31 — REPAY LOVE

December 27

Presence of God. — I gather myself at the feet of the poor manger: I contemplate the Child Jesus, desiring that He teach me to repay His love.

Meditation

1 — In order to assume human nature and thus unite Himself to it, the eternal Word concealed His divinity, majesty, power, infinite wisdom: behold the divine Infant who does not know how to speak, who does not know how to move, who in everything depends and expects everything from His mother, His creature.

Let us understand this mystery in order to apply it to our poor life! True love overcomes every obstacle, accepts any condition and renounces all in order to unite itself to the one it loves. If we want to unite ourselves to God, we must follow a way similar to that which the Word followed to unite Himself to human nature: way of prodigious lowering, of infinite humility! Behold opening before us the way of “nothing,” of total self-denial. “All, nothing; all, nothing!” This is the lullaby St. John of the Cross sings to his God made man: “To possess all, possess nothing of nothing” (Ascent I, 13, 11). Before the infinite humiliations of the eternal Word who became flesh, this way cannot seem to us too austere and demanding. To repay His infinite love, to show Him our love, let us decide to strip ourselves generously of all that can delay our union with Him: let us strip ourselves above all of self-love, pride, vanity, pretensions to assert our rights, our points of honor. What a harsh contrast between these vain demands of our self and the moving humility of the Incarnate Word! “Sic nos amantem, quis non redamaret?” Who would not love in return Him who so greatly loves us? (Adeste fideles).

2 — Jesus, for love of us, not only, so to speak, “stripped Himself” of all His greatness and majesty, but embraced from the first moment of His earthly life the height of privation. Let us also “strip ourselves” gladly for love of Him: let us strip ourselves of love of riches, of attachment to our material well-being, of comforts, of superfluities. The vow or promise of poverty already commits us to this stripping, but even if we did not have such a commitment, how could we calmly lead a comfortable life when our God willed to embrace such poverty and hardship? Behold the conditions of the Child Jesus: prickly straw, insufficient cloths, for house an animals’ stable, for cradle a manger. Before the crib one feels that the way of nothing asks not too much: “Let the soul not seek the better of temporal things, but the worse; and desire, for love of Christ, to be poor, naked, and empty of all that exists in this world” (J.C. Ascent I, 13, 6).

If we want to repay Jesus’ infinite love, let us strip ourselves generously for Him of everything, and not only of material goods, but also of every attachment to creatures, because, St. John of the Cross teaches, “to love is to strip oneself for God of all that is not God” (Ascent II, 5, 7). The way of nothing quickly leads to Bethlehem, there where God united Himself to humanity in the most intimate and personal way, there where God awaits us to unite our souls to Himself.

Colloquy

Grant me, sweetest Jesus, to be able at least a little to repay Your infinite love. You, for love of me, from God became man, from Lord became servant, from rich became poor, from almighty became a little powerless child... Oh, grant that for love of You I may know how to tread with courage and generosity the way of nothing, of total stripping.

You, for love of me, stripped Yourself of Your majesty and greatness, hid every sign of Your divinity, made Yourself so small and humble in order to become “mine,” so that I could not only know You, but have You wholly with me, possess You wholly, since not only at Bethlehem, but every day in the Eucharist You give me all Your divinity, all Your humanity! And I, Your poor creature, so loved and benefited by You, will I not know for love of You, to become all Yours, how to strip myself of my self-love?

“Oh, what great power and love You show me, so little a Child, by willing to keep silence and to have need of everything, like other little children! And again, the first voice You uttered, as the Wise Man says, was in weeping to show me my misery: Primam vocem simile omnibus emisi plorans. You do not want to be fed except with milk that comes as a gift from the Eternal Father, yes: thus the soul should feed only on the milk that comes from You. But before nourishing You, You wish to give nourishment to me. And what nourishment do You give me? Laying Your little limbs in the manger on the hay and resting Your head upon a stone, You give me the nourishment of Your humility and poverty” (St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi).

O God, eternal riches, infinite riches, to what have You reduced Yourself for love of me! And I who promised You poverty, how far I still am from being truly poor, from practicing fervently this virtue that You love so much!

Lord, sweet Incarnate Word, I desire to repay Your infinite love; I too desire to show You by deeds that I truly love You. What shall I do for You, sweetest Jesus? I will strip myself for love of You of all that is not You, because You alone I long for, You alone I desire, and because I want to become like You! You, who from God became flesh, grant that I from proud may become humble; You, who from Master and Lord of the whole universe became poor and miserable, grant that I, from lover of my comforts, become true lover of true poverty. Humility and poverty will introduce me into the way of nothing, and thus, emptied of myself and of all things, I shall finally be able to love You with all my strength, I shall be able to say to You with full sincerity: Lord, I love You more than myself and all things!