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I indulge in pride. O you, who were once upon a time bright angels of heaven, and through pride have now become brands of hell-fire, I invite you yourselves to sit in judgment upon the question: tell me, since the Divine Majesty annihilated itself, is it not intolerable impudence on the part of a wretched little worm to puff itself up and swell with pride? O great God, who lovest humility! grant to me that, being at length indifferent to every place, to every office, to every degree, no matter how lowly, I may at length esteem, love, and desire that virtue which drew down the Divine Word into the womb of the Virgin Mary; the humility of His handmaid pleasing Him more than her faith, her charity, and her angelic purity.

SECOND POINT.

The Word made Flesh teaches us to esteem, to love, and to desire the trials and inconveniences of life, that is to say, mortification: "I am in labours from my youth" (a). The condition of Jesus, from the very moment He assumed human nature, was painful for three reasons:-1. Because of the inconveniences He had to endure in his mother's womb, which were certainly great, on account of the narrow limits, and the darkness of His dwelling-place, as well as the manner of His sustenance. Here, moreover, He could neither hear, nor see, nor taste anything; He could not move a hand or a foot, but he should remain constantly crippled and confined in one place.

2. The wretchedness of His condition was im

(a) Ps. lxxxvii. 16.

full use of reason.

measurably increased, inasmuch as He enjoyed the To arrive at some faint idea of this, let us imagine, with Nicodemus, what a terrible thing it would be for one already grown old "to enter a second time into his mother's womb" (a); and yet Jesus Christ remained there for nine months ; being endowed all that time with such and so great a light of intellect, and such a clearness of judgment, that it infinitely surpassed not only that of all men, but of all the angels together. And, moreover, He suffered all these inconveniences without the slightest relief either from His blessed Mother, who was unable to assist Him, or from His Divinity, which was unwilling to do so; nay more, by a stupendous miracle, He suspended that happiness which should have come to Him from the enjoyment of the clear vision of God, in order that He might not experience the slightest comfort either in soul or body.

3. In addition, all these punishments were rendered still more bitter by the distinct knowledge of future events which He possessed. That a single moment of time should not pass without witnessing the most loving Saviour in suffering, His Father, from the very first instant of His life, showed to Him all the afflictions, the sorrows, the insults, and the torments which He would have to endure until the hour of His death; and He showed them to Him in a most vivid manner, one by one, with all their accompanying circumstances, in their entire weight, number and measure, just as He afterwards suffered them. And all these were fully accepted by Jesus Christ with

(a) John iii. 4.

a most ready will; and, entering into detail, he specially offered His head to be crowned with thorns, His eyes to the tears, His cheeks to the buffets, His face to the insults, His lips to the gall and vinegar, His entire body to wounds and a most cruel death. 0 truly insatiable desire of suffering! O effeminate companions of Jesus, how deeply the example of our Captain ought to make us blush!

The fruit to be gathered from this meditation is not only the contempt of honours, and the hatred of the pleasures and comforts of the flesh; but, moreover, the esteem and the love (at least inceptive) of contempt and trials, and an anxiety at least for the desire to acquire those virtues.

AFFECTIONS.

O my Jesus, in the very first moment of your entry into the world, not only did you submit to the most abject humiliation, but you, moreover, afflicted your innocent little body, by enduring all the inconveniences attendant on your dwelling in your mother's womb. And in order that you might feel the pain the more, you formed to yourself a body adapted to suffering, and united it immediately to a soul in the enjoyment of reason; in order that you should not be insensible to pain, nor feel it in a less degree, either through the imperfect organization of the body, or the want of a soul, or the absence of reason: while I, O shame! lavish delicacies upon this rebellious flesh of mine, contaminated with so many sins; I carefully avoid every annoyance, and the very name of trials makes me shudder.

You mortified your most holy senses, never granting them the least indulgence; whereas I give

unbridled license to mine, and, impatient of control, I shrink back from the very shadow of affliction. But I am ashamed and grieved that I shun so much that virtue which was so dear to you that you did not wish to live a single moment without it, having it ever closely united to you as a companion even from your mother's womb. Inflame me, then, with a hatred of myself, and extinguish in me the flames of self-love, that the flames of the love of God may burn more brightly in my soul.

Add to the foregoing affections an act of faith in this mystery; of adoration towards the person of Jesus Christ; and of thanksgiving for the most sublime mystery of the Incarnation, and for the example of such astounding humility. Beg, also, a hatred towards, and the humiliation of, yourself; together with the grace of a perfect indifference to execute the Divine wishes.

COMPENDIUM.

I. Jesus Christ, by His incarnation, teaches us to esteem, to love, and to desire humility: "Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart" (a). The humility of Jesus Christ in this mystery was exceedingly great, for three reasons, principally: 1. Because of the union which exists between the Word and the human nature, for by this even the Omnipotent God became exceeding weak.

2. Because of the body which the Divine Word assumed; for, since His soul enjoyed the beatific vision, His body ought to have shared the same

(a) Matthew xi. 29.

happiness, and yet Jesus assumed a body subject to every misery.

3. Because of the place where Jesus Christ shut Himself up. He who is Immense by His essence, remained imprisoned for nine long months in His mother's womb.

All this our Redeemer did, in order to teach us humility; and shall we wish to become more and more proud every day?

II. Jesus Christ, in His Incarnation, teaches us to esteem, to love, and to desire mortification, which affected Him in this mystery, principally, for three reasons: 1. By reason of the inconveniences endured in His mother's womb, wherein He remained for nine months, confined in a narrow space and immovable.

2. Because of the full use of reason which He possessed, in a degree far surpassing not only all men, but even all the angels together.

3. Because of the distinct knowledge which He had of future events, by means of which the Eternal Father represented to Him, from the very first moment of His life, all the afflictions, the sorrows, the insults, and the torments which He would have to endure until His death.

CONSIDERATION.

On Humility.

The object of this day's meditation is the imitation of Christ in those virtues which principally shine forth in the mysteries of the Incarnation, and the Nativity; that is, in humility, in mortification, and in poverty. These, in fact, were His inseparable

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