malefactor upon the cross. But, my Son, we may suppose the Father saying to Him, consider -what a life of humiliation and suffering Thou wilt have to lead upon earth. Thou wilt have to be born in a cold cave, and to be laid in a manger for beasts. Thou wilt have to fly as an infant into Egypt to escape from the hands of Herod. On Thy return from Egypt Thou Avilt have to live in a shop as a humble servant, poor and despised. And, finally, worn out by sufferings. Thou wilt have to give up Thy life upon a cross, insulted and forsaken by all. — Father, all this matters not, replies the Son ; I am content with enduring all, provided man is saved. What should we say if a prince was to take compassion upon a dead worm, and chose to become a worm himself, and, making as it were a bath of his own blood, to die in order to restore the wonn to life ? But the eternal Word has done even more than this for us ; for, being God, He has chosen to become a worm like us, and to die for us, in order to purchase for us the life of divine grace which we had lost. When He saw that all the gifts He had bestowed upon us could not secure to Him our love, what did He do 1 He became man, and He gave Himself entirely to us : " The Word was made flesh, and gave Himself for us." Man, by despising God, 70 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION MED. II.l OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 71 says St. Fulgentiiis, separated himself from God ; but God, through His love for man, came from heaven to seek him. And why did He come? He came in order that man mif^ht know how much God loved him, and that thus, out of gratitude, at least he might love Him in return. Even the beasts when they approach themselves to us make us love them ; and why then arc we so ungrateful towards a God who descends from heaven to earth to make us love Him ? One day, Avhen a priest was saying these words in Mass : " FA Vevhum caro factum est" a man who was present neglected to make an act of reverence ; upon which the devil gave him a blow, saying : ' Ah, ungrateful man ! if God had done as much for me as He has done for thee, I should remain with my face always bent down to the ground returning thanks to Him.' AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. great Son of God, Thou hast become man in order to make Thyself loved by men; but where is the love that men bear to Thee 1 Thou hast given Thy blood and Thy life to save our souls; and why are we so ungrateful to Thee, that, instead of loving Thee, we despise with such ingratitude 1 Alas ! I myself. Lord, have been one of those who more than others have thus ill-treated Thee. But Thy Passion is my hope. Oh, for the sake of that love that induced Thee to assume human flesh, and to die for me upon the cross; forgive me all the offences I have com- mitted against Thee. I love Thee, O Incarnate Word ; I love Thee, O my God; I love Thee, O Infinite Goodness; and I repent of all the injuries I have done Thee. Would that I could die of sorrow for Thee. O my Jesus, grant me the gift of Thy love; let me not live any longer un- orateful for the aftection Thou hast borne me. I am de- termined to love Thee always. Give me holy perseverance. O Mary, Mother of God, and my Mother, obtain for me from thy Son the grace to love Him always even unto death. Meditation II. ON THE LOVE OF GOD IN BEING BORN AN INFANT. The Son of God, in becoming man for our sake, might have appeared in the world at the age of a perfect man, as Adam appeared when he was created; but, as children gene- rally attract to themselves greater love from those who take care of them, therefore He chose to appear upon earth as an infant; and as the poorest and most abject infimt that ever was born. St. Peter Chrysologus writes : Thus did our God choose to be born; because thus did lie wish to be loved ' The Prophet Isaias had already predicted that the Son of God was to be born an infant, and thus to give Him- self entirely to us through the love that He bore us : A Child is born to us, a Son is given to us (Is. xi. b). O my Jesus, my supreme and true God, what can have attracted Thee from heaven to be ^^^'^ ,^^ ,?.f ^f/ ^^^ it be not the love that Thou bearest to man ? What has drawn Thee from the bosom of Thy Father to lay Thyself down in a manger? What has brought Thee down from Thy throne above the stars, to stretch Thyself on a little straw ^ What, from the midst of the nine choirs of angels, has placed Thee between two animals 1 Thou dost inflame the^raphim with holy fire, and lo. Thou art treniblng with cold in this stable ! Thou dost give motion to the heavens and the sun, and now Thou canst not move with- ourbeing earned in some one's arms I Thou dost provide with food both man and beast, and dost Thou now require a little milk to sustain Thy life ? Thou art the delight of heaven, and now how is it that I hear Thee weep aad moan? Tell me who hath reduced Thee to such misery? ^ Who hath done this ? Love hath done it, says St. I5er. nard ; the love that Thou bearest to man hath done it. AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. O dearest Infant, tell me what Thou camest on earth to do? Tell me whom Thou art seeking? Ah i under- stand Thee now ; Thou art come in order to die for me to deliver me from hell. Thou art come to seek me, a lost 72 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION sheep, in order that I may no more fly from Thee, but love Tliee. Ah, my Jesus, my treasure, my life, my love, my all; if I do not love Thee, whom then shall I love? Where can I find a father, a friend, a spouse more amiable than Thou, and who has loved me more than Thou hast done ? I am sorry to have been so many years in the world, and yet not to have loved Thee; yea, rather to have offended and despised Thee. Forgive me, my beloved Redeemer; for I repent of having treated Thee thus ; I am sorry for it witli all my heart. Pardon me, and give me Thy grace, that I may never again separate myself from Thee; and that I may love Thee constantly during the years that remain to me in this life. My Love, I give myself entirely to Thee ; accept me, and do not reject me, though I deserve it. O Mary, thou art my advocate; thou dost obtain by thy prayers whatever thou wilt from thy Son ; beg of Him to forgive me, and to give me holy per- severance unto death. Meditation III. ON THE LIFE OF POVERTY WHICH JESUS LED EVEN FROM HIS BIRTH. It was ordained by God, that at the time when His Son was born on this earth the decree of the emperor should be promulgated, obliging every one to go and enrol themselves in the place of their birth. And thus it hap- pened, that Joseph had to go with his spouse to Bethlehem to enrol himself according to the decree of Coesar. And now, the time of her delivery having an-ived, Mary, having been driven from the other houses, and even from the common asylum for the poor, was obliged to remain that night in a cave, and there brought forth the King of Heaven. It is true that, if Jesus had been born in Naza- reth, He would equally have been born in a state of po- verty; but then He would at least have had a dry room, a little fire, warm clothes, and a more comfortable cradle. But no. He chose to be born in this cold cavern without a fire to warm Him; He chose to have a manger for a cradle, and a little prickly straw for a bed, in order that He might suffer more. ^\ \ MED. IV.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. I 73 Let us, then, enter into the cave of Bethlehem; but let us enter there with faith. If we go there without faith, we shall see nothing but a poor infant, who moves us to compassion at beholding him so beautiful, shivering and crying with cold, and with the prickling of the straw on which He lies. But if we enter in with faith, and consi- der that this Child is the Son of God, who for the love of us has come down to this earth and suffered so much to pay the penalty of our sins, how can it be possible not to thank Him and love Him 1 AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. my sweet Infant ! how is it possible that, knowing how much Thou hast suffered for me, I can have been so ungrateful to Thee, and offended Thee so often 1 But these tears which thou sheddest, this poverty which Thou hast chosen for the love of me, make mc hope for the pardon of all the offences I have committed against Thee. I repent, my Jesus, of having so often turned my back upon Thee ; and I love Thee above all things, ' my God and my All.' My God, from this day forth Thou shalt be my only trea- sure and my only good. I will say to Thee, with St. Igna- tius of Loyola, ' Give me Thy love, give me Thy grace, and I am sufficiently rich.' I wish for, I desire nothing else. Thou alone art sufficient for me, my Jesus, my Life, my Love. Meditation IY. ON THE LIFE OF HUMILITY WHICH JESUS LED EVEN FROM HIS INFANCY. All the marks that the angel gave to the shepherds to find the Saviour, Avho was just born, were marks of humil- ity : "And this shall be a sign unto you ; you shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and laid in a manger" (St. Luke ii. 12). This shall be the sign, said the angel, to find the new-born Messias : you will find Hiin an infant, wrapped in poor ragged clothes, in a stable, lying on straw in a manger for animals. Thus would the King of Hea- ven, the Son of God, be born, because He came to destroy the pride which had been the cause of man's ruin. The 74 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION I MED. v.] prophets had already foretold that our Kedecmer should be treated as tlie vilest man upon earth, and overwhelmed with insults. How much contempt had not Jesus to suffer from men ! He was treated as a drunkard, as a magician, as a blasphemer, and a heretic. How many affronts did He endure during His Passion ! He was forsaken by His own disciples; even one of them sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, and another denied having ever known Him. He was led through the streets bound like a criminal, scourged like a slave, treated like a madman, as a mock king ; struck) spit upon in the face ; and at length He was pift 'to death on a cross, suspended between two thieves, as the great- est malefactor in the world. Thus, says St. Bernard, the noblest of men is treated like the vilest of all. ' But, my Jesus,' adds the saint, ' the viler Thou art, the dearer art Thou to me.' The more Thou appearest to me humbled and despised, the more dear and worthy of love dost Thou become to me. AFFECTIONS AND PRAYEBS. O my sweet Saviour! Tliou hast embraced so much contempt for the love of me, and I have not been able to bear a word of insult without thinking immediately of re* venging myself of it,— I who so often have deserved to b« trodden under foot by the devils in hell ! I am ashame, of appearing before Thee, a proud sinner that I am. (! Lord, do not drive me from Thy presence, as I deserve Thou hast said that Thou couldest not despise a heart thai repents and humbles itself: I repent of all the offences I have committed against Thee. Forgive me, my Jesus • for I will not offend Thee any more. Thou hast suffered soi mauy injuries for my sake, I will for Thy sake bear with all the injuries that may be offered me. I love Thee my Jesus, despised for my sake ; I love Thee, my Good, above every other good. Give me Thy help, that I may always love Ihee, and suffer every insult for the love of Thee O Mary, recommend me to thy Son ; pray to Jesus for me. OF THE ETERNAL WORD. Meditation V. 75 ON THE LIFE OF SOIIKOW WHICH JESUS LED EVEN FROM HIS BIRTH. Jesus Christ could have saved man without suffering and without dying; but no. He chose a hfe full of tnbu- lations, in order to make us know how much He loved ub. Therefore the prophet Isaias called Hun the Man of sor- rows i^Vimm dohrum'), because the life of Jesus Chnst was to be a life full of sorrows. His Passion did not com- mence at the time of His death, but from the commence- ment of His life. Behold Him, as soon as He is bora, laid in a stable, where for Jesus every thing is a torment. His sight is tormented by seeing nothing else m this cave but black rough walls. His sense of smelling is tormented by ttie stench of the dung of the beasts that are lymg there. His sense of touch is tormented by the pricking of the straw that serves Him for a bed. Soon after His birth He is obliged to fly into Egypt, where He passed several years of His childhood poor and despised ; the life which He I led afterwards in Nazareth was not much better. Behold V .Him at length terminating His life in Jerusalem, dying on jVcross by dint of torments. Vi Thus, then, the life of Jesus was one continual suffer- J\g, and indeed a double suffering; for He had constantly Jlfore His eyes all the sorrows that won d afflict Him until %e day of His death. Sister Mary Magdalene Or^ni, com- flainin^ one day before the crucifix, said to Him : U Lord, Thou didst remain on the cross for three hours )ut I have suffered this pain for several years But Jesus mswered her: ^ Oh, ignorant that thou art what dos^ thou say? I suffered even from My Mothers womb all tthe pains of My life and My death.' But all these sufler- Cs did not so much afflict Jesus Christ-because He chose 'voluntarily U. suffer them-as did the sight of our sins and our ingratitude for His great love. ^ St. Margaret of Cor- tona was never satisfied with lamenting over the offences committed against God ; wherefore her confessor said to her one day: ' Margai-et, cease crying, ^^^"^.^.^^^^^ already forgiven thee.' But she replied : ^ Ah, father, bow 76 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCABNATION MED. VII.] OF THE ETERNAL WOKD. 77 can I cease crying, when I know that my sins kept Jesus Christ in a state of affliction all His life V AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. my sweet Love, have I then by my sins kept Thee in a state of affliction all Thy lUo long? Qh^ tell me, then, what I can do, in order that Thou mayest forgive me ; for I will leave nothing undone. I repent, sovereign Good, of all the offences I have committed against Thee ; I re- pent, and love Thee more than myself. . I feel a' great desire to love Thee ; it is Thou that givest me this desire ; give me, therefore, strength to love Thee ardently. It is only just that I, who have offended Thee so much, should also love Thee nmch. Oh, remind me constantly of the love Thou hast borne me, in order that my soul may always burn with the love of Thee ; that it may think of Thee alone, desire Thee alone, and strive to please Thee alone. O God of love, I, who once was the slave of hell, now give myself entirely to Thee. Accept me in Thy mercy, and bind me with Thy love, my Jesus, from this day forth. I will love Thee in life; and in loving Thee I will die. O Mary, my Mother and my hope, help me to love thy dear Jesus and mine ; this favour alone I desire and hope from thee. Meditation VI. ON THE MERCY OF GOD IN COMING DOWN FROM HEAVEN TO SAVE US ET HIS DEATH. St. Paul says : " The goodness and kindness of God our Saviour appeared" (Tit. iii. 4). AVhen therefore the Son of God made Man appeared upon earth, then was seen how gi-eat the goodness of God was towards us. St. Bernard writes, that the power of God appeared first in the crea- tion of the world, and His wisdom in sustaining it ; but His mercy appeared to a still greater degree when He took human flesh to save lost man bv His suffbrintrs and death. And what greater mercy could the Son ol God show us, than to take upon Him the pains we have de- served? Behold Him a new-born infant, weak, and wrap- ped m swaddling-clothes in a manger; not able either to ( ^ move or feed Himself, He requires for His sustenance that Mary should feed Him with a little milk. Behold Him afterwards in the judgment-hall of Pilate, bound to a column by cords from which He cannot loosen Himself, and there scourged from head to foot. Behold Him in the journey to Calvary, falling down as He goes along the road through weakness and the weight of the cross that He carries. Be- hold Him finally nailed to that infamous tree, whereon He finishes His life by dint of suffering. Jesus Christ wished to gain all the affections of our hearts by His love for us, and therefore He would not send an angel to redeem us, but He would come Himself to save us by His Passion. If an angel had been our re- deemer, man must have divided his heart, loving God as his Creator, and the angel as his redeemer ; but God, who desired the whole heart of man, as He was His Creator, chose also to be His Redeemer. affections and prayers. Ah, my dear Redeemer, where should I be now, if Thou hadst not borne with me with so much patience, but hadst condemned me to death whilst I was yet in sin? Since then Thou hast hitherto waited for me, my Jesus, forgive me speedily, before death surprises me whilst I am guilty of so many offences against Thee. I repent, O sove- reign Good, of having thus despised Thee ; I should like to die of son'ow for my sins. Thou canst not forsake a soul that seeks Thee ; if I have hitherto neglected Thee, I will henceforth seek Thee and love Thee. Yes, O my God, I love Thee above all things ; I love Thee more than myself. Help me. Lord, to love Thee always during the remainder of my life ; I ask nothing more ; I ask this, and I hope it of Thee. Mary, my hope, do thou pray for me ; if thou prayest for me, I am sure of grace. Meditation YII. ON THE JOURNEY OF THE INFANT JESUS TO EGYPT. ' The Son of God came from heaven to save mankind ; but as soon as He was born, they began to persecute Him 78 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION even until death. Herod, fearing that this Infant would deprive him of his kingdom, tried to put Him to death ; wherefore St. Joseph was advised by the angel in a dream to take Jesus with His Mother and to fly into Egypt. Joseph promptly obeyed, and informed Mary of it ; so he took the few implements of his trade that he possessed, in order that they might serve him to gain a livelihood in Egypt for himself and his poor family. Mary, on her part, added a small packet of clothes that were to serve for the Holy Infimt ; and then, drawing near to the crib she said with tears to her sleeping child : ' Oh, my Son and my God, Thou art come down from heaven to save men, and hardly art Thou born when they seek Thee to take away Thy life.' She then took Him, and continuing to weep, in the same night she and Joseph set off on their journey. Let us consider how much these holy pilgrims must have suffered whilst they were making such a long journey, deprived of every comfort. The Infant was not yet able to walk ; therefore, first Mary and then Joseph were obliged by turns to carry Him in their arms. During their jour- ney through the desert of Egypt, their only bed at night was the bare earth in the open air. The Infant weeps with the cold, and Joseph and Mary weep also from com- passion. And who would not weep, in seeing the Son of God, poor and persecuted, wandering about on the earth that He may not be killed by His enemies ] AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. Ah, dearest Infant, Thou dost weep ; and well mayest Thou weep, in seeing Thyself so persecuted by those men whom Thou hast so much loved. Alas, my God, I also have persecuted Thee by my sins ; but now I love Thee more than myself; and there is no sorrow that afflicts me more than the remembrance that I have despised Thee, my sovereign Good. Oh, forgive me, my Jesus, and per- mit me to carry Thee with me in my heart in all the journey of life that I have yet to make, and then to enter together with Thee into eternity. I have so often driven Thee from my soul by offending Thee j but now I love I ^ MED. VIII.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 79 Thee above every thing, and I repent above every other evil of liaving offended Thee. My beloved Lord, I will never leave Thee more ; but do Thou give me strength to resist temptations ; permit me not to separate myself any more from Thee ; let me rather die than ever again lose Thy favour. O ^lary, my hope, make me always live and die in the love of God. Meditation VIII. ON THE SOJOURN OP THE INFANT JESUS IN EGYPT AND IN NAZARETH. Our Blessed Redeemer passed His first infancy in Egypt; leading there for seven years a life of poverty and contempt. Joseph and jNIary were both strangers and unknown there, having there neither relations nor friends ; and they could hardly earn their daily bread by the labour of their hands. Their cottage was poor, their bed was poor, and their food was poor. In this miserable hut Mary weaned Jesus. First she had fed Him from her breast ; and afterwards with her hands she took from the porringer a little bread soaked in water, and then she put it in the sacred mouth of her Son. In this cottage she made Him His first little gar- ment ; she took off His swaddling-clothes and began to dress Him. In this cottage the Child Jesus began to take His first steps ; but He kept falling many times and trem- bling, as it happens to other children. Here He began to utter His first words, but in stammering. O wonder ! to what has not a God reduced Himself for the love of us ! A God trembling and falling as He walks ! a God stammering whilst He speaks ! Not unlike this was the poor and abject life that Jesus led on His return from Egypt to the house of Nazareth. Until the age of thirty He held no other office than that of a simple shop-boy, being obedient to Joseph and Mary. *< And He was subject to them" (St. Luke ii. 51). Jesus went to fetch the water ; Jesus opened and shut up the shop ; Jesus swept the house ; He collected the fragments of wood for the fire, and worked all day, helping Joseph in his labours. wonder ! A God serving as a boy ! 80 MEDITATIONS OX THE INCARNATION a God sweeping the bouse ! a God working and sweating to plane a piece of wood ! And who is this ] The omni- potent God, who by a nod created the world, and can de- stroy it when lie pleases ! Ought not the mere thought of this to move our hearts to love Ilini ] How sweet it must have been to observe the devotion with which Jesus said His prayers, the patience with which He laboured, the promptitude with which He obeyed, the modesty with which He took His food, and the sweetness and affability with which He spoke and conversed ! Oh, every word, every action of Jesus was so holy, that it filled every one with love for Him ; but especially :Mary and Joseph, who were constantly observing Him 1 Meditation IX. ON TUE BIUTn OF THE INFANT JESUS IN THE CAVE OF BETHLEHEM. The edict of the Roman emperor having gone forth, by which every one was to go and enrol themselves in their own country, Joseph departed with his spouse Mary, to go and enrol themselves in Bethlehem. O God ! how much must the Blessed Virgin have suffered in this journey, which was of four days, over mountainous roads, and in the winter, with cold, wind, and rain I As soon as they arrived there, the time of her delivery was at hand ; where- fore Joseph went about the town looking for a lodging, where Mary could bring forth her child. But, because they are poor, tliey are driven away by every one ; they are even driven from the inn where the other poor had been received. They went away therefore from the town in the night ; and having found a cave, ^lary entered in there. But Joseph said to her : ' My spouse, how can you pass the night in tliis damp cold place 1 Do you not see that this is a stable for animals V But Mary answered : * O mv Joseph ! it is nevertheless true that this shed is the royal palace in which the Sou of God chooses to be born.' And behold, the hour of the birth being come, whilst the Holy Virghi was kneeling in- prayer, she saw all at once the cave illuminated by a brilliant light ; she cast her eyes MED. IX.] OF the eternal word. 81 upon the oTound, and beheld the Son of God already born, a tender infant, crying and trembling with cold: where- upon she first adores Him as her God ; she then p aces Him in her bosom, and wraps Him in the poor swaddling- clothes which she had with her; and finally, she lays Hini on a little straw in the manger. Behold, how the Son ot the Eternal Father chose to be born for the love ot us. St Mary Magdalene of Pazzi says that the souls eiiamoured of Jesus Christ ought to kneel in spirit at the feet of the Holy Child, and perform for Him the same office that the beasts of tlie stable of Bethlehem did, which warmed Jesus with their breath ; they should, therefore, warm Him also with the sighs of love. AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. O my adorable Infant, I should not have the boldness to prostrate myself at Thy feet, if I did not know that Thou Thyself invitest me to approach Thee. I am he who by my sins have caused Thee to shed so many tears in the stable of Bethlehem. But since Thou earnest upon earth to forgive repentant sinners, forgive me also ; tor i repent with\ll my heart of having despised Thee, my Saviour, my God, who art so good, and hast loved me so much. Thou dost dispense great graces to so many souls during this sacred night; do Thou, therefore console my soul also. The grace I desire is the grace to ove Jl^^^^^ from this day forth with my whole heart. Oh, intlame me wholly with Thy holy love! I love Thee, niy God, become a^child for me. Oh, permit me not ever to cease from loving thee. O Mary, my Mother, thou canst do all th'ngs by thy prayers ; I ask thee only this, to pray to Jesus for me. G 3IED. I.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 83 MEDITATIONS FOR THE OCTAVE OF THE NATIVITY, AND FOR THE FOLLOWING DAYS UNTIL THE EPIPHANY. Meditation I. ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS. The birth of Jesus Christ caused a universal joy to the whole world. He was the Redeemer who had been desired and sighed after for so many years ; and therefore He was called the desired of the nations, and the desire of the eter- nal hills. Behold Him already come, and born in a little cave. Let us consider that this day the angel announces to us also the same great joy which he announced to the shepherds : '' Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people; for this day is born to you a Saviour" (St. Luke ii. 10, 11). What rejoicing is there in a country when the first-born son is born to the king ! But surely we ought to keep still greater festival when we see the Son of God bom and come down from heaven to visit us, urged to this by the bowels of His mercy : " Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us." We were lost; and behold Him who came to save us : '^ He came down from heaven for our salvation." Behold the Shepherd who came to save His sheep from death by giving His life for their sakes : " I am the good shepherd ; the good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep" (St. John x. 11). Behold the Lamb of God, who came to sacrifice Himself to obtain for us the Divine favour, and to become our de- liverer, our life, our light, and even our food in the most Holy Sacrament. St. Augustine says, that for this reason, amongst others, Christ chose to be laid in the manger where the animals were fed, to make us understand that He has become man also to make Himself our food : ^ In the manger, where the food of animals is placed, He allowed His limbs to be laid, thereby showing that His own body would be the eternal food of men.'^^ Besides this, He is born every day in the Sacrament by means of the priests and the words of consecration ; the altar is the crib, and there we go to feed ourselves on His flesh. Some one might desire to liave the Holy Infant in his arms, as the aged Simeon had ; but faith teaches us that, when we receive Communion, the same Jesus who was in the man- ger of Bethlehem is not only in our arms, but in our breasts. He was born for this purpose, to give Himself entirely to us : " A child is born to us, a son is given to us" (Is. ix. 6). AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. " I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost ; seek Thy servant" (Ps. cxviii. 176). O Lord, I am that sheep which, by following after my own pleasures and caprices, have miserably lost myself; but Thou, who art at once the Shepherd and Divine Lamb, art He who camest down from heaven to save me by sacrificing Thyself as a victim on the cross in satisfaction for my sins. "Behold the Lamb of God ; behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world." If therefore I desire to amend my life, what need I fear? why should I not confide entirely in Thee, O my Saviour, who wert born on purpose to save me ? " Behold, God is my Saviour ; I will put my trust in Him, and will not fear." What greater proof couldst Thou give me of Thy mercy, O my dearest Redeemer, to inspire me with confidence, than to give me Thyself? my dear Infant, how grieved am I that I have offended Thee ! I have made Thee weep in the stable of Bethlehem. But since Thou art come to seek me, I throw myself at Thy feet ; and although I behold Thee afflicted and humbled, lying upon straw in the manger, I acknowledge Thee for my supreme King and Sovereign. I feel that Thy tender infant-cries invite me to love Thee, and demand my heart. il I ( g4 MEDITATIO>JS ON THE INCARNATION ^X.hnU \i mv Jesus • I present it to-day at Thy feet ; clmnge ITLtillflllt O ThL who '^^J^'^ T^ to inflame the hearts of men with Thy holy loyc- J_ ^ I f I heard Thee say to me n T^ ■"SV'JiU ansvvS : T^rrl thv God with tliy whole lieart. And 1 will answer . AKn!v Jesus If I do not love Thee, who art ray Lord and ^y' af Tom Ln 1 love r Thou oanest^^scl^^mine beeause Thou wert born in order to S"-e T jself en.ie^ to me • and shall I refuse to be Thme ! No, my belovea more to cease loving Thee. O Mary, ray Queen, I pray Xee throw' ^''t eo°nsolation whieh thou didst enjoy the fii^t'time thou didst behold thy new-born Son and didst Ke mm thy first kiss, beseeeh Ilim to aceop me for H s Srvant ami to enehain me for ever to Himself by the gift of His holy love. Meditation II. JESUS 13 BOnS AS IXFANT. Consider that the first sign whieh the angel gave to the shepherds, whereby they might discover the new-born Mes- srs was that they would find Him under the form of an nfa'nt : " You shall find the infant wi^pped m Bvvayithout fear of losing Thee again. Mary, assist me in life and in death, so that Jesus may always repose in me, and that I may always repose in Jesus. Meditation VII. JESUS WEEPING. The tears of the Infant Jesus were very different from those of other new-born babes : these weep through pain j Jesus did not weep from pain, but through compassion for us and through love : ' They weep because of suffer- ing, Christ because of compassion,' says St. Bernard.^^ Tears are a great sign of love. Therefore did the Jews say when they saw the Saviour weeping for the death of Lazarus : " Behold how He loved him" (St. John xi. 36). Thus also might the angels have said on beholding the tears of the Infant Jesus : * Behold how He loves them.' Behold how our God loves men ; since for love of them we see Him made man, become an Infant, and shedding tears. Jesus wept, and offered to His Father His tears to obtain for us the pardon of our sins. ' These tears,' said St. Ambrose, 'washed away my sins ;' by His cries and tears He implored mercy for us who were condemned to eternal death, and thus He appeased the indignation of His Fa- ther, O, how eloquently did the tears of this Divine little one plead in our behalf ! O, how precious were they to God ! It was then that the Father caused the angels to proclaim that He made peace with men, and received them into His favour: "And on earth peace to men of good- will." Jesus wept through love, but He also wept through 9G MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION sorrow at the thought that so many sinners, even after all His tears and the blood He should shed for their salvation, would yet continue to despise His grace. But who would be so hard-hearted, on seeing an Infant God weeping for our sins, as not to weep also, and to detest those sins that have made this loving Saviour shed so many teal's ] O, let us not increase the sorrows of this innocent Babe ; but let us console Him by uniting our tears to His I Let us offer to God the tears of His Son, and let us beseech Him for their sake to forgive us ! AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. My beloved Infant, whilst Thou wert weeping in the stable of Bethlehem, Thou wert thinking of me ; beholding even then my sins, which were the cause of Thy tears. And liave I then, O my Jesus, instead of consoling Thee by my love and gratitude at the thought of what Thou hast suffered to save me, have I increased Thy sorrow and the cause of Thy tears 1 If I had sinned less, Thou wouldst have wept less. Weep, O, weep, for Thou hast cause to weep in seeing such great ingratitude of men to Thy great love. But since Thou weepest, weep also for me; Thy tears are my hope. I also will weep for the offences I have committed against Thee, my Bedeemer ; I hate them, I detest them, I repent of them with my whole heart. I weep for all those days and those wretched nights of mine in which I lived Thy enemy and deprived of Thy beautiful face ; but what would my tears avail, my Je- sus, without Thine 1 Eternal Father, I offer Thee the tears of the Infcmt Jesus ; for their sake forgive me. And Thou, my dearest Saviour, offer to Him all the tears that Thou didst shed for me during Thy life, and with them appease His anger against me. I beseech Thee also, my Love, to soften my heart by these tears, and to inflame it with Thy holy love. Oh, that I could from this day forth console Thee by my love for all the pain I have caused Thee by offend- ing Thee. Grant, therefore, O Lord, that the days that remain to me in this life may not any more be spent in offending Thee, but only in weeping for the offences I have MED. VIII.] OP THE ETERNAL WORD. 97 committed against Thee, and in loving Thee with all the affections of my soul. O Mary, I beseech thee, by that tender compassion which thou didst so often feel at the sight of the Infant Jesus in tears, obtain for me a constant sorrow for the offences which I have so ungratefully been guilty of against Him. Meditation VIII. ON THE NAME OF JESUS. The Name of Jesus is a Divine Name, announced to Mary on the part of God by St. Gabriel : " and thou shalt call His Name Jesus" (St. Luke i. 31). For that reason it was called " a Name above all names" (Phil. ii. 9). And it was also called a Name in which alone salvation is found : " whereby we must be saved" (Acts iv. 12). This great Name is hkened by the Holy Spirit unto oil : *' Thy Name is as oil poured out" (Cant. i. 2). For this reason, says »St. Bernard, that as oil is light, food, and medicine ; sa the Name of Jesus is light to the mind, food to the heart, . and medicine to the soul. It is light to the mind. By this Name the world was converted from the darkness of idolatry to the light of faith. We who have been bom in these regions, where before the coming of Christ all our ancestors were Gentiles, should all have been in the same condition had not the Messias come to enlighten us. How thankful ought we not then to be to Jesus Christ for the gift of faith ! And what would have become of us if we had been born in Asia, in Africa, in America, or in the midst of heretics and schismatics ? He who believes not is lost : " He that believeth not shall be condemned" (St. Mark xvi. 16). And thus probably we also should have been lost. The Name of Jesus is also food that nourishes our hearts ; yes, because this Name reminds us of what Jesus has done to save us. Hence this Name consoles us in tribulation, gives us strength to walk along the way of salvation, supplies us with courage in diflficulties, and in- ^ flames us to love our Redeemer, when we remember what He has suffered for our salvation. Lastly, this Name is / I j f 98 MEDIT ACTIONS ON THE INCARNATION medicine to the soul, "because it renders it strong against the temptations of our enemies. The devils tremble and fly at the invocation of this holy Name, according to the words of the Apostle : " That at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth' (Phil. ii. 10). He who in tempta- ' tion calls upon Jesus shall not fall ; and he who shall con- stantly invoke Him shall not fall, and shall be saved : " Praising, I will call upon the Lord ; and I shall be saved from my enemies" (Psalm xvii. 1). And who was ever lost, who when he was tempted invoked Jesus 1 He alone is lost who does not invoke His aid, or who, whilst the temptation continues, ceases to invoke Him. AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. Oh, that I had always called upon Thee, my Jesus ; for then I should never have been conquered by the devil ! I have miserably lost Thy grace, because in temptation I have neglected to call Thee to my assistance. But now I hope for all things through Thy holy Name : " I can do all things in Him who comforts me." Write therefore, O my Saviour, write upon my poor heart Thy most powerful Name of Jesus, so that, by having it always in my heart by loving Thee, I may have it always on my lips by invoking Thee, in all the temptations that hell prepares for me, in order to induce me to become again its slave, and to sepa- rate myself from Thee. In Thy Name I shall find every good. If I am afflicted, it will console me when I think how much more afflicted Thou hast been than I am, and all for the love of me ; if I am disheartened on account of my sins, it will give me courage when I remember that Thou camest into the world to save sinners; if I am tempted, Thy holy Name will give me strength, when I consider that Thou canst help me more than hell can cast me down ; finally, if I feel cold in Thy love, it will give me fervour, by reminding me of the love that Thou bearest me. I love Thee, my Jesus ! Thou art, and I trust Thou wilt always be, my only Love. To Thee do I give all my heart, O my Jesus ! Thee alone will I love ! Thee will I invoke MED. IX.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 99 as often as T possibly can. I will die with Thy Name upon my lips ; a Name of hope, a Name of salvation, a Name of love. O Mary, if thou lovest me, this is the grace I beg of thee to obtain for me, — the grace constantly to invoke thy name and that of thy Son ; obtain for me that these most sweet names may be the breath of my soul, and that I may always repeat them during my life, in order to repeat them at my death with my last breath. Jesus and Mary, help me ; Jesus and Mary, I love you ; Jesus and Mary, I recom- mend my soul to you. Meditation IX. ON THE SOLITUDE OF JESUS IN THE STABLE. Jesus chose at His birth the stable of Bethlehem for His hermitage and oratory ; and for this purpose He so disposed events as to be born out of the city in a solitaiy cave, in order to recommend to us the love of solitude and of silence. Jesus remains in silence in the manger ; Mary and Joseph adore and contemplate Him in silence. It was revealed to Sister Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament, a discalced Carmelite, who was called the Spouse of the In- Tant Jesus, that all that passed in the cave of Bethlehem, even the visit of the shepherds, and the adpration of the holy Magi, took place in silence, and without a word. Silence in other infants is impotence ; but in Jesus Christ it was virtue. The Infant Jesus does not speak ; but oh, how much His silence says ! Oh, blessed is he that converses with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, in this holy solitude of the manger. The shepherds, though admitted there but for a very short time, came out from the stable all inflamed with love to God ; for they did nothing but praise and bless Him : "They returned, glorifying and praising God" (St. Luke ii. 20). Oh, happy the soul that shuts herself up in the solitude of Bethlehem to contemplate the Divine mercy, and the love that God has borne, and still bears, to men ! " I will lead her into the wilderness, and I will speak to her heart" (Os. ii. 14). There the Divine Infant will speak, not to the ear, but to the heart, inviting the soul to love a God who hath loved her so much. When we see there the 4i !l 100 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION poverty of this wandering little Hermit, who remains in that cold cave, without fire, with a manger for a crib, and a little straw for a bed ; when we hear the cries, and be- hold the tears of this innocent Child, and consider that He is our God,— how is it possible to think of any thing but of loving Him ! Oh, what a sweet hermitage for a soul that has faith is the stable of Bethlehem ! Let us also imitate Mary and Joseph, who, burning with love, remain contem- plating the great Son of God clothed in flesh, and made subject to earthly miseries, — Wisdom become an infant that cannot speak, — the Great One become little, — the Supreme One become so abased, — the Rich One become so poor, — the Omnipotent so weak. In short, let us meditate on the Divine Majesty shrouded beneath the form of a little In- fant, despised and forsaken by the world, and who does and suffei*s every thing in order to make Himself loved by men ; and let us beseech Him to admit us into this sacred retreat ; — there stop, there remain, and never leave it again. *0 solitude,' says St. Jerome, Mn which God speaks and converses familiarly with His servants ;' O beautiful solitude, in which God speaks and converses with His chosen souls, not as a sovereign, but as a friend, as a brother, as a spouse ; O, what a paradise it is to converse alone with the Infant Jesus in the little grot of Bethlehem ! AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. My dearest Saviour, Thou art the King of Heaven, the King of kings, the Son of God ; and how is it, then, that I see Thee in this cave, forsaken by all 1 I see no one as- sisting Thee but Joseph and Thy holy Mother. I desire to unite myself also with them in keeping Thee company. Do not reject me. I do not deserve it; but I feel that Thou dost invite me by Thy sweet voice, speaking to my heart. Yes, I come, O my beloved Infant 1 I will leave all things to pass my whole life alone with Thee, my dear little Hermit, the only Love of my soul. Fool that I was, I have hitherto forsaken Thee and left Thee alone, O my Jesus, whilst I was seeking miserable and empoisoned pleasures from creatures; but now, enhghtened by Thy MED. X.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 101 grace, I desire nothing but to live in solitude with Thee, who didst will to live Thyself in solitude on this earth: *' Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and be at rest V (Ps. liv. 7.) Ah, who will enable me to fly from this world, where I have so often found my ruin, — to fly, and to come and remain always with Thee who art the joy of Paradise and the true Lover of my soul 1 Oh, bind me, I pray Thee, to Thy feet, so that I may no longer be separated from Thee, but may find my happiness in continually keeping company with Thee ! Ah, by the merits of Thy solitude in the cave of Bethlehem, give me a constant interior recollection, so that my soul may be- come a solitary little cell, where I may attend to nothing but to conversing with Thee, where I may take counsel with Thee in all my thoughts and all my actions ; where I may dedicate to Thee all my affections, where I may always love Thee, and sigh to leave the prison of this body to come and love Thee face to face in heaven. I love thee, O infinite Goodness, and I hope always to love Thee, in time and in eternity. O Mary, thou who canst do all things, pray to Him to enchain me with His love, and not to permit me ever again to lose His grace. Meditation X. ON THE OCCUPATIONS OF THE INFANT JESUS IN THE STABLE OP BETHLEHEM. There are two principal occupations of a solitary, — to pray, and to do penance. Behold the Infant Jesus in the little grotto of Bethlehem giving us the example. He, in the crib which He chose for His oratory upon earth, never ceases to pray, and to pray continually, to the Eternal Father. There. He constantly makes acts of adoration, of love, and of prayer. Before this time the Divine Majesty had been, it is true, adored by men and by angels ; but God had not received from all these creatures that honour which the Infant Jesus gave Him by adoring Him in the stable where He was born. Let us, therefore, constantly unite our adorations to those of Jesus Christ when He was upon this earth. Oh, how beautiful and perfect were the • 111 li'i f 1 ki 102 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION acts of love which the Incarnate Word made to His Father in His prayer ! God had given to man the command- ment to love Him with all his heart and all his strength j but this precept had never been perfectly fulfilled by any man. The first to accomplish it amongst women was Mary, and amongst men the first was Jesus Christ, who fulfilled it in a degree infinitely superior to Mary. The love of the seraphim may be said to be cold in comparison with the love of this Holy Infant. Let us learn from Him to love the Lord our God as He ought to be loved ; and let us beseech Him to communicate to us a spark of that pure love with which He loved the Divine Father in the stable of Bethlehem. Oh, how beautiful, perfect, and dear to God were the prayers of the Infant Jesus ! At every moment He prayed to His Father, and His prayers were all for us and for each one of us in particular. All the graces that each one of us has received from the Lord, and our being called to the true faith, our having had time given us for repentance, the lights, the sorrow for sins, the pardon of them, the holy desires, the victory over temptations, and all the other good acts that we have made, or shall make, of confidence, of humility, of love, of thanksgiving, of offer- ing, of resignation, — all these Jesus has obtained for us, and all has been the effect of the prayers of Jesus. Oh, how much do we owe Him ! and how much ought we not to thank Him and to love Him ! AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. My dear Kedeemer, how much do I owe Thee ! If Thou hadst not prayed for me, in what a state of ruin should I find myself ! I thank Thee, O my Jesus ; Thy prayers have obtained for me the pardon of my sins, and I hope that they will also obtain for me perseverance unto death. Thou hast prayed for me, and I bless Thee with my whole heart for it ; but I beseech Thee not to leave off praying. I know that Thou dost continue even in heaven to be our advocate : " We have an advocate, Jesus Christ" (1 St. John ii. 1) ; and I know that Thou dost continue to pray for us : " Who also maketh intercession for us" (Rom. viii. 34) : continue therefore to pray ; but pray, O A. MED. XI.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 103 my Jesus, more particularly for me, who am more m want of Thy prayers. I hope God has already pardoned me through Thy merits ; but as I have already so often fallen, I m'ay therefore fall again. Hell does not cease, and will not cease to tempt me, in order to make me agam lose Thy friendship. Ah, my Jesus, Thou art my liope ; it is Thou that must give me fortitude to resist j from Thee 1 seek it, and of Thee I hope for it ! But I will not content myself only with the grace not to fall again ; I desire also the grace to love Thee exceedingly. My death approaches. If I were to die now, I should indeed hope to be saved ; but I should love Thee but little in Paradise, because I have hitherto loved Thee so Httle. I will love Thee much in the days that remain to me, that I may love Thee still more in eternity. O Mary, my Mother, do thou also pray, and beseech Jesus for me ; thy prayers are all-pow^ul with thy Son, who loves thee so much. Thou dost so much desire that He should be loved, beseech Him to give me a great love for His goodness, and let this love be constant and eternal. Meditation XL ON THE POVERTY OF THE INFANT JESUS. O God who would not feel compassion, if he saw a little prince, the son of a monarch, born in such poverty as to be left to lie in a damp cold cavern, not having either bed, or servants, or fire, or clothes sufficient to warm him? Ah, my Jesus, Thou art the Son of the Lord ot heaven and earth, and yet Thou liest in this cold grotto without other cradle than a manger, with nothing but straw for Thy bed, and miserable rags to cover Thee, ibe angels stand round Thee and sing Thy praises, but they do not relieve Thy poverty. My dear Redeemer, the poorer Thou art, the more amiable Thou dost render Thyself in our eyes, because Thou hast embraced sucli ^eat poverty for this end, to make us love Thee more. If Thou hadst been born in a palace, if Thou hadst had a cradle of gold^ if Thou hadst been assisted by the first prmces of the earth, —Thou wouldst have acquired more respect from men, II -• jXV-^1 ^.^...^iA. \ 104 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION but less love ; but tliis stable where Thou dost sleep, these miserable rags that cover Thee, this straw that serves as Thy bed, this manger that is Thy only cradle,— oh, how do they attract our souls to love Thee, because Thou hast made Thyself thus poor in order to become more dear to us : * The viler He was for me,' says St. Bernard, ' the dearer He is to me.' Thou hast made Thyself poor to enrich us with Thy riches, that is, with grace and glory : " He became poor, that through His poverty you might be rich" (2 Cor. viii. 9). The poverty of Jesus Christ was for us great riches, inasmuch as it moves us to acquire the treasures of heaven and to despise those of earth. Ah, my Jesus ! this Thy poverty has induced so many saints to leave all, riches, honours, and kingdoms, in order to become poor with Thee ! Oh, detach me also, my Saviour, from all affection to earthly goods, so that I may be made worthy to acquire Thy holy love, and thus to possess Thee, who art the infinite Good ! AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. Oh, that I also could say to Thee, O holy Infant, with thy dear St. Francis, * my God and my All ! ' and with David : " Wliat have I in heaven ? and besides Thee, what do I desire upon earth ? . . . God of my heart, and the God that is my portion for ever" (Ps. Ixxii. 25, 26) ; so that from this day forth I might desire no other riches but those of Thy love, and that my heart might be no more under the dominion of the vanities of the world, but that Thou alone, my Love, mightest be its only Lord. But I even now wish to begin to say it : " God of my heart, and the God that is my portion for ever." Miserable that I was, I have hitherto only sought after worldly goods, and have found nothing but thorns and gall. I feel more satis- faction at finding myself at Thy feet, to thank Thee and love Thee, than I have ever experienced from all my sins. One fear alone afflicts me — the fear that Thou hast not yet forgiven me ; but Thy promises of forgiveness to the peni- tent, the thought that Thou didst make Thyself poor for the love of me, that Thou art still calling me to love Thee ; the tears, the blood Thou hast shed for me, the sorrows, ^ A « OF THE ETERNAL WORD, 105 MED. XI.] the ignominy, the bitter death Thou hast endured for me, — all console me, and make me hope certainly for pardon. And supposing Thou hast not forgiven me, what shall I then do 1 Dost Thou desire that I should repent 1 I re- pent with my whole heart of having offended Thee, my Jesus. Dost Thou desire that I should love Thee ? I love Thee more than myself. Dost Thou desire that I should give up every thing? Behold, I give up all and give myself to Thee ; and I know that Thou dost accept me, otherwise I should neither have sorrow, nor love, nor the desire to give myself to Thee. I give myself then to Thee, and Thou hast already accepted me. I love Thee, and Thou dost also love me. Do not permit that this love between Thee and me should evermore be interrupted. Oh, my Mother Maiy, do thou obtain for me the grace that I may always love Jesus, and that I may always be loved by Him ! On tlie Vigil of the Epiphany, Meditation V., amongst the Meditations for Advent, page 21, may be repeated here. ^ ^■r- // MED. I.] INCARNATION OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 107 MEDITATIONS FOR THE OCTAVE OF THE EPIPHANY. Meditation I. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI. Jesus is born poor in a stable ; the angels of heaven in- deed acknowledge Him, but men abandon and forsake Him on earth. Only a few shepherds come and pay Him homage. But our Redeemer was desirous of communi- cating to us the grace of His redemption, and begins therefore to manifest Himself to the Gentiles, who knew Him least. Therefore He sends a star to enlighten the holy Magi, in order that they may come and acknowledge and adore their Saviour. This was the first and sovereign grace bestowed upon us, — our vocation to the faith ; which was succeeded by our vocation to grace, of which men were deprived. Behold the wise men, who immediately, without delay, set off upon their journey. The star accompanies them as far as the cavern where the holy Infant lies : on their arrival they enter ; and what do they find ? " They found the child with Mary' (St. Matt. ii. 11). They find a poor maiden and a poor Infant wrapped in poor swad- dling-clothes, without any one to attend on Him or assist Him. But, lo ! on entering into the little shed these holy pilgrims feel a joy whicli they had never felt before ; they feel their hearts chained to the dear little Infant which they behold. The straw, the poverty, the cries of their little Saviour, — oh, what darts of love ! oh, what blessed flames are they to their enlightened hearts ! The Infant looks upon them with a joyful countenance, and this is the mark of affection with which He accepts them amongst the first- fruits of His redemption. The holy kings then look at Mary, who does not speak — she remains silent ; but with her blessed countenance that breathes the sweetness of Paradise she welcomes them, and thanks them for having been the first to come and acknowledge her Son (as indeed He is) for their Sovereign Lord. See also how, out of reverence, they adore Him in silence, and acknowledge Him for their God, kissing His feet, and offering Him their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Let us also with the holy Magi adore our little King Jesus, and let us offer Him all our hearts. affections and PRAYERS. O amiable Infant, though I see Thee in this cavern lying on straw poor and despised, yet faith teaches me that Thou art my God, who earnest down from heaven for my salvation. I acknowledge Thee then for my sovereign Lord and Saviour ; but I have nothing, alas ! to offer Thee. I have no gold of love, because I have loved creatures j I have loved my own caprices, but I have not loved Thee, O amiable infinite One. I have not the incense of prayer, because I have lived in a miserable state of forgetfulness of Thee. I have no myrrh of mortification, for I have often displeased Thy infinite goodness that I might not be deprived of my miserable pleasures. What then shall I offer Thee ? I offer Thee my heart, filthy and poor as it is ; do Thou accept it, and change it. Thou camest into the world for this purpose, to wash the hearts of men from their sins by Thy blood, and thus change them from sinners into saints. Give me, therefore, I pray Thee, this gold, this incense, and this myrrh. Give me the gold of Thy holy love ; give me the spirit of holy prayer ; give me the de- sire and strength to mortify myself in every thing that displeases Thee. I am resolved to obey Thee and to love Thee ; but Thou knowest my weakness, oh, give me the grace to be faithful to Thee ! Most holy Virgin, thou who didst welcome with such affection and didst console the holy Magi, do thou welcome and console me also, who come to visit thy Son and to offer myself to Him. O my Mother, I have great confidence in thy intercession ! Do I V 108 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION MED. III.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. lOD \\^ thou recommend me to Jesus. To thee do I intrust my soul and my will ; bind it for ever to the love of Jesus ! Meditation II. ON THE PRESENTATION OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE. The time having now come when, according to the law, Mary had to go to the Temple for her purification, and to present Jesus to the Divine Father, behold she sets out in company with Joseph. Joseph carries the two turtle-doves that they are to offer to God, and Mary carries her dear Infant : she takes the Lamb of God to offer Him to the Almighty, in token of the great sacrifice that this Son should one day accomplish on the cross. Consider the holy Virgin entering the Temple ; she makes an oblation of her Son on the part of the whole human race, and says : Behold, O Eternal Father, Thy beloved only-becrotten One' who is Thy Sou and mine also ; I offer Him to Thee as a victim to Thy Divine justice, in order to appease Thy wrath agamst sinners. Accept Him, O God of mercy, have pity on our miseries ; for the love of this immaculate Lamb do Thou receive men into Thy grace. The offering of Mary IS jomed to that of Jesus. Behold Me (says also the holy Infant), behold Me, My Father; to Thee do I consecrate My whole life ; Thou hast sent Me into the world to save it by My blood ; behold My blood and My whole self, I offer Myself entirely to Thee for the salvation of the world. " He delivered Himself ... an oblation and a sacrifice to God** (Eph. V. 2). No sacrifice was ever so acceptable to God as this which His dear Son then made to Him ; who had become, even from His infancy, a victim and priest If all men and angels had offered their lives, their oblatiok could not have been so dear to God as was this of Jesus Christ because in this offering alone the Eternal Father received infinite honour and infinite satisfaction. If Jesus offers His life o His Father for the love of us, it is just that we should offer Him our life and our entire heincr This w what He desires, as He signified to the blessed A nirela da loligno, saying to her: ^ have offered Myself for thee m order that thou shouldest offer thyself to Me ' ' affections and prayers. Eternal Father, I, a miserable sinner, who have deserved a thousand hells, present myself this day before Thee, O God of infinite majesty, and I offer Thee my poor heart. But, God, what a heart is it that I offer Thee 1 a heart that has never known how to love Thee, but has on the contrary so often offended Thee and so often betrayed Thee j but now I offer it to Thee full of penitence, and resolved to love Thee at all costs and to obey Thee in all things. Pardon me, and draw me entirely to Thy love. I do not deserve to be heard; but Thy infant Son, who offers Himself to Thee in the Temple as a sacrifice for my salvation, merits for me this grace. I offer Thee this Thy Son and His sacrifice, and in this I place all my hopes. I thank Thee, O my Father, for having sent Him upon the earth to sacrifice Himself for me. And I bless Thee, O In- carnate Word, Lamb of God, who didst offer Thyself to die for my soul. I love Tliee, my dear lledeemer, and Thee alone will I love ; for I find none but Thee that has oftcred and sacrificed his life to save me. It makes me shed tears to think how grateful I have been to others and how un- grateful to Thee alone ; but Thou wiliest not my death, but that T should be converted and live. Yes, my Jesus, I turn to Thee, and repent with my whole heart of having offended Thee, and of having offended my God, who has thus sacrificed Himself for me. Do Thou give me life, and that life shall consist in loving Thee, the sovereign Good ; make me love Thee, I ask Thee nothing more. Mary, my Mother, thou didst offer at that time thy Son in the Temple even for me ; do thou offer Him again for me ; and beseech the Eternal Father, for the love of Jesus, to accept me for His own. And thou, my Queen, do thou also accept me for thy perpetual servant. If I am thy servant, I shall also be the servant of thy Son. Meditation III. ON THE FLIGHT OF JESUS INTO EGYPT. The angel appeared to St. Joseph in a dream, and in- formed him that Herod was seeking the Infant Jesus to destroy His life ; wherefore he said, " Arise, and take the 110 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCAKNATION MED. IV.] OP THE ETERNAL WORD. Ill M Child and His mother, and fly into Egypt" (St. Matt. ii. 13), Behold, then, how Jesus is no sooner born than He is persecuted unto death. Herod is a figure of those mise- rable sinners who, as soon as they see Jesus Christ born again in their souls by the pardon of sin, persecute Him to death by returning to their sins : " they seek the Child to destroy Him." Joseph immediately obeys the command of the angel without delay, and gives notice of it to his holy spouse. He then takes the few tools that he can carry, in order to make use of them in his trade, and to be able in Egypt to support his poor family. Mary at the same time puts together a little bundle of clothes for the use of the holy Child ; and then she goes into her cell, kneels down first before her Infant Son, kisses His feet^ and then with tears of tenderness says to Him : my Son and my God, hardly art Thou born and come into the world to save men, when these men seek Thee to put Thee to death. She then takes Him ; and the two holy spouses, shedding tears as they go, shut the door, and the same niorht set out on their journey. Let us consider the occupations of these holy pilgrims during their journey. All their conver- sation IS upon their dear Jesus alone, on His patience and His love; and thus they console themselves in the midst of the trials and inconveniences of so long a journey. Oh how sweet it is to suffer at the sight of Jesus suffering ! my soul, says St. Bonaventure, do thou also keep company with these three poor holy exiles ; and have compassion with them in the long, wearisome, and painful journey which thev are making. And beseech Mary that she will give thee her Divine Son to carry in thy heart. Consider how much they must have suffered, especially in those nights which they had to pass in the desert of Egypt. The bare earth serv^ them for a bed in the cold open air. The Infant weeps, Mary and Joseph shed tears of compassion. O holy faith who would not weep at seeing the Son of God become an mtant, poor and forsaken, flying across a desert in order to escape death ? AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. My dear Jesus, Thou art the King of Heaven, but now k J I behold Thee as an infant wandering over the earth ; tell me whom art Thou in search of? I pity Thee when I see Thee so poor and humbled ; but I pity Thee more when I see Thee treated with such ingratitude by those same men whom Thou camest to save. Thou dost weep ; but I also weep, because I have been one of those who in times past have despised and persecuted Thee. But now I value Thy grace more than all the kingdoms of the world ; for- give me, my Jesus, all the evil I have committed against Thee, and permit me to carry Thee always in my heart during the journey of my life to eternity, even as Mary carried Thee in her arms during the flight into Egypt. My beloved Eedeemer, I have many times driven Thee out of my soul j but now I hope Thou hast again taken possession of it. I beseech Thee, do Thou bind it to Thy- self with the sweet chains of Thy love. I will never again drive Thee from me. But I fear lest I should again aban- don Thee, as I have done in past times. O my Lord, let me die rather than treat Thee with fresh and still more hor- rible ingratitude. I love Thee, infinite Goodness ; and I will always repeat to Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee; and so I hope to die saying, " God of my heart, and the God that art my portion for ever." O my Jesus, Thou art so good, so worthy of being loved, oh, do Thou make Thyself loved ; make Thyself loved by all the sinners who persecute Thee ; give them light, make them know the love Thou hast borne them and the love that Thou de- servest, since Thou goest wandering about the earth as a poor Infant, weeping and trembling with cold, and seek- ing souls to love Thee ! O Mary, most holy Virgin, O dearest Mother and companion of the sufferings of Jesus, do thou help me always to csury and preserve in my heart thy Son, in life and in death ! Meditation IV. ON THE DWELLING OF JESUS IN EGYPT. Jesus chose to dwell in Egypt during His infancy, that He might lead a more hard and abject life. According to St. Anselm, and other writers, the holy family lived in 112 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION Heliopolis. Let us with St. Bonaventure contemplate the life that Jesus led during the seven years that He remained in Egypt, as it was revealed to St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi. The house they live in is very poor, because St. Joseph has but little wherewith to pay a rent ; their bed is poor, their food poor ; their life, in short, is one of strict poverty, for they barely gain their livelihood day by day by the work of their hands, and they live in a country where they are unknown and despised, having there neither relations nor friends. This holy family does indeed live in great poverty ; but oh, how well-ordered are the occupations of these three sojourners ! The holy Infant speaks not with His tongue ; but in His heart He speaks indeed and continually to His heavenly Father, applying all His sufferings, and every moment of His life, for our salvation. Neither does Mary speak ; but at the sight of that dear Infant she meditates on the Divine love, and the favour that God had conferred upon her by choosing her for His Mother. Joseph also works in silence ; and at the sight of the Divine Child his heart is inflamed, while he thanks Him for having chosen him for the companion and guardian of His life. In this house Mary weans Jesus : at first she fed Him from her breast, now she feeds Him with her hands ; she holds Him on her lap, takes from the porringer a little bread soaked in water, and then puts it into the sacred mouth of her Son. In this house Mary made her Infant His first little gar- ment; and when the time was come, she took off His swad- dling-clothes, and began to put on this vestment. In this house the Child Jesus began to walk and speak. Let us adore the first steps that the Incarnate Word began to take in this house, and the first words of eternal life that He began to utter. Here He began also to do the busi- ness of a little servant-boy, occupying Himself in all the little services that a child can render. Ah, weaning ! ah, little garment ! ah, first steps ! ah, lisping words ! ah, lit- tle services of the little Jesus, how do you not wound and inflame the hearts of those who love Jesus, and meditate on you ! Behold a God trembling and falling, a God lisping, a God become so weak that He can occupy Himseh" in nothing but in little household affairs, and unable even to MED. iv.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 113 lift a bit of wood, if too heavy for the strength of a child ! holy faith, enlighten us, and make us love this good Lord, who for the love of us has submitted Himself to so many miseries ! It is said, that on the entrance of Jesus into Egypt all the idols of the country fell down ; oh, let us pray to God that He will make us love Jesus from our hearts, since in that soul where the love of Jesus enters, all the idols of earthly affections arc overthrown. AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. O Holy Infant, who livest in this country of barbarians poor, unknown, and despised, I acknowledge Thee for my God and Saviour, and I thank Thee for all the humiliations and sufferings Thou didst endure in Egypt for the love of me. By Thy manner of life there Thou dost teach me to live as a pilgiim on this earth, giving me to understand that this is not my country ; but that Paradise, which Thou hast purchased for me by Thy death, is my home. Ah, my Jesus, I have been ungrateful to Thee, because I have thought but little of what Thou hast done and suffered for me. When I think that Thou, the Son of God, didst lead a life of such tribulation upon this earth, so poor and ne- glected, how is it possible that I should go about seeking the amusements and good things of the earth ? Take me, 1 pray Thee, my dear Pvcdeemer, for Thy companion ; ad- mit me to live always united to Thee upon this earth, in order that, united to Thee in heaven, I may love Thee there, and be Thy companion throughout eternity. Give me light, increase my faith. What goods, what pleasures, what dignities, what honours ! All is vanity and folly. The only real riches, the only real good, is to possess Thee, who art the infinite Good. Blessed he who loves Thee I I love Thee, O my Jesus, and I seek none other but Thee. I desire Thee, and Thou desirest me. If I had a thousand kingdoms, I would renounce them all to please Thee, ' my God and my AIL* If in times past I have sought after the vanities and pleasures of this world, I now detest them, and am sorry that I have done so. My beloved Saviour, from this day forward Thou shalt be my only delight, my only love, my only treasure. Most holy Mary, pray to ' ki f 114 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION Jesus for me ; beseech Him to make me rich in His love alone, and I desire nothing else. Meditation V. ON THE RETURN OF JESUS FROM EGYPT. After the death of Herod, and an exile of seven years, according to the common opinion of the doctors, during which time Jesus lived in Egypt, the angel again appeared to St. Josepli, and commanded him to take the Holy Child and His Mother and return to Palestine. St. Joseph, con- soled by this command, communicates it to Mary. Before their departure, these holy spouses courteously informed the friends whom they had made in the country'. Joseph then collects the few instruments of his trade, Mary her little bundle of clothes, and taking by the hand the Divine Child, they set out on their journey homewards, leading Him between them. St. Bonaventure considers that this journey was more fatiguing to Jesus than was the flight into Egypt, because He was now become too large for Mary and Joseph to cany' Him much in their arms j but at the same time the Holy Chikl, at His age, was not able to make a long journey ; so that Jesus was obliged through fatigue frequently to stop and rest Himself on the way. But Joseph and Mary, whether they walk or sit, always keep their eyes and thoughts fixed upon the beloved little Child, who was the object of all their love. Oh, with what recollection does that happy soul travel through this life who keeps before her eyes the love and the examples of Je- sus Christ ! The holy pilgrims interrupt now and then the silence of this journey by some holy conversation ; but with whom and of whom do they converse 1 They speak only with Jesus and of Jesus. He who has Jesus in his heart speaks only with Jesus or only speaks of Him. Con- sider, again, the pain that our little Saviour must have en- dured during the nights of this journey, in which He had no longer the bosom of Mary for His bed, as in His flight, but the bare ground ; and for His food He had no more milk, but a little liard bread, too hard for His tender age. MED. v.] OF THE eternal word. 115 He was probably also afflicted by thirst in this desert, in which the Jews had been in such want of water that a miracle was necessary to supply them with it. Let us con- template, and lovingly adore all these sufferings of the Child Jesus. affections and prayers. Beloved and adored Child, Thou dost return to Thy country; but where, O God, where dost Thou return? Thou comest to that place where Thy countrymen prepare for Thee insults during life, and then scourges, thorns, ignominy, and a cross at Thy death. But all was already present to Thy Divine eyes, O my Jesus, and yet Thou comest of Thy own will to meet that Passion which men prepare for Thee. But, my Redeemer, if Thou hadst not come to die for me, I could not go to love Thee in Para- dise, but must have always remained far away from Thee. Thy death hath been my salvation. But how is it. Lord, that by despising Thy grace I have again condemned my- self to hell, even after Thy death, by Avhich Thou didst deliver me from it? I acknowledge that hell is but a slight punishment for me. But Thou hast waited to par- don me. I thank Thee for it, my Bedeemer, and I re- pent, and detest all the offences I have committed against Thee. Lord, I beseech Thee, deliver me from hell. Ah, if I were miserable enough to damn myself, how would my torments in hell be increased by the remorse caused by my having meditated during my life on the love that Thou hast borne me 1 It would not be so much the fire of hell as Thy love, O my Jesus, that would be my hell. But Thou didst come into the world to kindle the fire of Thy holy love ; I desire to burn with this fire, and not with that which would keep me for ever separated from Thee. I repeat, therefore, O my Jesus, deliver me from hell, because in hell I cannot love Thee. O Mary, my Mother, I hear it every where said and preached that those who love thee and trust in thee, provided they desire to amend their lives, will not go to hell. I love thee, my Lady, and I trust in thee ; I will amend my life : Mary, do thou remember to deUver me from helL 116 MEDITATIONS iON THE INCARNATION Meditation YI. /' ' ON TUE DWELUNG OF JESUS IN NAZA.RETH. St Joseph, on liis return to Palestine, heard that Arche- laus reigned in Judca instead of his father Herod, where- fore he was afraid to go and live there ; and being warned in a dream, he went to live in Nazareth, a city of Grailee, and there in a poor little cottage he fixed his dwelling O blessed house of Nazareth, I salute and venerate you ! There will come a time when you will be visited by tlie great ones of the earth: when the pilgrims find themselves inside your poor walls, they will never be satisfied with shedding tears of tenderness at the thought that withm them the King of Paradise passed nearly all His life. In this house, then, the Incarnate Word lived during the remainder of His infancy and youth. And how did He live ? Poor and despised by men, performing the othces of a common working-boy, and obeying Joseph and Alary : *' and He was subject to thenv' (St. Luke ii. 51). O God, how touching it is to think that in this poor house the Son of God lives as a servant ! Now He goes to fetch -water ; then He opens or shuts the shop ; now He sweeps the room; now He collects the shavings for the fire; now He labours in assisting Joseph at his trade. O wonder ! To see a God sweeping ! A God serving as a boy ! O thought that ought to make us all burn with holy love to our Redeemer, who has reduced Himself to such humdia- tions in order to gain our love ! Let us adore all these servile actions of Jesus, which were all divine. Let us adore, above all, the hidden and neglected life that Jesus Christ led in the house of Nazareth ! proud men, how can you desire to make yourselves seen and honoured, when you behold your God, who spends thirty years of His life in poverty, hidden and unknown, to teacli^us the love of retirement and of a humble and hidden life jj AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. my adorable Infant, I see Thee a humble servant- boy, working even with the sweat of Thy brow in this MED. VII.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 117 poor shop. I understand it all ; Thou art serving and working for me. But since Thou dost employ Thy whole life for the love of me, so grant, I pray Thee, my dear Saviour, that I may employ all the rest of my life for Thy love. Look not at my past life : it has been a life of sorrow and tears l)oth for me and for Thee, — a Hfe of dis- order, a life of sins. Oh, permit me at least to keep Thee company during the remainder of my days, and to labour and suffer with Thee in the shop of Nazareth, and after- wards to die with Thee on Calvary, embracing that death vrhich Thou hast destined for me. My dear Jesus, my Love, suffer me not to leave and forsake Thee again, as I have done in times past. Thou, my God, art suffering such poverty in a shop, hidden, unknown, and despised ; and I, a vile worm, have gone about seeking honours and pleasures, and for the sake of these have separated myself from Thee, O sovereign Good ! No, my Jesus, I love Thee ; and because I love Thee, I will not remain any longer separated from Thee. I renounce all things, in order to unite myself to Thee, my hidden and despised Redeemer. Thy grace gives me more happiness than have all the vanities and pleasures of the world, for which I liave so miserably forsaken Thee. Eternal Father, for the merits of Jesus Christ, unite me to Thyself by the gift of Thy holy love. Most holy Virgin, how blessed wert thou, who, being the companion of thy Son in His poor and hidden life, didst make thyself so like to thy Jesus ! O my Mother, grant that I also, at least during the short remainder of my life, may endeavour to become like to thee and to my Redeemer. Meditation VII. THE sa:ue subject continued. St. Luke, speaking of the residence of the Infant Jesus in the house at Nazareth, writes : " And Jesus ad- vanced in wisdom and age, and grace with God and men" (St. Luke ii. 52). As Jesus grew in age, so did He increase in wisdom : not that He went on every year 118 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION acquiring a greater knowledge of things, as is the case with us; for, from the first moment of His life, Jesus was full of all Divine knowledge and wisdom : " in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Coloss. ii. 3) ; but it is said that He advanced, because every day as He advanced in age He manifested more and more His sublime wisdom. Thus it is also said that He advanced in grace with God and men ; with God, because all His divine actions, though they did not render Him more holy or increase His merit, — since Jesus was from the first full of sanctity and merit, of whose fulness we have received all graces : " of His fulness we have all received" (St. John i. 16) ;— yet, nevertheless, these operations of the Redeemer were all sufficient in themselves to increase His grace and merit. He advanced also in grace with men, in- creasing in beauty and amiability. Oh, how Jesus showed Himself more and more amiable every day of His youth, showing more and more every day the claims He had upon men's love ! With what delight did the Holy Youth obey Mary and Joseph ! With what recollection of mind did He work ! With what moderation did He take His food ! With what modesty did He speak ! With what sweetness and affability did He converse with all ! With what devotion did He pray! In a word, every action, every word, every motion of Jesus, inflamed with love the hearts of all those who beheld Him, and especially of Mary and of Joseph, who had the good fortune to see Him always at their side. Oh, how these holy spouses remained always intent on contemplating and admiring all the operations, the words, and gestures of this Man- God ! AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. Grow, my beloved Jesus, grow continually for me; grow to teach me Thy virtues by Thy divine examples; grow to consummate the great sacrifice on the cross, on which depends my eternal salvation I Grant also, my Saviour, that I too may grow more in Thy love and grace. Miserable that I have been, I have hitherto only increased in ingratitude towards Thee who hast loved me so much. OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 119 MED. VIII.] my Jesus, grant that in future it may be just the con- trary with me ; Thouknowest all my weakness, it is trom Thee that I must receive light and strength. Make me know the claims which Thou hast to my love. Thou art a God of infinite beauty and of infinite majesty, who didst not refuse to come down upon this earth and become man for us, and for our sakes to lead an abject and paintul lite, and to end it by a most cruel death. And where can we ever find an object more amiable and more worthy of love than Thee ] Fool that I was, in times past I refused to know Thee, and therefore I have lost Thee. I imp ore Thy pardon; I am heartily sorry, and I am determined to be entirely devoted to Thee in future. But do Thou assist me; remind me constantly of the life of suffermg and the bitter death Thou hast endured for the love of me. Cxu e me light and give me strength. When the devil pi^scnts to me forbidden fruit, grant me strength to despise it and let me not for some vile and momentary good nsk losing Thee, infinite Good. I love Thee, my J^su^'^ ^^1^%^^^ died for me ; I love Thee, infinite Goodness ; I love Thee, O Beloved ^f my soul. O Mary, thou art my hope ; through thy intercession I hope to obtain grace to lo^e my God from this time forth and for ever, and never to love any but Gotl. Meditation VIII. foN THE LOSS OF JESCS IN THE TEMPLE. c;t Luke^cktes (ch. 2) that Mary and Joseph went every jw to Jerusalem on the Feast of tl^e Pasch and took the Infant Jesus with them. It was the custom lavs the Yen Bede, for the Jews to make this journey to the temp e or at least on their return home, the men eJaraterLm the women ; and the ehildren wentat the. nleasure either with their fathers or their mothers. Our Redeemer who was then twelve years old, remained during Si s soTemuUy for three days in Jerusalem : Mary ^h^g* He was with Joseph, and Joseph that He ^^ ^^ij/gg^ « thinking that He was in the company. ' The Holy onuo 120 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION MED. VIII.] OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 121 employed all these three clays in honouring His Eternal Father by fasts, vigils, and prayers, and in assisting at the sacrifices, which were all figures of His own gi*eat sacrifice on the cross. If He took a little food, says St. Bernard, He must have procured it by begging ; and if He took any repose, He could have had no other bed but the bare ground. When Mary and Joseph arrived in the evening at their home, they did not find Jesus ; wheref«>re, full of sorrow, they began to seek Him amongst their relations and friends. At last, returning to Jerusalem, the third day they found Him in the Tem;'le, disputing with the doctors, who, full of astonishment, admired the questions and answers of this wonderful Child. On seeing Him, Mary said, * Son, why hast Thou done so to us 1 Behold Thy fatlier and I have sought Thee sorrowing.* There is not upon earth a sorrow like to that which is felt by a soul that loves Jesus, when she fears that Jesus Christ has withdrawn Himself from her through some fault of hers. This was the sorrow of Mary and Joseph, which afflicted them so much during these days ; for they perhaps feared, through their humility, as says the devout Lanspergius, that they had rendered themselves unworthy of the care of such a treasure. Wherefore, on seeing Him, Mary said to Him, in order to express to Him this sorrow : ' Son, why hast Thou done so to us ? Behold Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing.' And Jesus answered, ' Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business ? ' Let us leani from this mystery two lessons ; the first, that we must leave all our friends and relations when the glory of God is in question. The second, that God easily makes Himself found by those who seek Him : " The Lord is good to the soul that seeketh Him" (Lament, iii. 25),, AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS. O Mary, thou weepest because thou liast lost thy Son for a few days ; He has withdrawn Himself from thy eyes, but not from thy heart. Dost thou not see that that pure love wit' ./liich thou lovest Him keeps Him constantly united and bound to thee? Thou knowest well, that he who loves God cannot but be loved by God, who says, " I ^ loTe those that love Me" (Prov. viii. 17); and with St. John, " He that abideth in charity abideth in God, and God in him" (1 St. John iv. IG). Wherefore, then, dost thou fear ? Wherefore dost thou weep ? Leave these tears to me, who have so often lost God through my own fault, by driving Him away from my soul. O my Jesus, how could I offend Thee thus with my eyes open, when I knew that by sinning I should lose Thee ? But Thou wiliest not that the heart that seeks Thee should despair, but rather that it should rejoice : *' Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord" (Ps. civ. 3). If hitherto I have forsaken Thee, O my Love, I will now seek, and will seek none but Thee. And provided I possess Thy grace, I renounce all the goods and pleasures of this world ; I renounce even my own life. Thou hast said that Thou lovest him who loves Thee ; I love Thee, do Thou also love me. I esteem Thy love more than the dominion of the whole world. O my Jesus, I desire not to lose Thee any more ; but I can- not trust to myself, I trust in Thee : " In Thee, Lord, have I put my trust ; I shall not be confounded for ever." I beseech Thee, do Thou bind me to Thee, and permit me not to be again separated from Thee. !Mary, through thee have I found my God, whom I had once lost ; do thou obtain for me also holy perseverance ; wherefore I will also say to thee, with St. Bonaventure, * In thee, O Lady, have I hoped ; let me not be confounded for ever.' 122 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION k OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 123 ANOTHER MEDITATION FOR THE FEAST OF THE CIRCUMCISION, I. Behold how the Eternal Father, having sent His Son to suffer and die for us, commands that on this day He should be circumcised, and should begin to shed His Divine Blood, which He was to shed for the last time on the day of His death upon the cross in a sea of contumely and sorrow. And wherefore 1 In order that this innocent Son should thus pay the penalties which we have deserved. * admirable,' sings the Holy Church, * admirable con- descension of Divine pity towards us ! O inestimable love of charity ! to redeem Thy servant Thou hast given Thy Son to death !' eternal God, who could ever have be- stowed upon us this infinite gift, but TIiou who art infi- nite goodness and infinite love ? O my Lord, if in giving me Thy Son Thou hast given me the dearest treasure Thou hast, it is but. right that I should give myself entirely to Thee. Yes, my God, I give Thee my whole self; accept of me, I pray Thee, and let me never depart from Thee again. II. Behold, on the other hand, the Divine Son, who, full of humility and love towards us, embraces the bitter death destined for Him in order to save us sinners from eternal death, and willingly begins on this day to make satisfaction for us to the Divine justice with the price of His blood. * He humbled Himself,' says the apostle, ' becoming obe- dient unto death, even to the death of the cross.' Thou, therefore, O my Jesus, hast accepted death for my sake ; what, then, shall I do ? shall I continue to offend Thee by my sins 1 No, my Kedeemer, I will no longer be ungrate- ful to Thee. I am sorry from my heart that I have caused Thee so much bitterness in times past. I love Thee, O infinite Goodness, and for the future I will never cease to love Thee. I III. Our Redeemer said : " Greater love can no man have than to lay down his life for his friends." But Thou, O my Jesus, says St. Paul, hast shown greater love than this towards us, by giving Thy life for us who were Thy enemies. Behold one of them, O Lord, at Thy feet. How many times have I, a miserable sinner, renounced Thy friendship because I would not obey Thee ! I now see the evil I have done ; forgive me, my Jesus ; would that I could die of sorrow for my sins ! I now love Thee with my whole soul, and I desire nothing else but to love Thee and to please Thee. O MslyJj Mother of God and my Mother, pray to Jesus for me. Another Meditation / FOR THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. I. The Son of God is born humble and poor in a stable ; there indeed the angels of heaven acknowledge Him, sing- ing, " Glory to God in the highest ;" but the inhabitants of the earth, for whose salvation Jesus was bom, leave Him neglected; only a few shepherds come and acknowledge Him, and confess Him to be their Saviour. But our loving Redeemer desired from the very beginning to communicate to us the grace of redemption, and therefore He begins to make Himself known even to the Gentiles, who neither knew Him nor expected Him. For this purpose He sends the star to give notice to the holy Magi, enlightening them at the same time with internal light, in order that they might come and acknowledge and adore Him as their Re- deemer. Ti. was the first and sovereign grace bestowed upon us ; our ^ lling to the true faith. O Saviour of the world, what would have become of us if Thou hadst not come to enlighten us ? we should be like our forefathers, who worshipped as gods animals, stones, and wood, and consequently we should have been all damned. I give Thee thanks to-day on the part of all men. II. Behold, the Magi without delay set out on their journey ; and by means of the star they arrive at the place where the Holy Infant is lying : " They found the child 124 MEDITATIONS ON THE INCARNATION With Mary' (St. Matt. ii. 11). They find tl.cre only a poor maiden and a poor infant wrapped in poor swaddlin-r- clot les ; on entering into that abode, which was a stable for beasts, they feel an interior joy, and their hearts are iTrawn towards this sweet Infant. Tliat straw, that poverty, tliose cries of their Infant Saviour, are all darts of love and fire to their enlightened hearts. Yes, my Infant Jesus, the more humbled and poor I behold Thee, the more dost ihou inflame me with Thy love. . /f^- ^'"^ ^"''""t looks upon these holy pilgiims with a joyful countenance, and thus shows that He accepts these first-fruits of His redemption. The Divine Mother is also silent, but by her smiling looks welcomes them, and thanks t lem for the homage done to her Son. They adore Him also m silence, and acknowledge Him for their Saviour and then- God, offering Him gifts of gold, fiankiuccnsc, Zi "r T, ^ •^''"'' '."^- ^"'^'"t King, I also adore Thee and offer Thee my miserable heart. Accept of it and change it Make it wholly Tliiue own, so tlmt it may love nothing but Thee. My sweet Saviour, save me, and let my salvation be o love Thee always and without reser.-e. O Mary, most holy Virgin, I hope for this grace from ther Another Meditation ron THE FEAST or the SACHED name of JESUS. I. The Name of Jesus was given to the Incarnate Word uot by men but by God Himself: "and His Name shall be called Jesus" (St Luke i. 31), that is. Saviour. A Name of gladness, a Name of hope, a Name of love ,«cA " °- ^''"^"^'*' 'because if the remembrance of past transgressions afflicts us, tliis Name comforts us re- minding us that the Son of God became m.an for this pur- pose, to make Him.elf our Saviour. My beloved Saviour, Thou earnest down from heaven to seek me, and I, a miser- Thv ZT/' ^TtT'^ "T ''•'i?'^ "P°" Th;e and despised TliL^tn f ^^Yl-^'^L ^"'' notwithstanding this. OF THE ETERNAL WORD. 125 II. A Name of hojye, because he tliat prays to the Eter- nal Father iu the Name of Jesus may hope for every grace he asks for: "If you ask the Father any thing in My Name, He will give it you " (St. John xvi. 2i)° my God, trusting to this promise, in the Name of Jesus I ask of Thee the pardon of my sins, holy perseverance, and the gift of Thy love. Grant, above all, that the remainder of my life may not be spent in displeasing Thee, but only in loving Thee and doing Thy will, as Thou deservest that I should do. III. A Name of love. St. Bernard says that the Name of Jesus is a sign that represents to us how much God has done for the love of us. For the Name of Jesus brings to our remembrance all the sufterings which Jesus has en- dured for us in His life and at His death. Wherefore a devout writer says to Him, ' O Jesus, how much hath it cost Thee to be Jesus, that is to say, my Saviour!' O my Jesus, I beseech Thee, do Thou write Thy Name on my poor heai-t and on my tongue, in order that when I am tempted to sin, I may resist by invoking Thee ; so that if I am tempted to despair, I may trust in Thy merits ; and that if I feel myself tepid in loving Thee, Thy Name may inflame my heart at the recollection of how much Thou hast loved me. Thy Name, then, will always be my de- fence, my comfort, and the fire that shall keep me always inflamed with Thy love. Make me, therefore, always to call Thee my Jesus, and to live and die with thy holy Name on my lips, saying even with my last breath, *I love Thee, my Jesus j my Jesus, I love Thee.* O Mary, my Queen, make me when I am dying invoke thee con- tinually, together with thy Son Jesus ! DIS. I.] THE NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. 127 DISCOURSES FOR THE NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. Discourse I. THE ETERNAL WORD IS MADE MAN. , " I am come to cast fire on tlie earth ; and what will I but that it be *- kindled T—Lulc xii. 49. The Jews solemnised a day ealledlby them dies ignis, the day of fire, in memory of the fire with which Nehemia^t, consumed the sacrifice, upon his retm-n with his country- men from the captivity of Babylon. Even so, and indeed with more reason, should Christmas-day be called the day of fire, on which a God came as a little child to cast the fire of love into the hearts of men. *' I came to cast fire on the earth :" so spoke Jesus Christ ; and truly so it was. Before the coming of the Messia/^,who loved God upon earth] Hardly was He known in a nook of the world, that is, in Judea ; and even there how very few loved Him when He came ! As to the rest of the world, some wor- shipped the sun, some the brutes, some the very stones, and others again even viler creatures still. But after the coming of Jesus Christ the name of God became every where known, and was loved by many. After the Re- deemer was born, God was more loved by men in a few years than He had before been in the lapse of 4000 years, since the creation of man. It is a custom with many Christians to anticipate the arrival of Christmas a considerable time beforehand by fitting up in their homes a crib to represent the birth of Jesus Christ j but few there are who think of preparing their hearts, in order that the Infant Jesus may be born in them, and there find His repose. Among these few, how- ever, we would be reckoned, in order that we too may be made worthy to burn with that happy flame which gives contentment to souls on this earth, and bliss in heaven. Let us consider on this first day how the Eternal Word had no other end in becoming man than to inflame us with His Divine love. Let us ask light of Jesus Christ and of His most holy Mother, and so let us begin, j Adam, our first parent, sins ; ungrateful for the great benefits conferred on him, he rebels against God, by a vio- lation of the precept given him not to eat of the forbidden fruit. On this account God is obliged to drive him out of the earthly paradise in this world, and in the world to come to dei)rivc not only Adam, but all the descendants of this rebellious creature, of the heavenly and everlasting Paradise which He had prepared for them after this mortal life. Behold, then, all mankind together condemned to a life of pains and miseries, and for ever shut out from hea- ven. But hearken to God, who, as Isaias tells us in his fifty-second chapter, would seem, after our manner of un- derstanding, to give vent to His aflfliction in lamentations and wailings: '-And now what have I here," saith the Lord, "for My people is taken away gratis." 'And now,' says God, ' what delight have I left in heaven, now that I have lost men, who were My delight?'^ "My delights ivere to be with the children of men" (Prov. viii. 31). But how is this, O Lord 1 You have in heaven so many seraphim, so many angels ; and can You thus take to heart having lost men 1 Indeed, what need have You of angels or of men to fill up the sum of Your happiness 1 You have al- ways been, and You are in Yourself, most hapjjy j what can ever be wanting to Your bliss, which is infinite ? ' That is all true,' says God / ' but'— (and these are the words of Cardinal Hugo on the above text of Isaias) — ' but, losing man, I deem that I have nothing ; I consider that I have lost all, since My delight was to be with men ; and now these men I have lost, and, poor hapless creatures, they are doomed to live for ever far away from Me. But how can the Lord call men His deHght? Yes, indeed, writes St. Thomas, God loves man just as if man were His 128 DISCOURSES FOR THE god, and as if without man He could not be happy ; ' as if man were the god of God Himself, and without him He could not be happy.' ^7 g^^ Gregory of Nazianzeu adds, moreover, that God, for the love He bears to men, seems beside Himself : ' we are bold to say it, God is out of Him- self by reason of His immense love;'^^ so runs the pro- verb, * love puts the lover beside himself.' * But no,' then said the Lord, ' I will not lose man ; straightway let there be found a lledeemer who may satisfy My justice in behalf of man, and so rescue him from the hands of his enemies and from the eternal death due to him.' And here St. Bernard, in his contemplations on this subject, imagines a struggle to ensue between the jus- tice and the mercy of God. Justice said : * I no longer exist if Adam be not punished ; I perish if Adam die not.' Mercy, on the other hand, says : * I am lost if man be not pardoned; I perish if he docs not obtain forgiveness.' In this contest the Lord decides, that in order to deliver man, who was guilty of death, some innocent one must die: 'Let one die who is no debtor to death.' On earth there was not one innocent. ' Since, therefore,' said the Eternal Father, * amongst men there is none who can satisfy My justice, let him come forward who will go to redeem man.' The angels, the cherubim, the seraphim, all are silent, not one replies ; one voice alone is heard, that of the Eternal Word, Who says : ' Lo, here am I ; send Me.' ' Father,' says the only-begotten Son, *Thy majesty, being infinite, and having been injured by man, cannot be fittingly satisfied by an angel, who is purely a creature ; and though Thou mightest accept of the satisfaction of an angel, reflect that, spite of such great benefits bestowed on man, spite of so many promises and threats, We have not yet been able to gain his love, because he is not yet aware of the love We bear him ; if We would oblige him without fail to love us, what better occasion can we find, than that, in order to redeem him, I, Your Son, should go upon earth, should there assume human flesh, and pay by My death the pen- alty due by him ; in this manner Your justice is fully satis- fied, and at the same time man is thoroughly convinced of Our love !* DIS. I.] NOVENA OP CHRISTMAS. 129 \ 'But think,' answered the heavenly Father, 'think, O My Son, that in taking upon Thyself the burden of man's satisfaction Thou wilt have to lead a life full of sufferincrs !' * No matter,' replied the Son : ' Lo, here am I, send Me/ 'Think that Thou wilt have to be born in a cave, the shelter of the beasts of the field : thence Thou must flee into Egypt whilst still an Infant, to escape the hands of those very men who, even from Thy tenderest infancy, will seek to take away Thy life.' ' It matters not : Lo, here am I, send Me.' 'Think that, on Thy return to Palestine, Thou shalt there lead a life most arduous, most despicable, passing Thy days as a simple boy in a carpenter's shop.* ' It matters not : Lo, here am I, send Me.' ' Think that when Thou goest forth to preach and to manifest Thyself, Thou wilt have indeed a few, but very few, to follow Thee ; the greater part will despise Thee and call Thee impostor, magician, fool, Samaritan ; and finally, they will persecute Thee to such a pass that they will make Thee die shame- fully on a gibbet by dint of torments.' 'No matter : Lo, here am I, send Me.'^^ The decree then being passed, that the Divine Son should be made man, and so become the Kedeemer of men, the Archangel Gabriel speeds on his way to Mary. Mary accepts Him for her Son : Et Verbum caro factum est : "And the Word was made flesh." And thus behold Jesus in the womb of Mary ; having now made His entry into the world in all humility and obedience. He says : ' Since, My Father, men cannot make atonement to Thy offended jus- tice by their works and sacrifices, behold Me, Thy Son, now clothed in mortal flesh, behold Me ready to give Thee in their stead satisfaction with My sufferings and with My death !' « Wherefore when He cometh into the world He saith : Sacrifice and oblation Thou wouldest not ; but a body Thou hast fitted to Me Then said I, Behold, I come. .... It is written of Me that I should do Thy will" (Heb. X. 5). So, then, for us miserable worms, and to captivate our love, has a God deigned to become man ? Yes, it is a matter of faith, as the Holy Church teaches us : *For us men, and for our salvation, He came down from heaven .... and was made man.' Yes, indeed, so much M 130 DISCOURSES FOR THE has God clone in order to be loved by us. Alexander tbe Great, after he had conquered Darius and subdued Persia, wished to gain the affections of that people, and so went about habited in the Persian costume. In like manner would our God appear to act ; in order to draw towards Him the affections of men, He clothed Himself completely after the human fashion, and appeared made man : " in shape found as a man" (Phil. ii. 7). And by this means He wished to make known the depth of the love which He bore to man : " The grace of God our Saviour hath appeared to all men" (Tit. ii. 11). ISlan does not love Me, would God seem to say, because He does not see Me ; I wish to make Myself seen by him and to converse with him, and so make Myself loved: "He was seen upon earth, and conversed with men" (Baruch iii. 38). The Divine love for man was extreme, and so it had been from all eternity : " I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee" (Jer. xxxi. 3). But heretofore it had not appeared how great and inconceivable it was. Then it truly appeared, when the Son of God showed Himself a little one in a stable on a bundle of straw : " The goodness and kindness of God our Saviour appeared." The Greek text reads : " The singular love of God towards men appeared." St. Bernard says that from the beginning the world had seen the power of God in the creation, and His wisdom in the government of the world ; but only afterwards, in the Incarnation of the Word, was it seen how great was His mercy.-^ Before God was seen made man upon earth, men could not conceive an idea of the Divine goodness ; therefore did He take mortal flesh, that, appearing as man. He might make plain to men the greatness of His benignity .^i And in what manner - could the Lord better display to thankless man His goodness and His love ] Man, by despising God, says St. Fulgentius, put himself aloof from God for ever j but as man was un- able to return to God, God came in search of him on earth.-- And St. Augustine had already said as much : * Becaus^^. we could not go to the Mediator, He condescended to comt to us.' ** I will draw them with the cords of Adam, with the bands of love" (Osee xi. 4). Men allow themselves to be DIS. I.] NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. 131 drawn by love; the tokens of affection shown to them are a sort of Cham which binds them, and in a manner forces them to love those who love them. For this end the ±.temal Word chose to become man, to draw to Himself by such a pledge of affection (a stronger than which could not possib^ be found) the love of men : ' God was made man, that God might be more familiarly loved by man '^ It seems that our Redeemer wished to signify this very thmg to a devout Franciscan called Father Francis of 1 ^' i^^f^' ^^ ^^ ^'^^^*^^^ "^ *^^ Franciscan Diary for the 15th of December. Jesus frequently appeared to him as a lovely infant ; but the holy friar longing in his fervour to Hold Him m his arms, the sweet child always fled away • wherefore the servant of God lovingly complained of these departures One day the Divine Child again appeared to him; but how? He came with golden chains in His hands, to give hmi to understand that now He came to make him His prisoner, and to be Himself imprisoned by him, never more to be separated. Francis, emboldened at this, fas- tened the chains to the foot of the Infant, and bound Him round his heart; and, in good truth, from that time forwards It seemed to him as if he saw the beloved child in the pnson of his heart made a perpetual prisoner. That which Jesus did with this His servant on this occasion. He really has done with all men when He was made man ; He wished with such a prodigy of love to be, as it were, enchained by .ua, and at the same time to enchain our hearts by obliging |them to love Him, according to the prophecy of Osee : "I ,^ill draw them with the cords of Adam, with the bands of love" (Osee xi. 4). In divers ways, says St. Leo, had God already benefited man; but in no way has He more clearly exhibited the excess of His bounty than in sending him a Redeemer to teach him the way of salvation, and to procure for him the life of grace. ' The goodness of God has imparted gifts to the human race in various ways ; but it surpassed the or- dinary bounds of its abundant kindness when, in Christ, mercy itself came down to those who were in sin, truth to those wandering out of the way, and life to those who were dead.'24 St. Thomas asks why the Incarnation of the I 132 DISCOURSES FOR THE NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. 133 Word is called the work of the Holy Ghost : Et xncarrwiui VTmu Sancto. It is certain that all God's works Ttyled by theologians ojyera ad extra, or external works, are the works of alUhe three Divine Persons. And why ^here^ fore should the Incarnation be attributed solely to the Krson of the Holy Ghost] The chief reason winch the anTel c doctor assigns for it is, because all the works of Se love are attributed to the Holy Ghost, who is the Substantial love of the Father and ^ the Son ; and the work of the Incarnation was purely the effect of the sur Zsin- love which God bears to man : ^ But tins proceeded Ca.e very great love of God, that tl- Son of God should assume flesh to Ilimself in the womb of the Virgin - An^^^ this the prophet would signify when he says, "God will come from the south" (Habac. iii. 3); that -, ob™ tl^ Abbot Rupert, 'From the great charity of God He h^ shone upon us/ For this puq>ose, again writes St. Augi^- tine the Eternal Word came upon earth, to make kno™ to man how dearly God loved him.- And St. Lawrence Justinian : ' In no instance has He so clearly manifested His amiable charity to men as when God was made man. - But what still more evinces the depth of the Divine love towards the human race is, that the Son of God should come in search of him, whilst man was fleemg away from Him. This the Apostle declares in these words, No where doth He take hold of the angels ; but of the seed of Ibraham He taketh hold" (Heb. iii. IC). On which St. John Chrysostom thus comments, * He says not. He re- ceived, but He seized hold of; from the figure of those who are in pursuit of fugitives, that they may efifect their cap- ture '2^ Thus God came from heaven, to arrest, as it were, ungrateful man in his flight from Him. It is as if He had said, man, behold it is nothing but the love of thee that has brought Me on earth to seek after thee. Why wilt thou flee from Mel Stay with Me, love Me; do not avoid Me for I greatly love thee. God came, then, to seek lost mm ; and that man might the more easily comprehend the love of this his God for him, and might surrender his love in return to one who so deeply loved him, He willed, the first time of His appearance under a visible form, to DIS. I.] show Himself as a tender infant, laid upon straw. ' blessed straw, fairer than roses or lilies,' exclaims St. Peter Chrysologus, ' what favoured land produced you 1 Oh, what an enviable lot is yours, to serve as a bed for the King of Heaven ! But, alas T continues the Saint, ' alas ! you are but cold for Jesus ; for you know not how to warm Him in that damp cavern, where He is now shivering with cold ; but you are fire and flames for us, since you supply us with a flame of love which rivers of water shall never quench.' ^^ It was not enough, says St. Augustine, for the Divine love to have made us to His own image in creating the first man Adam ; but He must also Himself be made to our image in redeeming us. Adam partook of the forbidden fruit, beguiled by the serpent, which suggested to Eve that if she ate of that fruit she should become like to God, acquiring the knowledge of good and evil ; and therefore the Lord then said, " Behold Adam is become one of us" (Gen. iii. 22). God said this ironically, and to upbraid Adam for his rash presumption ; but after the Incarnation of the Word we can truly say, * Behold God is become like one of us.'^<> ' Look, then, O man,' exclaims St. Augustine, * thy God is made thy brother ;' thy God is made like thee, a son of Adam, as thou art ; He has put on thy self- same flesh, has made Himself passible, liable to suffer and to die as thou art. He could have assumed the nature of an angel ; but no, He would take on Himself thy very flesh, that thus He might give satisfaction to God with the very same flesh (though sinless) of Adam the sinner. And He even gloried in this, oftentimes styling Himself the Son of Man ; hence we have every right to call Him our bro- ther. It was an immeasurably greater humiliation for God to become man, than if all the princes of the earth, than if all the angels and saints of heaven, with the Divine Mother herself, liad been turned into a blade of gi'ass, or into a handful of clay ; yes, for grass, clay, princes, angels, saints, are all creatures ; but between the creature and God there is an infinite difference. Ah, exclaims St. Bernard, the more a God has hum- bled Himself for us in becoming man, so much the m^e has He made His goodness known to us : ' the smaller He U 134 DISCOUBSES FOR THE Las become by humility, the greater He has made Himself in bounty.' But the love which Jesus Christ bears to uj, cries out the Apostle, iiTesistibly urges and impels us to lore Him : *' The charity of Christ presseth us" (2 Cor. V. 14). O God! did not faith assure us of it, who could ever believe that a God, for love for such a worm as man is, should Himself become a worm like him V A devout author says, Sup2)ose, by chance, that, passing on your way, you should have crushed to death a worm in your path ; and then some one, observing your compassion for the poor reptile, should say to you : Well, now, if you would restore that dead worm to life, you must first your- self become a worm like it, and then must shed all your blood, and make a bath of it in which to wash the worm, and so it shall revive ; what would you reply 1 Certainly yoa would say : And what matters it to me whether the worm be alive or dead, if I should have to purchase its life by my own death. And much more would you say so if it was not an inoffensive worm, but an ungrateful asp, which, in return for all your benefits, had made an attempt upon your life. But even should your love for that reptile reach so far as to induce you to suffer death in order to re- store it to life, what would men say then ? and what would not that serpent do for you, whose death had saved it, supposing it were capable of reason ? But this much has Jesus Christ done for you, most vile worm ; and you, with the blackest ingratitude, have tried oftentimes to take away His life; and your sins would have done so, were Jesus liable to die any more. How much viler are you in the sight of God than is a worm in your o\vn sight ! What difference would it make to God had you remained dead and for ever reprobate in your sins, as you well deserved 1 Kevertheless, this God had such a love for you, that, to release you from eternal death. He first became a worm like you, and then, to save you, would lavish upon you His heart's blood, even to the last drop, and endure the death which you had justly deserved. Yes, all this is of faith : Ut Verhim caro factum est (St. John i. 14). " He hath loved us,' and washed us from our sins in His own blood" (.Vpoc. i. 5). The Holy Church DIS. I.] KOVENA OP CHRISTMAS. 135 dedares herself to be filled with terror at the idea of the ^f\?U^^^'^^^''V '^ considered Thy work, and was afraid (llesp 3, m 2 Noet. Circum). And this the pro- phet said of old : "0 Lord, I have hiard Thy hearing, ^d was afraid. . Thou wentest forth for the salvatlin of Thy p^ple ; for salvation with Thy Christ" (Haba^. iii. 3, 14). Hence St. Thomas terms the mystery of the Incar- nation imracukim miraculorum, the miracle of miracles • a mimcle above all comprehension, in which God showed how powerful was His love towards men, which of God made Him man, of Creator a creature. The Creator, says bt. leter Damian, springs from the creature, of Lord it fn^f f ^'"!i 'tr^'it' ?^ i'^^Passible subject to sufferings and to dea h:3i " He hath showed might in His arm" (St. ijui£e 1. 51). bt Peter of Alcantara, one day hearino- the Cxospel sung which is appointed for the third Mass on Cliristmas night : In j^^incipio erat Verhum, etc., in reflect- ing on this mystery became so inflamed with Divine love, that, ma state of ecstasy, he was borne a considerable space thi-ough the air to the foot of the Blessed Sacra- ment.-- And St. Augustine said that his soul could feast lor ever on the contemplation of the exalted goodness ot God, manifested to us in the work of human redemp- tion. For this reason it was that the Lord sent this Saint, on account of his fervent devotion to this mysterv, to in- ecnbe these words on the heart of St. Mary JMagdalene of l-azzi : MUrhum caro factum est: "And the Word was made flesh. ' LjThosoever loves, has no other end in lovinc. but to be loved again: God, then, having so dearly loved us, seeks fwi °^^ f 1 ^'*''''' "^^ ""^ ^^' Bernard remarks, but our love • VV lien God loves. He desires nothing else than to be loved.'» Wherefore, he goes on with this admonition to each one of tts :i He has made known His love, that He may experience Uiine. ^ O man, whoever thou art, thou hast witnessed the love which God has borne thee in becoming man, in suf- lering and dying for thee ; how long shall it be l>efore God shall know by experience and by deeds the love thou bearest Him ? Ah ! truly every man at i\^ sight of a God clothed m flesh, and choosing to lead a life of such durance, ir ill 136 DISCOURSES FOR THE and to suffer a death of such ignominy, ought to be en- kindled with love towards a God so loving. "Oh, that Thou wouldst rend the heavens and wouldest come down : the mountains would melt away at Thy •presence . . . the waters would burn with fire" (Isaias bav^-l, 2). Oh, that Thou wouldst deign, my God ! (thus cried out the prophet before the arrival of the Divine Word upon earth) to leave the heavens, and descend here to become man amongst us ! Ah, then, on beholding Thee like one of themselves, the mountains would melt away, men would surmount all ob- stacles, all difhculties, in observing Thy laws and Thy counsels ; the waters w^ould bum with fire ! Oh, surely Thou wouldst enkindle such a furnace in the human heart, that even the most frozen souls must catch the flame of Thy blessed love ! And, in fact, after the Incarnation of the Son of God, how brilliantly has the fire of Divine love shone to many loving souls ! And it may be indeed as- serted, without fear of contradiction, God was more beloved in one century after the coming of Jesus Christ than in the entire forty preceding centuries. How many youths, how many of the nobly born, and how many monarchs even, have left wealth, honours, and their very kingdoms, to seek the desert or the cloister, that there, in poverty and obscure seclusion, they might the more unreservedly give themselves up to the love of this their Saviour ! How many martyrs have gone rejoicing, and making merry on their way to torments and to death ! How many tender young virgins have refused the proferred hands of the great ones of this world, in order to go and die for Jesus Christ, and so repay in some measure the affection of a God, who stooped down to become incarnate, and to die for love of them !~] Yes", all this is most true ; but now comes a tale for tears. Has this been the case with all men ? Have all sought thus to correspond with this immense love of Jesus Clirist ? Alas, my God, the greater part have combined to repay Him with nothing but ingratitude ! And you also, my brother, tell me, what sort of return have you made up to this time for the love your God has borne you ] Have you always shown yourself thankful? Have you ever \ DIS. I.] NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. 137 seriously reflected what those words mean, a God to be made man, and to die for thee ? A certain man, assisting one day at Mass without devotion, as too many do, at these concluding words of the last Gospel : Ft Verbum ccvro fitctum est: "And the Word was made flesh :" made no external act of reverence ; at the same instant a devil struck him a severe blow, saying, ' Thankless wretch ! thou hearest that a God was made man for thee, and dost thou not even deign to bend the knee 1 Oh, if God had done the like for me, I should be eternally occupied in thanking Him !' Tell me, Christian ! what more could Jesus Christ have done to win thy love ? If the Son of God had engaged to rescue from death His own Father, what lower humiliation could He stoop to than to assume human flesh, and lay down His life in sacrifice for His salvation ? Nay, I say more ; had Jesus Christ been a mere man, instead of one of the divine Persons, and had wished to gain by some token of affection the love of His God, what more could He have done than He has done for thee ? If a servant of thine had given for thy love his very life-blood, would he not have riveted thy heart to him, and obliged thee to love him in mere gratitude ? And how comes it then, that Jesus Christ, though He has laid down His life for thee, has still failed to win thy love ? Alas ! men hold in contempt the Divine love, because they do not, or, rather let us say, because they will not, understand what a treasure it is to enjoy Divine grace, which, according to the Wise Man, is an infinite treasure : " An infinite treasure to men, which they that use become the friends of God" (Wisd. vii. 14). Men appreciate the good graces of a prince, of a prelate, of a nobleman, of a man of letters, and even of a vile animal ; and yet these same persons set no stead by the grace of God, — but re- nounce it for mere smoke, for a brutal gratification, for a handful of earth, for a whim, for notliing. What sayest thou, my dear brother? Dost thou wish still to be ranked among these ungrateful ones 1 For, if thou dost not wish for God, says St. Augustine, if thou canst meet with something better than God: 'Desire something better, if thou dost deserve something better.' Go, find thyself a 138 DISCOURSES FOR THE prince more courteous, a master, a brother, a friend more amiable, and who has shown thee a deeper love. Go, seek for thyself one who is better qualified than God to make thee happy in the present life and in the life to come. Whoever loves God has nothing to fear, and God cannot help loving in return one who loves Him : ** I love those who love me" (Prov. viii. 17). And what shall he be afttiid of, who is the beloved of God ? *' The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear ?" (Ps. xxvi. 1.) So said David, and so said the sisters of Lazarus to our Blessed Lord : " He whom thou lovest is sick" (St. John xi. 5). It was enough for them to know that Jesus Christ loved their brother, to convince them that He would do every thing for his recovery. But how, on the contrary, can God love those who despise Ilis love ? Come, then, let us once for all make the resolution to give the tribute of our love to a God who has so sincerely loved us. And let us continually beseech Him to grant us the precious gift of His holy love. St. Francis of Sales said, that this grace of loving God was the grace which we ought to pray God for more than for any other ; because with Divine love all good comes to a soul : " All good things come together with her" (Wisd. vii. 11). This made St. Augus- tine say, * Love, and do whatever you like.' Whoever loves a person, avoids every thing that may offend him, and always seeks what may give him most pleasure. Thus is it with one who really loves God ; he can never deliberately do any thing to offend Him, but he studies in every pos- sible manner to please Him. And in order the more quickly and the more surely to obtain this gift of Divine love, let us have recourse to the foremost of God's lovers — I mean, to Mary Ilis Mother, who was so inflamed with His holy love, that the devils, as St. Bonaventure assures us, had not the boldness even to tempt her : * They were scared away by her burning charity, so that they dared not approach her.' And Bichard adds, that even the seraphim themselves might descend from their lofty throne in heaven to take a lesson in love from the heart of Mary. And because, continues St. Bonaven- ture, the heart of Mary was a complete furnace of Divine DTS. I.] NOVENA OP CHRISTMAS. 139 love, therefore all who love this Blessed Mother and ad- dress themselves to her, shall be inflamed by her with the same love ; she will make them resemble herself. COLLOQUY. ignis, qui semper ardes, acceftide me, let us say with St. Augustine, ' fire, ever burning, inflame me..' O Word Incarnate, Thou wert made man to enkindle Divine love in our hearts : and how couklst Thou have met with such a want of gratitude in the hearts of men? Thou hast spared nothing to induce them to love Thee j Thou hast even gone so far as to give Thy blood and Thy life for them : and how, then, can men still remain so ungrateful % Do they, perchance, not know it? Yes, they know it, and they believe that for them Thou hast come down from heaven to put on mortal flesh, and to load Thyself with our miseries ; they know that for their love Thou hast led a painful life, and embraced an ignominious death ; and how, then, can they live forgetful of Thee 1 They love relatives, friends ; they love even animals : if from them they receive any token of good-will, they are anxious to repay it ; and yet towards Thee alone are they so loveless and ungrateful. But, alas ! in accusing them, I am my own accuser : I who have treated Thee worse than any one else. But Thy goodness encourages me, which I feel has borne with me so long, in order at length to pardon me, and to inflame me with Thy love, provided I mil but repent and love Thee. Indeed, my God, I do wish to repent ; and I grieve with my whole soul for having of- fended Thee j I wish to love Thee with my whole heart. I am well aware, my Bedeemer, that my heart is no longer worthy of Thy acceptance, since it has forsaken Thee for the loVe of creatures ; but at the same time, I see that Thou art willing to have it, and with my entire will I dedicate it and present it to Thee. Inflame it, then, wholly with Thy Divine love, and grant that from this day forward it may never love any other but Thee, O infinite Goodness, worthy of an infinite love. I love Thee, my Jesus ; I love Thee, O sovereign Grood ! I love Thee, O only Love of my soul ! O Mary my Mother, you who are 140 DISCOURSES FOR THE the mother of fair love, mater pidchrce dilectioniSf do you obtain for me this grace to love my God ; I hope it of you. Discourse II. THE ETERNAL WORD BEING GREAT BECOMES LITTLE, *' A child is bom to us, and a son is given to us." Is. ix. 6. Plato said that * Love is the loadstone of love : Jlag- nes anioiis amor.^ Hence comes the common proverb, as St. John Chrysostom remarks : * Si vis amaH, ama : If you wish to be loved, love ;' for certainly there is np more effectual means to secure oneself the affections of another than to love him, and to make him aware that he is loved. But, my Jesus, this rule, this proverb, holds good for others, holds good for all, but not for Thee, ^fen are grateful to all, but not to Thee. Thou art at a loss what further to do, to show men the love Thou bearest them ; Thou hast positively nothing more to do, to allure the affections of men ; yet, in point of fact, how many are there among mankind who love Thee 1 And shall we stand in the ranks of these heartless wretches'? God has not earned this at our hands ; that God, so good, so tender of us, who being great, and of infinite greatness, has thought fit to make Himself little in order to be loved by us. Let us seek light from Jesus and Mary. To compass the idea of the immense love of God to men in becoming Himself a man and a feeble child for our love, it would be necessary to comprehend His greatness. But what mind of man or angel can conceive the greatness of God, which is indeed infinite ? St. Ambrose says, that to say God is greater than the heavens, than all kings, all saints, all angels, is to do an injury to God ; just as it would be an injury to a prince, to say that he was greater than a blade of grass, or a small fly. God is greatness itself, and all greatness together is but the smallest atom of ihc greatness of God. David, contemplating the Divine greatness, and seeing that he could not and never would be able to comprehend it, could only say: " O Lord, who is like to Thee f (Ps. xxxiv. 10.) Lord, what great- DIS. II.] NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. 141 ness shall ever be found like to Thine ? And how in truth should David ever be able to comprehend it, since his un- derstanding was but finite, and God's greatness infinite % " Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised ; and of His greatness there is no end" (Ps. cxliv. 3). " Do I not fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord" (Jer. xxiii. 24). Thus all of us, according to our mode of understanding, are nothing but so many miserable little fishes, living in this immense ocean of the essence of God : " In Him we live, move, and be" (Acts xvii. 28). What are we, then, in respect of God 1 And what are all men, all monarchs of earth, and even all saints and all angels of heaven, confronted with the infinite greatness of God 1 "VVe are all like or even smaller than a grain of sand in comparison of the rest of the earth : " Behold," says the prophet Isaias, " the Gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the smallest gi-ain of a balance; behold, the islands are as little dust All nations are before Him as if they had no being at all" (Isa. xl. 15, 17). Now this God, so great, has become a little infant ; and for whom ? A Child is born to us : for us He is born. And wherefore 1 St. Ambrose gives us the answer : * He is a little one, that you might be a perfect man ; He is bound in swaddling-clothes, that you might be unbound from the fetters of death; He is on earth, that you might be in heaven.'^^ Behold, then, the Immensity become an infant, whom the heavens cannot contain : see Him imprisoned in poor rags, and laid in a narrow vile manger on a bun- dle of straw, which was at once His only bed and pillow. 'See,' says St. Bernard, 'see power is ruled, wisdom in- structed, virtue sustained. God taking milk and weeping, but comforting the afflicted.' A God Almighty so tightly wrapped in swathing-bands that He cannot stir ! A God, who knows all things, made mute and speechless ! A God, who rules heaven and earth, needing to be carried in the arms ! A God who feeds all men and animals. Himself having need of a little milk to support Him ! A God who consoles the afflicted, and is the joy of Paradise, Himself weeps and moans and has to be comforted by another I 142 DISCOURSES FOR THE In fine, St. Paul says, " that the Son of God, coming on earth, emptied Himself" (Phil. ii. 5) : He annihilated Himself, so to say. And why 1 To save man and to be loved by man. * Where Thou didst empty Thyself,' says St Bernard, 'there did mercy, there did charity more brilliantly appear.' Yes, my dear Redeemer, in propor- tion as Thy abasement was great in becoming man and in being born an infant, so was Thy mercy and love shown to be greater towards us, and this with a view to win over our hearts to Thyself. The Jews, although by so many signs and wonders they had a certain knowledge of the true God, were not, however, satisfied ; they wished to behold Him face to face. God found means to comply even with this desire of men ; He became man, to make himself visible to them ; ' knowing,' says St. Peter Chryso- logus, * that mortals felt an anguish of desire to see Him, God chose this method of making Himself visible to them.'^^ And to render Himself still more attractive in our eyes, He would make His first appearance as a little child, that in this guise He might be the more charming and irresis- tible ; He showed Himself an infant, that He might make Himself the more acceptable in our eyes, says the same St. Chrysologus. * For our advantage was this emptying made;" 37 for this indeed was the form most suitable to win our love. The prophet Ezechiel rightly exclaimed, that the time of Thy coming on earth, O Incarnate Word, should be a time of love, the season of lovers : " Behold, Thy time was the time of lovers" (Ezech. xvi. 8). And what object had God in loving us thus ardently, and in giving us such clear proofs of His love, other than that we might love Him ] * God loves only in order to be loved,' says St. Bernard. God Himself had already said as much : " And now, O Israel, what does the Lord thy God require of thee, but that thou fear and love Him" (Dent. x. 12). In order to force us to love Him, He would not com- mission others, but chose to come Himself in person to be made man and to redeem us. St. John Chrysostom makes a beautiful reflection on these words of the apostle :^^ "For no where doth He take hold of the angels, but of the seed of Abraliam He taketh hold" (Heb. ii. 16). Why, asks NOVENA OP CHRISTMAS. 113 DIS. II.] the Saint, did he not say received, but rather apprehended ? Why did not St. Paul simply say, that God assumed hu- man flesh j why would he aflSrm with marked emphasis that He took it as it were by force, according to the strict meaning of the word appreheml ? He answers that he spoke thus, making use of the metaphor of those who give chase to the flying ; by this he would convey the idea that God already longed to be loved by man, but man turned his back upon Him, and cared not even to know of His love ; therefore God came from heaven, and took human flesh, to make Himself known in this way, and to make Himself loved as it were by force by ungrateful man, who fled from Him. For this, then, did the Eternal Word be- come man ; for this He, moreover, became an infant. He could, indeed, have appeared upon this earth a full-grown man, as the first man Adam appeared. No, the Son of God wished to present Himself under the form of a sweet little child, tliat thus He might the more readily and the more forcibly draw to Himself the love of man. Little children of themselves are loved at once, and to see them and to love them is the same thing. With this view, says St. Francis of Sales, the Eternal Word chose first to be seen among men as an infimt, to conciliate to Himself the love of all mankind. St. Peter Chrysologus writes : ^^ ' How should He come, who wishes to drive away fear, to seek love ? What breast so savage as not to soften before such a childhood, what hardness which it will not subdue, what love does it not claim ] Thus, therefore, He would be born, who willed to be loved and not feared.' The saint would say, that if our Redeemer had come to be feared and re- spected by men. He would have come as a full-grown man and with royal dignity ; but because He came to gain our love, He chose to come and to show Himself as an infant, and the poorest of infants, born in a cold stable between two animals, laid in a manger on straw, without clothing or fire to warm His shivering little limbs : * thus would He be born, who willed to be loved and not feared.' Ah, my Lord ! who was it that drew Thee from heaven to be born in a stable ? It was love, the love Thou bearest towards men. Who took Thee from the right hand of Thy Father, 144 DISCOURSES FOR THE where Thou sittest, and placed Thee in a manger ? Who snatched Thee from Thy throne above the stars, and put Thee to lie on a little straw 1 Who changed Thy position from the midst of angels, to he placed betwixt a pair of beasts 1 It was all the work of love ; Thou inflamest the seraphim, and dost Thou now shiver with cold? Thou supportest the heavens, and must Thou be now carried in the arms ? Thou providest food for men and beasts, and now dost Thou crave a little milk to sustain Thy life? Thou makest the seraphim hapj^y, and now dost Thou weep and moan ? Who has reduced Thee to such misery 1 Love has done it : ' thus would He be born, who willed to be loved and not feared.' Love then, love, O souls, exclaims St. Bernard, love now this little Child, for He is exceedingly to be loved. * Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised. The Lord is a little one, and exceedingly to be loved.' ^o Yes, says the Saint, this God was already existing from eter- nity, as He is now, worthy of all praise and reverence for His greatness, as David has sung : '' Great is the Lord and exceedingly to be praised." But now that we behold Him become a little infant, needing milk, and unable to stir Himself, trembling with cold, moaning and weeping, look- ing for some one to take and warm and comfort Him ; ah, now indeed does He become the most cherished one of our hearts ! * The Lord is a little one, and exceedingly to be loved r We ought to adore Him as oar God, but our love ought to keep pace with our reverence towards a God so amiable, so loving. St. Bonaveuture reminds us that, ' a child finds his delight with other children, with flowers, and to be in the arms.' The Saint's meaning is, that if we would please this Divine Infant, we too nmst become chil- dren, simple and humble ; we must bring Him flowers of virtue, of meekness, of mortification, of charity ; we must -clasp Him in the arms of our love. And, O man, adds St. Bernard, what more do you wait to see before you will give yourself wholly to God ? See with what labour, with what ardent love your Jesus has come down from heaven to seek you. Hearken, he goes on to say, how, scarcely yet born, His wailings call to you, as if He would say : soul DIS. II.] NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. 145 of mine, it is thee I am seeking ; for thee, and to obtain thy love, I am come from heaven to earth. ^ Having scarcely quitted the Virgin's womb. He calls thy beloved soul after the manner of infants, ah, ah, My soid. My soul, I am seeking you, for you am I making this pilgrimage.' O God, even the very Ijrutes, if we do them a kindness, if we give them some trifle, are so grateful for it ; they come near us, they do our bidding after their own fashion, and they show symptoms of gladness at our approach. And how comes it, then, that we are so ungi-atefnl towards God, the same God who lias bestowed His whole self upon us, who has descended from heaven to eaith, has become an infant to save us and to be loved by us 1 Come, then, let us love the Babe of Bethlehem, Amemus Fuerum de Beth- lehem, is the enraptured cry of St. Francis ; let us love Jesus Christ, who has sought in the midst of such sufferings to attach our hearts to Him. And for love of Jesus Christ we ought to love our neighbours, even those who have offended us. The Mes- sias is called by Isaias, ' Father of the world to come :' now in order to be sons of this Father, Jesus admonishes us that we must love our enemies, and do good to those who injure us : " Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you . . . that you may be the children of your Fa- ther who is in heaven" (St. Matt. v. 45). And of this He- Himself set us the example on the cross, praying His Eter- nal Father to forgive those who were crucifying Him. ' He- who pardons his enemy,' says St. John Chrysostom, * cannot but obtain God's pardon for himself ;' and we have the Di- vine assurance of it : " Forgive, and you shall be forgiven" (St. Luke vi. 37). There was a certain religious, who- for the rest had not led a very exemplary life, at the hour of death bewailed his sins, not without great confidence and joy, because said he, * I have never avenged an injury done me ;' as nmch as to say : It is ti*ue that I have offended the Lord, but He has engaged to pardon him who pardons his enemies ; I have pardoned all who offended me, so then I am confident God will likewise pardon me. But to speak with reference to all pereoiis in general ; how can we, sinners as we are, despair of j^ardon, when we 14a DISCOURSES FOR THE DIS. II.] NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. 147 N think of Jesus Christ ? For this very- object the Eternal Word humbled Himself so far as to take human flesh, that He might procure our pardon from God : " I am come, not to call the just, but sinners" (St. Matt. ix. 13). Hence we may address Him in the words of St. Bernard : * Where Thou didst empty Thyself, there Thy mercy, there Thy charity shone forth the more.' And St. Thomas of Villa- uova gives us excellent encouragement, saying : What art thou afraid of, O poor sinner? How shall He condemn thee, if thou be penitent, who died expressly that thou mightest not be condemned 1 How shall He reject thee, if thou desirest to retain Him who came down from heaven to seek thee ] Let not, then, the sinner be afraid, provided he will be no more a sinner, but will love Jesus Christ ; let him not be dismayed, but have a full trust ; if he abhor sin, and seek after God, let him not be sad, but full of joy : " Let the heart of tliem rejoice that seek the Lord" (Ps. ciii. 15). The Lord has sworn to forget all injuries done to Him, if the sinner is sony for them : " If the wicked do penance . . . I will not remember all his iniquities" (Ezech. xviii. 21). And that we might have every motive for confidence, our Saviour became an infant : ' Who is afraid to approach a child V asks the same St. Thomas of Villanova : * children do not inspire terror or aversion, but attachment and love,' says St. Peter Chrysologus. It seems that children know not how to be angry ; and if perchance at odd times they should be imtated, they are easily soothed ; one has only to give them a fruit, a flower, or bestow on them a caress, or utter a kind word to them, and they have already for- given and forgotten every offence. A tear of repentance, one act of heartfelt contrition, is enough to appease the Infant Jesus. * You know the tempers of children,' pur- sues St. Thomas of Villanova ; ' a single tear pacifies them, the off*ence is forgotten. Approach, then, to Him while He is a little one, while He would seem to have forgotten His majesty.' He has put off" His Divine majesty, and appears as a child to inspire us with more courage to approach His feet. * He is born an Infant,' says St. Bonaventure, * that neither His justice nor His power might intimidate you.' Li order to exempt us from every feeling of distrust, which the idea of His power and of His justice might cause in us, He comes before us as a little babe, full of sweetness and mercy : ' O God !' says Gerson, ' Thou hast hidden Thy wisdom under a childish age, that it might not accuse us.' O God of mercy, lest Thy divine wisdom might reproach us with our off*ences against Thee, Thou hast hidden it under an infant's form : ' Thy justice under humility, lest it should condemn.' Thou hast concealed Thy justice un- der the most profound abasement, that it might not con- demn us : * Thy power under weakness, lest it should tor- paent.' Thou hast disguised Thy power in feebleness, that it might not visit us with chastisement. St. Bernard makes this reflection : Adam, after his sin, on hearing the voice of God, " Adam, where art thou ?" was filled with dismay : " I heard Thy voice, and was afraid." But, continues the Saint, now, the Incarnate Word being made man upon earth. He has laid aside all semblance of terror : * Do not fear ; He seeks thee not to punish, but to save thee. Be- hold He is a child, and voiceless ; for the voice of a cliiiu is calculated rather to excite compassion than fear; the Virgin Mother wraps His delicate limbs in swaddling- clothes : and art thou still in alarm ?'-ii That God, who should punish thee, is born an Infant, and has lost all ac- cents to affright thee, since the accents of a child, being cries of weeping, move us sooner to pity than to fear ; thou canst not apprehend that Jesus Christ will stretch out His hands to chastise thee, since His Mother is occupied in swathing them in linen bands. ' Be of good cheer, then, O sinners,' says St. Leo, ' the birth-day of the Lord is the birth-day of peace and joy :' ' The Prince of Peace' was He called by Isaias. Jesus Christ is a Prince, not of vengeance on sinners, but of mercy and of peace, constituting Him- self the Mediator betwixt God and sinners. ' If our sins,' says St. Augustine, ^are too much for us, God does not despise His blood.' If we cannot ourselves make due atonement to the justice of God, at least the Eternal Fa- ther knows not how to disregard the blood of Jesus Christ, who makes payment for us. A certain knight, called Don Alphonsus Albuquerque, H8 DISCOURSES FOR THE making once a sea voyage, and the vessel being driven among the rocks by a violent tempest, already gave himself up for lost ; but at that moment espying near him a little child, crying bitterly, what did he do ? He seized him in his arms, and so lifting him towards heaven, ' O Lord,' said he, ' though I myself be unworthy to be heard, give ear at least to the cries of this innocent child, and save us.* At the same instant the storm abated, and he remained in safety. Let us miserable sinners do in like manner. We have offended God; already has sentence of everlasting death been passed upon us ; Divine justice requires satis*^ faction, and with right. AVliat have we to do 1 To des- pair ? God forbid ! let us offer up to God this Infant, who IS His own Son, and let us address Him with confidence : O Lord, if we cannot of ourselves render Thee satisfaction for our offences against Thee, behold this Child, who weeps and moans, who is benumbed with cold on His bed of Btraw in this cavern; He is here to make atonement for us, and He pleads for Thy mercy on us. Be it that we are undeserving of pardon, the tears and sufferings of this Thy guiltless Son merit it for us, and He entreats Thee to par- don us. This is what St. Anselm advises us to do ; he says that Jesus Christ Himself, from His earnest desire not to Lave us perish, animates each one of us who finds himself guilty before God with these words : O sinner, do not lose heart ; if by thy sins thou hast unhappily become the slave of hell, and hast not the means to free thyself, act thus : take Me, offer Me for thyself to the Eternal Father, and so thou shalt escape death, thou shalt be in safety. ' What can be conceived more full of mercy than wliat the Son says to us : Take Me, and redeem thyself.' This was, more- over, exactly what the Divine Mother taught Sister Frances Farnesc. She gave the Infant Jesus into her arms, and said to her : * Here is my Son for you ; be careful to make your profit of Hmi, by frequently offering Him to His heavenly Father. '^ And if wc would still have another means to secure our forgiveness, let us obtain the intercession of this same Divme Mother in our behalf; she is all-powerful with her blessed Son to promote the interests of repentant sinners, NOVENA OP CHRISTMAS. 140 DIS. II.] as St. John Damascene assures us. Yes, for the prayers of Mary, adds St. Antoninus, have the force of commands with her Son, in consideration of the love He bears her • ' The prayer of the Mother of God has the force of a com^ mand.' Hence, wrote St. Peter Damian, when Mary goes to entreat Jesus Christ in favour of one who is devout to her, ' she approaches commanding (in a certain sense), not asking, as a mistress, not a handmaid; for the Son honours her by denying her nothing. '-^2 j^or this reason St. Ger- mauus subjoins, that the most holy Virgin, by the authority of mother which she holds, or rather, which she did hold for a time over her Son upon earth, can obtain the pardon of the most abandoned sinner. ' Thou, by the power of thy maternal authority, gainest even for the most enormous sinners the exceeding grace of pardon.'-*^ COLLOQUY, O my sweet, amiable, and holy Child ! Thou art at a loss what more to do to make Thyself beloved by men. It is enough to say, that from being the Son of God Thou wert made the son of man, and that Thou chosest to be born among men like the rest of infants, only poorer and more meanly lodged than the rest, selecting a stable for Thy abode, a manger for Thy cradle, and a little straw for Thy couch. Thou desiredst so to make Thy first appearance before us in the semblance of a poor child, that even from Thy very birth Thou mightest lose no time in attracting our hearts towards Thee ; and so Thou wentest on through the remainder of Thy life, ever showing us fresh and more striking tokens of Thy love, so that at length Thou didst will to shed the last drop of Tliy blood and die overwhelmed with shame upon the infamous tree of the cross. And how is it that Thou couldest have encountered such ingratitude from the majority of mankind; for I see few indeed that know Thee, and fewer still that love Thee 1 Ah, my dear Jesus, I too desire to be reckoned of this small number ! In time past, it is true, I have not known Thee ; but, heed- less of Thy love, I have only sought my own gratifications, making no account whatever of Thee and of Thy friend- ship. But now I am conscious of the wrong I have done ; 150 DISCOURSES FOB THE DIS. III.] NOVEXA OF CHKISTMAS. 151 I am sorry for it, I grieve over it with my whole heart. O my sweet Child and my God, forgive me for the sake of Thy infancy. I love Thee, and that so dearly, O my Jesus, that even if I knew that all mankind were about to rebel against Thee and to forsake Thee, yet I promise never to leave Thee, though it should cost me my life a thousand times. I am well aware that I am indebted to Thee for this light and this good resolution. I thank Thee for it, O my love, and I beseech Thee to preserve it to me by Thy grace. But Thou knowcst my weakness, Thou knowest my past treasons ; for pity's sake do not abandon me, or I shall fall away even worse than before. Accept of my poor heart to love Thee ; there was a time when it cared not for Thee, but now it is enamoured of Thy goodness, O Divine Infant ! O Mary ! O great Mother of the Incarnate Word ! do not you either abandon me ; for you are the mother of perse- verance, and the stewardess of Divine grace. Help me, then, and help me always ; with your aid, O my hope, I trust to be faithful to my God till death. Discourse III. THE ETERNAL WORD FROM BEING LORD BECAME A SERVANT. " He humbled Himself, taking the fonn of a servant." Phil. ii. 7, 8. On considering the immense mercy of our God in the work of the human redemption, St. Zachary had good reason to exclaim, " Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because He hath visited and wrought the redemption of His i>eople" (St. Luke i. Q>^). Blessed for ever be God, who vouch- safed to come down upon earth and to be made man in order to redeem mankind. " That being delivered from the hands of our enemies, we may serve Him without fear." In order that, loosened from the shackles of sin and of death, wherein our enemies held us fast bound and en- thralled, we might fearlessly, and with the freedom of the children of God, love Him and serve Him during this life, and afterwards go and possess and enjoy Him face to face in the kingdom of the blessed, — in that kingdom closed against us indeed, heretofore, but now thrown open to us by our Divine Saviour. So that, in fact, we were all here- tofore the slaves of hell ; but what has the Eternal Word, our sovereign Lord, done to free us from that slavery ? From being Lord He became a servant. Let us consider what a mercy and what an excessive love this has been j but first let us beg light of Jesus and Mary. Almighty God is Lord of all that is, or that can be in the world : * In Thy power are all things ; for Thou hast created all.* Who can ever deny God the sovereign do- minion over all things, if He be the Creator and Preserver of all ? '* And He hath on His garment and on His thigh written. King of kings and Lord of lords" (Apoc. xix. 16). Maldonatus explains the words ' on His thigh,' to mean here, * by His own very nature ;' and the drift of it is, that to the monarchs of earth outward majesty is annexed by gift and favour of the supreme King, that is God ; but God Himself is King by His very nature ; so that He cannot possibly be otherwise than King and Lord of all. But this sovereign King, though He bore sway over the angels in heaven, and ruled all creatures, yet did He not rule over the hearts of mankind ; mankind was groaning under the miserable tjTanny of the devil. Yes, before the coming of Jesus Christ tliis tyrant was lord, and even made himself worshipped as God, with incense and sacrifices, not only of their animals, but even of their own children and of their own lives ; and he, their enemy and tjTant, what return did he make them ] — how did he treat them 1 He tortured their bodies with the most barbarous cruelty, he blinded their minds, and by a path of pain and misery conducted them down to everlasting torments. It was this tyrant that the Divine Word came on purpose to overthrow, and to release mankind from his wretched thraldom, in order that the unfortunate creatures, freed from the darkness of death, rescued from the bondage of this savage monster, and enlightened to know what was the true way of salva- tion, might serve their real and lawful ^Master, who loved them as a Father, and from slaves of Satan wished to make them His own beloved children : " That being dehvered from the hands of our enemies, we might serve Him with- out fear." The Prophet Isaias had long ago foretold that i 152 DISCOURSES FOR THE cur Redeemer should destroy the empire wliich Satan held over mankind : " And the sceptre of their oppressor Thou hast overcome" (Is. ix. 4). And why did the prophet call him oppressor 1 Because, says St. Cyril, this heartless mas- ter exacts from the poor sinners who become his slaves heavy tribute, in the shape of passions, hatreds, disorderly affections, by means of which he binds them in a still faster servitude, while at the same time he scourges them. Our Saviour came, then, to release us from the slavery of this deadly foe ; but how 1 — in what manner did He release us ? Let us learn from St. Paul what He did : " Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal to God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeuess of men" (Phil. ii. 5). He was already, says the Apostle, the only-begotten Son of God, equal to His Father, eternal as His Father, almighty as His Father, immense, most wise, most ha2:)py, and sovereign Lord of heaven and earth, of angels and of men, no less than His Father ; but for the love of man He stooped to take the lowly form of a servant, by clothing Himself in human flesh, and likening Himself to men; and since sin had made them vassals of the devil, He came in the form of man to redeem them, offering His sufferings and death in satisfaction to the Divine justice for the punish- ment due to them. Ah ! who would have believed it, if holy faith did not assure us of it ] Who could ever have hoped for it?— who could ever have conceived it? But faith tells us and assures us that this supreme and sovereign Lord *' emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant." From His tenderest childhood, the Redeemer, by be- coming a servant, was eager already to begin and wrench from the devil that dominion which he had over man, ac- cording to the prophecy of Isaias : " Call his name, hasten to take away the spoils : Make haste to take away the prey" (Is. viii. 3). That is, as St. Jerome explains it, 'Suffer the devil to reign no longer.' Behold Jesus, scarcely born, says the Venerable Bede, before He assumes the form and office of a servant, in order to gain us freedom from the slavery of hell ; He causes Himself to be enrolled as a subject of Csesar, and pays him the tribute : /Scarcely '♦ I DI3. III.] KOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. 153 bom, He is registered in the census of Ciesar, and for our liberation He Himself is inscribed in the list of servitude.'-*^ Observe how, in token of His servitude, He begins to pay off our debts by His sufferings ; how He allows Himself to be wrapped in swaddHng-clothes (a type of the cords which should bind Him at a later day, to be led to death by cruel executioners). * God suffers Himself,' says a certain author, ' to be bound up in swaddling-bands, because He had come to unbind the world from its debts.' Behold Him during the whole course of His after-life obeying with ready submission a simple Virgin and a man : *' He was subject to them" (St. Luke ii. 51). Look at Him as a ser- vant in the poor cottage at Nazareth, employed by Mary and Joseph at one time in smoothing the wood to be worked upon by Joseph in his trade ; at another time in collecting the scattered shavings for fuel ; then in sweeping the hous^ in fetching water from the well, in opening or in closing the shop ; in fine, says St. Basil, as Mary and Joseph were poor, and obliged to earn a livelihood by the work of their hands, Jesus Christ, in order to practise obedience, and to show towards them that reverence which as to superiora He owed them, endeavoured to render them all the semces which lay in His power as man. ' In His early age Jesus was subject to His parents, and obediently underwent every kind of bodily fatigue ; for, as they were poor, they ne- cessarily were obliged to labour. But Jesus showed His obedience by His submission to them, by undergoino" every kind of labour.'-*^ What ! a God to serve ! a God to sweep the house I a God to work! Ah, how the mere thought of this should inflame us all, and make us bum with love ! Subsequently, when our Saviour went forth to preach, He made Himself the servant of all, declaring that He had come not to be served, but to serve all others : " The Son of Man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister' (St. Matt. xx. 28). As much as to say, according to the commentary of Cornelius a Lapide : ' I have con- ducted myself, and still conduct myself, so as to show how I would willingly minister to all, as the servant of all.' Hence Jesus Christ, says St. Bernard, at the close of His ^ 154 DISCOURSES FOR THE life, was not content to take the form of a simple servant, in order to be at the commands of others, but even of a wicked servant, in order to be punished as such, and so to pay off that punishment which was due to us as the ser- vants of hell in chastisement of our sins. * Taking not only the form of a servant, that He might obey, but of a wicked servant that He might be chastised, and so pay the penalty of the servant's sin.' Behold, finally, says St. Gregory of Nyssa, how the Lord of all submits as an obedient sub- ject to the unjust sentence of Pilate, and to the hands of His executioners, who barbarously torture and crucify Him. ' The Lord of all is obedient to the sentence of the judge, tlie king of all does not disdain to feel the hand of the executioners.'-*^ St. Peter had said as much before: " He delivered Himself to him that judged Him unjustly" (1 St. Peter ii. 23). And, like a servant, He is resigned to punishment, as if He had well deserved it : ** When He was reviled, He did not revile; and when He suf- fered. He threatened not." Thus did our God love us to such a pass, that for our love He chose to obey as a ser- vant even unto death, and a death of such extreme bitter- ness and ignominy as the death of the cross : " Becom- ing obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross" (Phil. ii. 8). He obeyed, indeed, not as God, but as man, and as a servant, as He had made Himself : " Taking the form of a sciwant, and being made in the likeness of men" (Phil. ii. 8). The world stood in admiration of that grand act of charity, which St. Paulinus performed in consenting to become a slave for the ransom of the son of a poor widow. But what comparison does this bear with the charity of our Redeemer, who being God, and in order to rescue us from the slavery of the devil and from death, our just due, chose to become a servant, to be fast bound with cords, to be nailed to the cross, and there in the end to lay down His life in a sea of sorrow and ignominy ? In order, says St. Augustine, that the servant might become lord, God chose to become a servant. ' amazing condescension of Thy bounty towards us ! O inestimable tenderness of Thy charity !' exclaims the Holy Church. ' That Thou mightest redeem the servant. DIS. III.J NOVENA OP CHRISTMAS. 155 Thou hast delivered up the Son.'47 Thou, then, God of boundless majesty, hast been so fascinated with love for men, that to redeem these Thy rebellious servants Thou hast consented to condemn Thy only Son to death. But, O Lord, replies the holy man Job : " What is a man, that Thou shouldest magnify him ? or why dost Thou set Thy heart upon him ^" (Job vii. 17.) What is man, who is so vile, and has proved so ungrateful to Thee, that Thou shouldest make him so great, by honouring and loving him to such an excess ? Tell me (he goes on to say), why is the salvation and happiness of man of so much import- ance to Thee 1 Tell me why Thou lovest him so mucli, that it would seem as if Thy heart was set on nothing else but to love and to make man happy 1 Speed on, then, with gladness, O ye souls that love God and hope in God, speed on your way with gladness ! What if Adam's sin, and still more our own sins, have wrought sad ruin on us? let us understand that Jesus Christ, by the Redemption, has infinitely more than re- paired our ruin : " Where sin abounded, grace did more abound" (Rom. v. 20). Greater (says St. Leo) has been the acquisition which we have made by the grace of our Redeemer, than was the loss which we had suffered by the malice of the devil.**^ Isaias had long ago prophesied, that by means of Jesus Christ man should receive graces from God far surpassing the chastisement merited by his sins ; " He hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all his sins" (Is. xl. 2). It is in this sense that Adam the commentator explains this text, as we find in Cornelius a Lapide : ' God hath so given remission of sins to the Church through Christ, that she hath received double (that is manifold blessings) instead of the punishments of sin which she deserved.' The Lord said : *' I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly" (St. John X. 10). I am come to give life to man, and a more abundant measure of life than what they had lost by sin. ** Not as the offence, so also the gift" (Rom. viii. 1 5). Great had been the sin of man ; but greater, says the apostle, has been the gift of redemption, which has not only just sufiiced for a remedy, but superabundantly : " and 156 DISCOURSES FOR THE DIS. III.] NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. with Him plentiful retlemption" (Pa. cxxix. 7). St. An- selm says, that the sacrifice of the life of Jesus Christ surpassed all tlie debts of sinners : ' The life of that Man surpasses every debt which sinners owc'-^^ For this rea- son the Church styles the fault of Adam a hapi)y one : '0 happy fault, which deserved to have so great a Kedeemcr.' It is true that sin has clouded the mind to the knowledge of eternal truths, and has introduced into the soul the con- cupiscence of sensible goods, forbidden by the Divine com- mand ; yes, but what helps and means has not Jesus Christ obtained for us by His merits, in order to procure us light and strength to vanquish all our enemies, and to advance in virtue ? The Holy Sacraments, the Sacrifice of Mass, prayer to God through the merits of Jesus Christ — ah ! these are indeed arms and means sufficient, not only to gain the victory over all temptation and concupiscence but even to run forward and fly in the way of perfection! It IS certain that by these very means given to us, all the saints of the new law have become saints. Ours, then, is the fault, if we do not avail ourselves of them. Oh, how much more are we bound to thank Al- mighty God for having brought us into life after the coming of the Messias ! How much greater blessinc^s have we received after the accomplishment of redemption by Jesus Christ ! How did Abraham desire ; how did the prophets and patriarchs of the Old Testament lon^ to see the Redeemer born! But they saw Him not.° They deafened the heavens, so to speak, with their groans of de- sire and with their ardent prayers : " Drop down dew yo heavens from above, and let the clouds rain the just" (Is xlv. 8), was their incessant exclamation. Rain down O heavens, and send us the Just One, to appease the >^Tath ot that God whom we ourselves cannot appease, because we are a sinners : -Send forth, O Lord, the Lamb, the Ruler of the earth" (Is. xvi. 1). Send, O Lord, the L^mb, who by sacrificing Himself shall satisfy Thy justice for us and so shal reign m the hearts of men, who are living on this earth the unhappy slaves of the devil ; « Show us O Lord, Thy mercy, and grant us Thy salvation" (Ps. Ixxiiv «). Hasten and show us, God of mercies, that greatest i 157 mercy which Thou hast already promised us, namely our Saviour. Such were the aspirations and lingW ^X T^iZ'. ""^ ^^'^ ^^^^*^- ^"* ^^' ^11 t^at, durinc. the space of 4000 years they liad not the happ^ lot fo seethe Messias born : we, however, have had this happiness But lt.To7it t" d' ' 'T ""T'^'^' ^^^- w e'totke ad' vantage of it ? Do we know how to love this amiable Re- deemer who IS come at last, who has already ransomed us from he hands of our foes, has freed us by His own death from Uie eternal death which we had deseLd,^^! thrown open Paradise for us, has provided us with so many Sacra- ments, and with so many aids to serve Him and love Him m peace during this life, that we might go and enjoy H m for ever m the life to come ? He was, says St Ambro^ wrapped up in swaddling-clothes, that^^ou ml^Te fS ^''""YT^V' His poverty is my patrimony; the ^ebleness of the Lord is my strength ; His tears have washed away my guilt.' Exceeding would be your inc^ra- to love Him, after He has been pleased to be bound in swaddling-clothes, that you might be released from the chains of hell ; after He has become poor, that you mi^ht be made partaker of His riches ; after He has niade Hhn- selt weak, to give you power over your enemies : after He has chosen to suffer and to weep, that by His tears your 8ins might be washed away. But, O God, how few there are who show themselves grateful for such immense love by fliithfully loving this their Redeemer I Alas ' the greater part of men, after so incomparable a benefit* after so many great mercies and so much love, still say to God • r fr "^"^ m'" "^^ ''^''''^ ^^'^^ ^ ^^'^ ^^^^^^^^ rather be slaves ot the devil and condemned to hell than be Thy servants Listen how God upbraids such thankless wretches : "Thou hast burst My bands, and thou saidst : I will not serve" (Jer. 11. 2). What say you, my brother? have you too been one of these ? But tell me, whilst living far from God and the slave of the devil, tell me, have you felt happy ? Have you been at peace ? Ah, no, the Divine words can never fail : « Because thou didst not serve the Lord thy God with joy and gladness of heart, thou shalt 158 DISCOUKSES FOR THE serve thy enemy in hunger and thirst, and nakedness, and in want of all things" (Dent, xxviii. 47). Since thou hast preferred to serve thy enemy rather than to serve thy God behold how that tyrant has treated thee. He has made thee groan as a slave in chains, poor, afflicted, and deprived of every mterior consolation. But come, rise up ; God speaks to thee whilst thou mayest still be freed from the fetters of death which bind thee : " Loose the bonds from off thy neck, O captive daughter of Sion" (Is. Hi. 2) Make haste while time is left, unbind thyself, poor soul, who hast become the voluntary slave of hell, strike off these cursed chains that hold thee fast as a prey for hell and bind thyself instead with my chains of gold, chains of love, chains of peace, chains of salvation : " her bands are a healthful bmding" (Ecclus. vi. 31). But in what manner are souls bound to God ? By love : '* Have charity, which is the bond of perfection" (Coloss. iii. 14). A soul that always walks by the single way of the fear of punishment, and from this single motive avoids sin, is always in ^o-eat danger of making a relapse before long into sin ; bSt he that attaches himself to God by love is sure not to lose Him as ong as he loves Him; and for this reason we must continually beg God to grant us the gift of His holv love always praying and saying : Lord, keep me united to Thee, never suffer me to be separated from Thee and from Ihy love. The fear which we ought rather to desire and beg of God IS a filial fear, the fear of ever displeasing this our good Lord and Father. Let us also always have recourse to most holy Mary, our Mother, that she may obtain us the grace to love nothing else but God, and that she would so closely unite us by love with her Blessed Son, that we may never more see ourselves separated from Him by sin. COLLOQUY. ^n?rZ^^ '^''"f' ^^'"^ Y^ ^''" ^'^'^''^ ^^ ^^^«^^^e a ser- vant for love of me and m order to release me from the chains of hell ; and not only the servant of Thv Father but of men and of executioners, even to the laying down of Thy life; and I, for the love of some wretched^nd pi sonous pleasure, have so often forsaken Thy service and \ irrectly, sanctity itself, innocence itself, purity Itself, since He was true Son of God, time God as His Fa- ther ; and so dear to that Father, that the Father there on the banks of the Jordan declared, that in that Son He found all His complacency. But this Son being bent upon freeing mankind from their sins and from the death in- curred by them, what did He do 1 « He appeared to take away oiir sins," says St. John (1 St. John iii. 5). He pre- sented Himself before His Heavenly Father, and offered Himself to pay for mankind ; and then the Father, as the Apostle tell us, sent Him on earth to be clothed in human DIS. IV.] NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. 161 flesh to take the appearance of sinful man, and to be made m all thmgs like to sinners : « God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Rom. viii. 3). And then bt. Paul adds : " And of sin hath condemned sin in the ft A"""^^? *^''^ ^'^ '''^''"'' according to the explanation ot bt. John Chrysostom and Theodoret, that the Father sen- tenced sin to be dethroned from tlie tyranny which it ex- ercised over mankind, by dooming to death His own Divine Son, who, though He assumed flesh that was to all secmin^ contaminated with sin, was nevertheless holy and innocent! God therefore, in order to save mankind, and at the same time to answer the claims of His justice, was pleased to condemn His own Son to a painful life and to a shame- ful death. And can this ever be true ? It is of faith, and bt. Paul assures us of it : " He spared not even His own Son j but delivered Him up for us all" (Bom. viii. 32) Jesus Christ Himself affirms it to us : '' God so loved the world, as to give His only- begotten Son" (St. John iii. IG). Ce lus Rodiginus relates, that there was a certain man called Doeotarus, who had several sons, but loved one of them more than all the rest ; insomuch that in order to leave him his whole fortune, he had the monstrous cruelty to murder all the others. But God has done quite the re- verse ; He has slain His well-beloved Son, His only Son, m order to give salvation to us vile and ungi-ateful worms : "God so loved the worid, as to give His only-beirotten ; „ "^ ^^^S"^^ ^^'^^^ ^^'^^'^^« ' " C^od so loved the worid. Wliat ? a God condescends to love men, miser- able worms, that have been rebellious and ungrateful to- wards Him, and to love them to such an extent '(' the word 80 signifies the vehemence of love,' says St. John Chry- sostom),->o so as to give His only-begotten Son ! that He chose to give them His very Son, and that only-begotten one whom He loved as much as Himself ! Not a ser- vant, not an angel, not an archangel did He give, but His own Son, subjoins the same holy doctor. But in what manner did He choose to give Him ? He gave Him to us lowly, humbled, poor, despised ; He gave Him into the hands of slaves to be treated as a miscreant, and even to be put to death, covered with shame, on an infamous gibbet. I 162 DISCOURSES FOR THE O grace ! O force of the love of a God ! exclaims St. Ber- nard : ' grace ! the strength of love P^ O God, who would not be touched to hear of such an instance, that a monarch, to release his slave, was compelled to put his only son to death, — that son who was all the love of his fiither, and was beloved by him as his very self? Had not God done this, says St. John Chrysostom, who could ever have imagined it or hoped for it ? ' What things the human mind could never have conceived, could never have hoped for, these things He has bestowed on us/ But, O Lord, it seems like an injustice, to sentence an innocent son to die for the purpose of saving a slave who has offended Thee. According to all human reasoning, says Salvian, one would certainly accuse that man of outrageous injustice, who should kill an innocent son in order to free his servants from the death which they had deserved.-"'- Yet no, with God this has not passed for injustice, because the Son made the si)ontancous offering of Himself to the Father to satisfy for men : " He was offered, because it was His own will" (Is. liii. 7). Behold, then, how Jesus voluntarily sacrifices Himself as a victim of love for us; behold Him, how as a mute lamb He puts Himself into the hands of the shearer, and, although innocent, He comes to suffer from men the greatest ignominies and torments, without even opening His mouth : " He shall be dumb as a lamb before His shearer, and He shall not open His mouth" (Is. liii. 7). Behold, in fine, our loving ricdeemer, who to save us chose to suffer death and the punishment deserved by us : '^ Surely He hath borne our infirmities, and carried our son-ows" (Is. liii. 4). St. Gregory INTazianzen says, * He refused not to suffer as guilty, provided only that men might obtain salvation.'''^^ Who has done this? asks St. Bernard. AVhat has been the cause of this immense pro- digy ? A God to die for His creatures ! ^ Who has done It ? Charity has done it.' It has been wrought by the love which God beai-s to man. The saint pursues his meditation on the time when our amiable Redeemer was seized by the soldiers in the garden of Gethsemani, as is related by St. John : " And they bound Him " (St. John xviii. 12). And then he says to our Lord : * What hast ) DIS. IV.] NOVEXA OF CHRISTMAS. 1G3 Thou to do with chains?' My Lord, he says, I behold Thee bound by this vile rabble as if Thou wert a criminal, and they are about to drag Thee to an unjust death ; but, O God, what have cords and chains to do with Thee? such things belong to evil-doers, but not to Thee, who art in- nocent, who art the Son of God, innocence itself, holi- ness itself. St. Lawrence Justinian replies, that the bonds which dragged Jesus Christ to death were not those that were fastened on Him by the soldiers, but the love He bore towards men ; and hereupon he exclaims : ' O charity, how strong are thy bonds, by which even a God could be bound!' The same St. Bernard goes on to consider the iniquitous sentence of Pilate, who condemned Jesus to the cross, after several times having declared Him innocent ; and then, turning himself to Jesus, he thus bewails himself before Him : ' What hast Thou done, O most innocent Saviour, that Thou receivest such a judgment V Ah, my Lord, I hear this wicked judge condemning Thee to die upon the cross ; and what evil hast Thou done ? what crime hast Thou ever perpetrated to deserve such a death of tor- ture and shame ? a death awarded to none but to the most guilty wretches? But he then resumes l)y replying: Ah, I now comprehend, O my Jesus, what crime it is of which Thou art guilty ; it is of having loved mankind too dearly : * Thy love is Thy crime.' Yes, it is this love, more than Pilate, that condemns Thee to death ; because it is to pay off the penalties due from mankind that Thou hast willed to suffer death. As the time of the Passion of our Blessed Redeemer drew near. He besought His Father that He would hasten to glorify Him, by permitting Him to offer to Him the sacrifice of His life : " Father, glorify Thy Son** (St. John xvii. 1). At this, St. John Chrysostom asks in astonishment : ' ^Y]mt sayest Thou ? Dost Thou call these things glory V A Passion and a death accompanied with such sufferings and shame, dost Thou call this Thy glory ? And the saint then replies to his own question for Jesus Christ : * Yes, since it is for my beloved ones, I esteem it a glory.' Yes, so immense is the love I entertain for man- kind, that it makes me consider it my glory to suffer and to die for their sakes. I 164 DISCOURSES FOR THE " Say to the faint-hearted, Take courage, and fear not : behold your God will bring the revenge of recompense ; God Himself will come and will save you" (Is. xxxv. 4). Fear not then, says the prophet ; be no more in despair, O poor sinners ! What fear can you have not to be pardoned, when the Son of God comes down from heaven to save you? Has not He Himself made compensation to God by the sacrifice of His life for that just vengeance which our sins demanded ? If you cannot by your own works ap- pease an oftended God, behold one that can appease Him; this very infant whicli you now see reposing on straw, trembling with cold, and weeping, He with His tears pro- pitiates Him. You have no grounds for being any more sad, says St. Leo, on account of the sentence of death ful- minated against you, now that life itself is born for you : * nor is there any lawful room fur sadness, when it is the birthday of life.' And St. Augustine : ' O sweet day for penitents, to-day sin is taken away, and shall the sinner despair]' If you are unable to render due satisfaction to the Divine Justice, look on Jesus, who does penance for you ; already does He commence to do it in this little cave ; He will persevere in doing penance all His life, and finally bring it to a conclusion on the cross, to which (ac- cording to the saying of St. Paul) He will affix the decree of your condemnation, cancelling it with His own blood : " Blotting: out the hannarte7to us the graces which our Saviour has merited for'^us and experience shows us every day that those who frequent the sacraments easily keep themselves in the S of God. And especially, how is he that often communicates tions. The holy Euchari.st is called bread, the heavenlv bread, that we may understand how the Commun on pre^ serv-^s the l,fe of the soul, which is Divine graeh,, as earthly bread preserves the lifo of the body. For 'he Lte reason the Council of Trent calls Holy Communion a remedy sins . An antidote by which we are freed from daily faults and are preservecl from mortal sins.'^" St. Thomas speak mg o the holy Eucharist, says, that the wound \2 by sin would remam incurable, were it not for this remZ whfch IS even to us : 'It would be incurable, were it not the me^li said, that the Passion of Jesus Christ delivers us from the chains of sin, and the Holy Communion delivers us from the will to sin : ' The mysteiy of the Cross delive^ us from Sni:r- '■"' "" "-rstery of the Eucharist frooftr The other grand means of ovcrcomin«y <"'' "I'le to acquire stren^li by having recourse to Jesus Christ (for it is enough to call with confidence on His Most Holy Name), and they will not do it ? What excuse, I say, would that man have for having been vanquished by his enemy, who, when the requisite arms for his defence were presented him had despised and refused them ? Were such a man to all lege his weakness, who would not instantly condemn him mth these words,— And yon, knowing as you did your owii weakness, why did you not avail yourself of the arms that were offered you 1 St. Augustine says, that the devil was put m chains by Jesus Christ ; he can bark, but he cannot bite any one, except those who wish to be bitten. That man is really a fool (continues the Saint) who allows himself to be bitten by a dog chained up: 'Christ came and chained the devil. He is bound in chains like a do^. ioolish IS the man whom a dog in chains bites. He can bark, he can make attempts ; he can only bite him who '" t '-/.SD a'' f*^"^ "°' *'''*°'^ "'" consent from us, but seeKs It. And m another pa.ssagc he says that the Re- deemer has given us ever}' remedy to effect our cure ; he that will not observe the laws and is put to death, dies because he wishes his own death. 'As for as the physician is con- cerned, he came to heal ; he destroys himself who will not observe the laws.' He that takes advantage of Jesus Christ IS not weak; no, but he waxes strong on the strength of Jesus Chnst. Jesus it is who, as St. Augustine says, not on y cheers us on to the combat, but affords us help ; if we tail. He IS ready to succour us ; and of His immense good- I 176 DISCOURSES FOR THE DIS. v.] NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. 177 ness He Himself crowns us in the end : ' He encourages you to fight, and helps you to conquer, and sui)ports you if you languish, and crowns you victorious.'^" Isaias pro- phesied : " Then shall the lame man leap as a hart ;" that is, by the merits of the Redeemer, he who could not stir one step should skip over the hills as a swift hart : *' And that which was dry land shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water ;" he foretells that the most parched- up soil should teem with virtues : " In the dens where dragons dwelt before shall* rise up the verdure of the reed and the bulrush" (Is. xxxv. 7) ; and that in those souls in which devils formerly abode should be propagated the vi""Our of the reed, — namely, of humility, because, accord- ing to the commentary of Cornelius u Lapide, 'the humble man is empty in his own eyes ;' and of the bulrush, — namely, of charity, because, as the same commentator says, in certain localities they use it for wicks to burn in lamps. In a word, we find in Jesus Christ all grace, all strength, all help, wlienever we have recourse to llim : '' In all things you are made rich in Him, so that nothing is wanting to you in any grace" (1 Cor. i. 5, 7). For this very end He was made man, and emptied Himself : ' He emptied Him- self.' * He, as it were, reduced Himself to nothing,' says a certain author ; * He made Himself empty of majesty, of glory, of strength.' In a manner. He lowered Himself to nothing; He put off His majesty, glory, and power, and took on Himself ignominies and infirmities, to make over to us His worth and His virtues, that so He might be our light, our justice, our satisfaction, and our ransom : " Who is made unto us wisdom, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Cor. i. 30). And He remains ready at any moment to give health and strength to every one that asks it of Him. " I saw one girt about the paps with a golden girdle" (Apoc. i. 13). St. John saw the Lord with His breasts full of milk (that is, full of graces), and bound about with a girdle of gold ; this signifies that Jesus (>hrist is, as it were, hemmed round and compressed with the love He bears to man ; and as the mother^ whose breast is over- supplied with milk, seeks for childi-en who may imjjibe the \ nourishment and relieve her of the burden, so does He yearn for us to come and seek graces of Him, and the ne- cessary help to conquer our enemies, who strive to rob us of His friendship and of eternal salvation. O, how boun- teous and liberal is God with a soul that sincerely and resolutely seeks Him ! " The Lord is good to the soul that seeketh Him" (Lamen. iii. 25). Wherefore, if we do not become saints, the failure rests with us, because we do not resolve to wish for God alone : " The sluggard willeth and willeth not" (Prov. xiii. 4). The lukewarm will and will not ; and therefore they remain defeated, because tiiey want the resolute will to please God alone. A resolute will overcomes every thing ; for when once a soul determines really to give herself wholly to God, God immediately gives her the hand, and the strength to surmount all diffi- culties that may occur in the way of perfection. This was the splendid promise which Isaias signified to us in these words: "O, that Thou wouldest rend the heavens and wouldest come down : the mountains would melt away at Thy presence. The crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways i)lain" (Is. xl. 4). At the coming of the Redeemer He shall endow our souls with such a strength of goodwill, that they shall find levelled down the moun- tains of all the carnal appetites ; and tliey shall find the crooked ways made straight and the rough ways plain y that is, the contempts and labours which formerly were so difficult and hard for men to bear, shall, by means of the grace given by Jesus Christ, and of the Divine love which He shall enkindle in their hearts, be afterwards all made- Bweet and easy. Thus was it that a St. John of God re- joiced at being beaten as a fool in an hospital ; thus a St. Lidwine was glad to find herself during so many years tied down to her bed by a body full of wounds and sores ; thus a St. Lawrence exulted and mocked the tyrant, while scorching on a gridiron, and giving his life for Jesus Christ. And so likewise do so many souls enamoured of God find peace and contentment, not, indeed, in the pleasures and honours of the world, but in sufferings and insults. Ah ! let us beg Jesus Christ to impart to us that fire which He came on earth to enkindle; that so we may no jr 178 DISCOURSES FOR THE longer find it difficult to despise goods of dirt, and to undertake great things for God. * He that loves, labours not,* says St. Augustine ; the soul that loves God alone finds it neither irksome nor painful to suffer, to pray, to mortify herself, to humble herself, and to detach herself from the pleasures of earth. The more she works and suf- fers, the more she is eager to do and to suffer : " Jealousy is hard as hell ; the lamps thereof arc fire and flames" (Cant. viii. 6). The flames of Divine love are like the flames of hell, which never say it is enough. Nothing whatever satisfies a soul that loves God. As for hell no fire is sufficient, so for the loving soul, her ardour is never satisfied. Let us ask this great gift through the intercession of Mary, by whose hands (as was revealed to St. Mary Mag- dalene of Pazzi) Divine love is bestowed upon souls. She is God's treasure, the treasurer of all graces (especially of Divine love), as she was called by the Idiota, ' The treasure and the treasurer of graces.' COLLOQUY. My sovereign God and Redeemer, I was lost; Thou Last ransomed me from hell. But, unhappy me ! I have often afterwards lost myself anew, and Thou hast as often released me from eternal death : * I am Thine, save me.' Since, as I hope, I am now Thine, suffer me never more to cast myself away by rebelling against Thee ; I am resolved to suffer death, and a thousand deaths, rather than see my- self ever again Thy enemy and the slave of the devil. But Thou knowest my weakness. Thou knowest my past trea- cheries. Thou must give me strength to resist the assaults which hell will make upon me. I know that I shall be assisted by Thee in temptation whenever I shall have re- course to Thee, since I have Thy j)romise for it : " Ask, and you shall receive. Every one that asketh receiveth." But my fear is, lest in the moment of trial I should fail to recommend myself to Thee, and so be miserably overcome. This, therefore, is the grace which I most earnestly implore of Tliec : grant me light and strength on all occasions to DIS. VI ."I NOVENA OF CHRISTMAS. 179 have recourse to Thee, and to invoke Thee whenever I am tempted ; and, moreover, I entreat Thee to grant me Thy help, that I may always ask Thee for this grace. Grant it me by the merits of Thy Precious Blood. And you, Mar)', obtain it for me by the love which you bear to Jesus Christ. Discourse VI. THE ETERNAL WORD FROM BEDfO HIS OWN HAS MADE HIMSELF OURS. *' A Child is bom to us, and a Son is given to us." Is. xi. 6. Tell me, cruel Herod, why dost thou command so many innocent babies to be murdered and sacrificed to thy ambition of reigning? Art thou perchance afraid that the Messias lately born may rob thee of thy king- dom 1 * Why art thou so troubled, Herod V asks St. Ful- gentius. ' This King who is born can)C not to vanquish kings by fighting, but to subdue thuiu by dying.' *'^ Thi« King, of whom thou art in such terror, 18 not conic to conquer the monarchs of the earth by force of arm«, but He is come to reign in the hearts of men by suffering and dying for their love. ' He came, therefore* (ooncludoft St. Fulgentius), 'not that He might combat alive, but that He might triumph slain.' Our amiable Kedecmcr did not come to carry on war during His life, but to triumph over the love of men, when He should have laid down liitf life on the gibbet of the cross, as He Himself said : "When I shall be lifted up, I will draw all thinga to Myself** (St. John xii. 32). But let us leave Herod aside, O devout kouLj, and lot us come to ourselves. Why, lIwM), did t\ic »Soii of God come upon earth? was it to give Himself to ubT Yes, Isaias assures us of it : "A C'liild in iMxrn to uSj and a Son is given to us." The lore which this loi'iiMr Saviour bears us, and the desire whi