Chapter 3: For the Feast of the Nativity — Apparition of the Infant Jesus and His Blessed Mother

ON the night of the Nativity, at Matins, as the Saint con tinued these exercises, our Lord, to correspond with her movements of fidelity and devotion, drew her entirely to Himself, so that, by a sweet influence of His Divinity in her soul, and by a reflux of knowledge which passed from her soul to God, she knew all that was chanted at Matins, whether Responsories or Psalms ; and this knowledge gave her ineffable and incomprehensible joy. While this con- tinued, she beheld all the saints standing before the throne of the King of kings, reciting Matins with great devotion, for His Divine honour and glory.

Remembering several persons who had been recom mended to her prayers, she said, with great humility : " How can I, who am so unworthy, pray for persons who stand praising Thee with such labour and devotion, since my infirmity prevents me from following their example 1 " Our Lord replied : " You can very well pray for these persons, for I have hidden you in the bosom of My paternal goodness, that you may ask and obtain from Me what ever you will." " But, Lord," replied the Saint, " since it pleases Thee that I should pray for them, I beseech Thee to appoint a time in which I may do so with fidelity, in manner worthy of Thee, and with utility to them without losing the happiness with which Thou dost honour me in partaking of Thy celestial joys." To this our Lord re plied : " Recommend each to My Divine kindness and love, since it is this love that has made Me descend from the bosom of My Father to serve men." When she had named each individually, our Lord, won by His tender love, supplied the needs of each by a most loving compas sion.

After this, the Blessed Virgin appeared to her, seated honourably near her Divine Son ; and while the Descendit de ccelis * was chanted, our Lord appeared to recall the extreme goodness which had made Him descend from the bosom of His Father into that of the Virgin, and He looked so lovingly upon His mother, as to move her very heart; and by His embrace He renewed all the joys which she had when in the world in His holy Hu manity.

She also beheld the sacred and virginal womb of the Mother of God, which was clear as crystal, and in which our Lord appeared in the form of an infant, and flew promptly and lovingly to her heart : by this she understood that, as the Humanity of Christ fed upon her virginal milk, so did His Divinity feed on the purity and love of her heart. At the response, Verlum caro factum est when all the sisters made a profound inclination to honour the Incar nation of Jesus Christ, she heard Him saying : " When ever any one inclines at these words, from gratitude and devotion, giving Me thanks for having become Man for his sake, I also incline to him, by a pure movement of My goodness ; and I offer, from My inmost Heart, all the fruit and merit of My Humanity to God the Father, that the eternal beautitude of this person may be doubled."

At the words et veritatis, the Blessed Virgin came forth parents, and came forth through the closed gate God and man, Light and Life, the maker of the world." This clausam portam of Ezechiel is constantly referred by the Fathers to the Blessed Virgin. St. Bernard, in his sermon on the Twelve Privileges B.V.M. says, Mary is the eastern gate, which none could pass but one. St. Jerome writes : " She (Mary) is the eastern gate of which Ezechiel speaks as always closed." St. Augustine, in his sermon on the Nativity : " The closed gate is the emblem of the integrity of her immaculate flesh. She remained inviolate after childbirth, and became more holy by conception.

with the double ornament of her virginity and her mater nity, and, accosting the first sister on the right side of the choir, she embraced her closely, presenting her Divine Son, whom she held in her arms; and in this manner she proceeded to each sister, allowing each to embrace this in comparably amiable Child. Amongst those who were thus favoured, some held Him in their arms most carefully, appearing very anxious that He should suffer no incon venience ; others, on the contrary, neglected these pre cautions, and permitted His Head to hang down in a very painful manner. By this she understood, that those who had no will but that of God rested the Head of the loving Jesus on a soft pillow, that supported Him, by their good will ; while those whose wills were inflexible and imperfect allowed the Head of the Infant Jesus to hang down incon veniently. Therefore, my beloved, let us empty our hearts and consciences of all self-will, and offer our hearts to our Lord with full and entire obedience to His good pleasure, since He only seeks our spiritual advancement ; why should we disturb, even by the merest trifle, the repose and conso lation of so delicate and tender an Infant, who comes to us with such goodness and love ?

At the Mass Dominus dixit our Lord again imparted to her a knowledge of all that was said, which gave her ineffable joy.

Then, from the Gloria in excelsis to the words Primogenitus Maria? virginis matris, she began to think that the title of only Son was more suitable than that of first-born, because the Immaculate had only brought forth this Son, whom she merited to conceive by the power of the Holy

Ghost ; but the Blessed Virgin said to her sweetly : " Cull my beloved Jesus my first-born, rather than my only be gotten, for I brought Him forth first ; but after Him, or rather by Him, I have made you His brethren and my children, when I adopted you as such by the maternal affection which I have for you."

At the offertory, the Saint, in spirit, beheld the sisters offering to our Lord all the devotions which they had per formed during Advent. Some placed them in the bosom of the Divine Infant, whose image had been impressed on their souls ; and the Blessed Virgin inclined towards each with unparalleled condescension, placing her Divine Son so that He could receive in His Hands what they offered : others appeared to advance towards the altar, and remained in the centre of the choir, where they offered their prayers to the Blessed Virgin and to her Son ; but He was not placed so that He could receive them, and made signs to that effect. She understood from this, that those who placed their offerings in the bosom of the Child Jesus were they who were united to the Lord with their whole hearts, wherein He was spiritually born, and that the Blessed Virgin assisted them in this with all her power, rejoicing with them in their devotion and spiritual advancement ; but those persons who had offered their gifts in the centre of the choir were they who only thought of the Birth of our Lord on the Festival, and because they were reminded of it by the special devotion of the Church.

Then this blessed soul approached the King of Glory, to present Him the good-will of those who would have accomplished many things, had they not been hindered by a lawful cause. And she was instructed in spirit that all the prayers which had been made with devotion were placed as pearls in the tablet, and that the good-will ot those who would have performed the same devotions, had they not been occupied, and who grieved and consequently humbled themselves for this omission, should be placed in the chain with which our Lord's bosom was adorned, and that they would obtain such advantage from this nearness to the Heart of Jesus, that they would be as if they had the key of a treasure which contained all they could desire.