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phecies, which became century after century more precise and detailed, God willed to prepare the world by degrees to believe the most wonderful of all mysteries -the divinity of the Gospel, and the institution of the Church of Christ.

APPLICATION. Thus also does God deign to condescend to our weakness. He helps us to believe, by multiplying when necessary motives for our faith, just as He helps us to practise virtue and to obey Him in difficult matters, by multiplying the succours of His grace. Have you not experienced this in critical circumstances, particularly as regards your vocation?

AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS.

POINT III.

CONSIDERATION. When did the Saviour of the world appear on the earth? The fortieth year of the reign of the Emperor Augustus, when nearly all the people of the known world submitted to the Roman empire and were ruled by the same laws, and the whole world was at peace. This immense extent of the Roman empire, the fourth of the monarchies foretold by Daniel, together with universal peace after seven centuries of war, was visibly arranged by Providence to facilitate the propagation of the gospel, which was to form out of all nations one family in Jesus Christ.

APPLICATION. If we follow with the eyes of faith the events which the course of ages display on the world's stage, we shall see in our own days the working of Divine Providence, which so wonderfully causes everything to carry out His eternal designs and the salvation of His elect. Let us take care not to reason about public events as the men of this world generally do; they look on them as a game or the result of chance, of prudence or imprudence on the part of statesmen. But we, better enlightened, should reason as men of faith; let us see and bless the hand of God in everything which happens, and behold Him directing the

course of events towards ends often far from our thoughts. In this way we shall please God, edify others, and do good to ourselves. We shall grow in faith, hope, and love of God.

COLLOQUY,

DECEMBER 22.

BENEFITS WHICH WE OWE TO THE WORD INCARNATE.

1st Prel. Behold the infant Jesus weeping for us in the manger of Bethlehem.

2d Prel. Beg the grace of appreciating the principal benefits which we owe to His immense love.

POINT I. Benefit of Existence.

CONSIDERATION. St. John begins his Gospel with these sublime words: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was made nothing that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.' It is, then, by this Eternal Word, who in time united Himself to our mortal nature, that this universe has been created out of nothing; and as nothing which it contains was made without Him, we have been also made by Him, and to Him we owe the blessing of existence in time and eternity, the one being inseparable from the other.

APPLICATION. During this time, when we are preparing ourselves to celebrate worthily the anniversary of the human birth of the Eternal Word, it is natural we should think of our own birth, and of Him to whom we owe it. And with what a burst of love and gratitude we ought to think of it, who have received the plenitude of the gifts of life, being born by a special providence after the Incarnation of the Son of God! Do we think of this often enough, with enough affection and gratitude?

AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS.

POINT II. Benefit of Redemption.

CONSIDERATION. Another blessing that we owe to the Incarnate Word is that of redemption-that act of unspeakable love by which He willed to take on Him the sentence of death pronounced against our first parents, to expiate in His own person the sin imputed to us all, and to wash away in His blood the stains of our own iniquities. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,' says St. Paul; 'who hath washed us from our sins in His own blood,' adds St. John. This second benefit is greater than the first of creation in this sense, that, as St. Austin says, 'It would have availed us nothing to have been born, if we had not been redeemed: Quid nasci profuit, nisi redimi profuisset?' In this sense also, that the benefit of redemption is a greater proof of the love of the Divine Word. Creation cost Him only a word; redemption cost Him the shedding of His blood.

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APPLICATION. It was in the stable of Bethlehem that the Word made flesh' began the work of our redemption, offering His first tears to Divine Justice, and offering Himself as a victim of expiation. What should this wonderful mystery of love produce in those who meditate on it? They also who live,' says the Apostle, thus redeemed from death, 'may not now live to themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again.' Consider, then, how ungrateful and guilty you are in thinking of yourself before all things; in seeking after your comfort and honour rather than the good pleasure of your Saviour; and is not this what Jou have very often done?

AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS.

POINT III. Benefit of the Divine Adoption.

CONSIDERATION. It was not enough for the love of the Incarnate Word to rescue us from slavery, and reconcile us with His Heavenly Father; He also willed

that we should become His adopted children and heirs. This benefit of the Divine adoption, which surpasses all that we can imagine, He accomplished by uniting in His person the human and Divine natures. 'When the fulness of time was come,' says the Apostle, 'God sent His Son . . . that we might receive the adoption of sons; and if sons, heirs also: heirs, indeed, of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.'

APPLICATION. How noble would be our thoughts, how holy would be our lives, if the memory of these things were always before our minds! Let us strive to make it so.

COLLOQUY.

DECEMBER 23.

ON THOSE QUALITIES OF THE INFANT JESUS PROPOSED FOR OUR IMITATION.

1st Prel. Listen to Jesus Christ saying, 'Unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.'

2d Prel. Beg the grace of understanding how we can become by grace what little children are by nature.'

POINT I. The natural Purity of Infancy.

CONSIDERATION. When we think of the mystery of Christmas-of the Word 'made flesh' become a little child for us—we should look on this child as like other infants, endowed with the same naturally good qualities; but as the Infant Jesus had the full use of His reason, we should consider these qualities in Him as supernaturally good, raised to the dignity and merit of virtues, and we should try to retrace them in ourselves. The first of these qualities is purity, freedom from the least stain of actual sin, of which infancy is incapable. In the Infant Jesus this purity was a virtue, not only because He was sanctity itself, but because He detested

sin above all things. He offered His tears for the expiation of the world, and to obtain the necessary grace to preserve us from sin.

APPLICATION. If we desire to please the Infant Jesus, and to obtain a large share of His favour, let us try to become by virtue what He was by essence, and what little children are by nature, exempt from sin; let us strengthen ourselves, especially during this Novena, in the determination of losing everything and suffering everything rather than commit a deliberate venial sin. Let us keep in this disposition from love, rather than fear or any other less perfect motive. AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS.

POINT II. The natural Humility of Infancy.

CONSIDERATION. Humility, or rather freedom from all thoughts of vanity, is another characteristic of infancy. But this humility has no merit, because the child is incapable of appreciating the dignity of man, and of feeling the humiliations he has to endure. It was not thus with the Infant Jesus. He perfectly knew and appreciated the dignity of His Person, the respect and sovereign homage which were due to Him. On the other hand, He felt vividly the extreme humiliations He had to endure, the loneliness in which He was left, the disdain and contempt of the world. But He did not complain, took no vengeance, accepted all and bore it all of His own choice, out of zeal for the glory of His Heavenly Father, so terribly outraged by our pride and rebellion.

APPLICATION. It is by accepting from supernatural motives humiliations of all kinds that we shall become like little children, and pleasing to the Incarnate Word, the Infant Jesus. Let us strengthen our generous resolution of striving to attain the third degree of humility.

AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS.

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