38 — JESUS MEDIATOR

January 3

Presence of God. — Grant me, O Lord Jesus, to penetrate the grand mystery hidden in Your Incarnation.

Meditation

1 — The Christmas feasts have concentrated our gaze on Jesus, revealing to us somewhat of the great “mystery hidden for ages in God” (Eph. 3, 9), a mystery that we now want to consider in synthesis so as better to admire its “unsearchable riches.”

Between God and man an infinite distance, an unsurmountable abyss, a rupture of every relation of friendship: such is the tremendous consequence of sin. But between God and man behold the sweet Child of Bethlehem; suddenly and completely, the situation changes aspect: the distance is bridged and over the abyss rises a marvelous bridge that unites earth to heaven, that re-establishes relations of intimacy between God and men and women. This bridge is Jesus who, “the one Mediator between God and men, joins earth to heaven in a truly admirable way” (Myst. Corp.). In His function as Mediator He stands truly “in the middle” between Divinity and humanity: His mediation has every title to be perfectly pleasing to God, because He Himself is true God, and has every requisite to fully satisfy the debts of sinful humanity, because He is also true man and as such represents the whole human race.

In Jesus, Divinity, all Divinity that He possesses as Word, meets humanity that He possesses as man; not only meets it, but embraces it, indeed, even more, unites with it in one person, the Person of the Incarnate Word: Jesus Christ, our Lord. And in Him and through Him all men and women are readmitted to friendship with the heavenly Father; in Him all can find again the way to arrive at union with the Trinity.

The Eternal Father deigned to reveal this marvelous mystery to St. Catherine of Siena: “I desire that you look at the bridge I built for you in my only-begotten Son and that you observe its greatness, which goes from earth to heaven, since in Him the greatness of Divinity is united to the earth of your humanity. This was necessary to remake the way that was broken and to permit arriving, through the bitterness of this world, at eternal life” (Dialogue).

2 — “In Him [Jesus] it pleased (the Father) that all fullness should dwell and through Him all things should be reconciled to Himself, having made peace through the Blood of His cross, whether things on earth or those in heaven” (Col. 1, 19 and 20). The work of Jesus Mediator is fulfilled on Calvary, where He pours out all His Blood, price of our ransom; but this work begins in Bethlehem, where the Word accomplishes, so to speak, that ineffable “giant’s stride” that makes Him descend from heaven to earth, that from true God makes Him also true man.

The terrible abyss that sin had produced between God and men and women is already bridged by the Child who stretches out His arms to us from the manger. Everything that sin had ruined and destroyed is thus, by God’s will, saved and “re-established in Christ” (Eph. 1, 10). Oh, how tenderness is joined to immense admiration, how spontaneous arises the need to praise and adore when one contemplates the Child Jesus in this light!

That grace which Adam had received directly from God, we now receive only through Jesus Mediator; everything supernatural that reaches our souls always comes from His hands. And if we want to reach God, we have no other means than to cling to Jesus, than to pass through Him: our Mediator, our bridge, our way. Jesus said it: “I am the way” (Jn. 14, 6); “I am the door. Whoever enters through me will be saved” (Jn. 10, 9). Here is the only condition, the only way of salvation, of holiness.

Colloquy

“O eternal Deity, O high Eternal Father, in You I see inestimable love... I see the love that constrained You to open the eye of Your pity upon us poor miserable ones, wherefore You sent the Word, Your only-begotten Son, Word, incarnate utterance, veiled in our poor flesh, clothed in our mortality. And You, Jesus Christ, our reconciler, restorer, and Redeemer, made Yourself mediator, Word, love; and from the great war man had with God You made great peace; You punished our iniquities and Adam’s disobedience on Your body, being obedient unto the shameful death of the cross!...

“Whichever way I turn, I find ineffable love; and I cannot excuse myself from not loving, because You alone, God and man, are He who loved me without being loved by me; for I was not, and You made me. All that I want to love, I find in You, except sin... If I want to love God, I have Your ineffable Deity; if I want to love man, You are man...; if I want to love the Lord, You have paid the price of Your Blood, drawing me from the slavery of sin. You are Lord, Father, and our Brother by Your benignity and boundless charity... You, Deity, supreme wisdom, and I, ignorant miserable creature; You, supreme and eternal goodness. I, death, and You are life; I, darkness, and You light; I, folly, and You wisdom; You infinite, and I finite; I sick, and You physician; I fragile sinner who never loved You; You purest beauty, and I vilest creature. You by ineffable love drew me from You, and draw us all to You by grace and not by debt, if we wish to let ourselves be drawn to You, that is, if our will does not rebel against Yours” (St. Catherine of Siena).

“O Christ God, sweet lover of men, I invoke You, I pray You, I beseech You, so that through You I may walk, to You I may come, in You I may rest, You who are way, truth, and life; without whom no one comes to the Father” (St. Augustine).