28 — THE GREAT MYSTERY IS FULFILLED

December 24

Presence of God. — O Incarnate Word, my Savior, show me the wise lessons contained in the mystery of Your Incarnation.

Meditation

1 — Among all the works God has accomplished, in time and outside Himself, the redemptive Incarnation of the Word is the greatest. Greater, because its term is not a simple creature, however sublime, but God Himself, the eternal Word who assumes a human nature in time. Greater because, being the supreme manifestation of God’s merciful love, it is the work that more than any other glorifies Him, and glorifies Him precisely in relation to charity, which is God’s essence. Greater, finally, for the immense good it brings to men and women; the salvation, sanctification, and eternal happiness of the entire human race depend completely on the Incarnation of the Word, on Jesus the Incarnate Word: God the Father “chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless... having predestined us to be His adopted children through Jesus Christ... In Him we have redemption... the remission of sins according to the riches of His grace... God brought us to life in Christ; in Christ Jesus He raised us up and made us sit in heaven” (Eph. 1, 4-11; 2, 5-6). Jesus, the Incarnate Word, is the sole source of our salvation and sanctity. Without Him man could not call God by the sweet name of Father, could not love Him as a child loves his father, could not hope ever to be admitted to His intimacy; there would be neither grace nor beatific vision of God. Without Jesus, man would have remained within the limits of a purely human life, devoid of every supernatural horizon both for time and for eternity.

2 — The Incarnation of the Word, God’s greatest work, destined to enlighten and save the whole world, is accomplished in darkness, in silence, amid the most humble and most human circumstances. Caesar’s edict obliges Mary and Joseph to leave the little house of Nazareth, and behold them on the road, on foot like the poorest, despite Mary’s discomfort, since she is about to become a mother. They did not consider themselves authorized to postpone the journey, they raised no objections, they obeyed promptly and simply. It is a man who commands, but their deep spirit of faith discerns in the command of the pagan emperor the will of God. And so they go, confident in Providence; God knows, God will provide: “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Rom. 8, 28). In Bethlehem there is no place for them, and they have no choice but to take shelter in a country cave. The squalor of that animals’ refuge does not dismay them, does not scandalize them: they know that the Child who must be born is the Son of God, but they also know that God’s works are so different from those of men! And if God wills that His greatest work be accomplished right there, in a poor cave, in extreme poverty, Mary and Joseph have nothing to say in reply! A little shred of human spirit would have been enough to be dismayed, to doubt, to be bewildered... Mary and Joseph are profoundly humble, and therefore docile and full of faith in God. And God, according to His style, makes use of all that is humble and contemptible before the eyes of the world to accomplish the greatest of His works: the Incarnation of the Word.

Colloquy

O my God, what a luminous and sublime contrast! You, eternal Word, Incarnate Word, source of life, of salvation, of grace and holiness; You, light and redemption of all humanity, are about to show Yourself to the world! All creation should exult, all nature should tremble with joy, all people should run to meet You, their God, their King and Savior! And instead You choose to be born in hiddenness, in solitude, in silence, and You dispose everything for this purpose. “While peaceful silence wrapped all things and the night in its swift course had reached the middle, Your almighty word leapt down from heaven, from the royal throne, into the midst of the earth” (Wis. 18, 14). O my God, You come from heaven to save the world, and the world, which is Yours, made by Your hands, has not even a lodging to offer You! What child, when being born, has no house, even if miserable and poor? There was the humble little house of Nazareth ready to welcome You: Mary had prepared it with so much love, but You did not even want that one, and You arranged everything so as to have no place to lay Your head.

Bethlehem is full of people, for everyone there is a little corner; but for You, who are the supreme Guest, the Creator, the King of the universe, there is no place. And so You come to us like a poor pilgrim who walks the roads without knowing where to spend the night. No one knows of Your passage, no one knows of Your imminent appearance, no one can suppose that humble woman of Nazareth is about to give the world its Savior, its King, its God. Only Mary and Joseph know and adore in silence! Nothing dismays them; their heart is firm in faith, anchored in full trust: they are sure of You and of Your promises.

O Incarnate Word, imprint deeply in my heart this lesson, and grant that I understand the mysterious ways of Your love. You come to save me, to sanctify me, but in me too You want to accomplish Your work through the most humble, most ordinary, most insignificant circumstances and events. Give me the humility, the faith, the blind trust of Mary and Joseph, so that I may know how to recognize and adore Your work, know how to adhere to it with docility and love, know how to understand that You love to surround Your works with humility, silence, and hiddenness.