Jesus, sweetest Child, Who, coming down from the bosom of the Father for our salvation, did not disdain the womb of a Virgin, where, conceived by the Holy Ghost, You, the Word incarnate, took upon Yourself the form of a servant, have mercy on us!  


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January 14th

Their Gifts: (3) Myrrh



Myrrh is the herb used most largely for embalming. It has the power to prevent corruption and preserve the purity and freshness of the body which is in contact with it. It was offered to our Lord as a testimony, not only of the perfect and unsullied purity of those to whom He is united by the bonds of charity, but also in evidence of the power of His Sacred Body to save from corruption those who partake of It in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Thus myrrh was offered to our Lord as possessing a true human body, as being truly Man as well as truly God. We must never lose sight of this fact of Christ's Humanity, that He has all the sympathy and interest in all that concerns us that we have perhaps received from some kind earthly friend, all His desire to help us, all His wisdom, prudence, patience, appreciation of our griefs and sorrows; and all this to a degree compared with which our best friend on earth does not deserve the name. Why do I not have recourse to Him more?

Myrrh is also the symbol of mortification. If our bodies are to be pure, we must mortify our evil desires and give up what is very attractive to our lower nature. If we desire great purity of heart, we must mortify ourselves in things lawful, and deny ourselves even what we might enjoy without sin. Do I do this?

The Holy Infancy

January 16th

Herod's Vengeancehttp://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/January%2016th.html





When Herod found that the Magi did not return with the information respecting the King whom they were seeking, he became uneasy. The plan he had cunningly devised had come to nought; the rival monarch seemed likely to escape his hands. One day perhaps he or his children would be dethroned by Him. O empty fears! That little Child seeks no worldly honor; He will not interfere with any earthly monarch. The secret fear that destroys the peace of unscrupulous men is often as empty as Herod's. The terrors they suffer are the just rewards of their evil deeds. How often I have been anxious and troubled because my pride could not brook being humbled!

But Herod was utterly unscrupulous as well as ambitious. There was one way in which he could secure this end. By putting to death all the young children in the country round Bethlehem, he would compass the death of this royal Child. Pride and ambition not only blind men, but make them utterly indifferent to the sufferings of others and the laws of right and wrong. I, too, have often recklessly made others suffer to gratify myself and carry out my own selfish ends.

When Herod came to die, how awful must have been the terrors of his guilty conscience. The blood of those children slaughtered at his command had long cried out to Heaven for vengeance. Each one of them added to his remorse and eternal misery in Hell. If evil men foresaw the consequences to themselves of the sins they commit, they would dread sin, even venial sin, far more than any earthly misery they could suffer.

January 18th

Joseph's Obedience

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No such questioning as we have supposed in our last meditation ever occurred to St. Joseph's mind. His duty, his pleasure was to hear and to obey. Not a moment did he lose. He roused his Virgin Spouse and told her what they had to do, and ere morning dawned, they had left Bethlehem far behind.

Yet there was no hurry or bustle or undue haste in the preparation they made. No rushing to and fro, no impatience, not a movement but such as was calm and deliberate, modest and dignified. It is one of the marks of sanctity to have thus under control every look and every action. How can I stand this test? When time presses, or my indignation is aroused, or my patience tried, am I gentle, and peaceful and calm?

Observe, moreover, how there is not a single word of complaint or of grumbling, no expression of annoyance or word of mutual commiseration. Each seeks to lighten the work of the other. How cheerful both Mary and Joseph are--almost joyous! It is a trial, yes, but more for the sake of the Divine Child than for their own. Even the thought of what Jesus may have to suffer never destroys their peace. O happy Joseph! O blessed Mary! make me more like you.

January 20th

The Arrival in Egypt

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At length they reached the spot that God desired for their sojourn, in a land full of idols and idolaters. What uncongenial surroundings for the Holy Family, alone in the midst ot those who worshipped a false god! How painful for them to see God thus dishonored! In the same way many a Catholic has to dwell in a most uncongenial atmosphere--perhaps among heretics, or bad Catholics, or those whose words and looks and actions continually jar and cause pain. Patience! Jesus and Mary know by experience what such have here to suffer.

When the Holy Family arrived in Egypt, in the town where they came to dwell, all the idols in the temples fell prostrate to the ground, and were shattered to pieces. Thus when Christ comes to dwell within the soul, all that opposes itself to God is destroyed by His sacred Presence. If Jesus dwells with us, we shall no longer allow pride, envy, bitterness, self-will, discontent, to reign in our hearts.

The presence of the Holy Family in Egypt hallowed the spot where they sojourned. In early Christian times it was covered with the cells of the monks and hermits. Thus Jesus always leaves a blessing behind Him. When He comes to me in Holy Communion, if only I put no obstacle in the way, my soul will flourish with virtues and good works as the effect of His Presence.

January 22nd

The Return Home

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At length, when it seemed as if God had almost forgotten His well-beloved Son, the summons came to return to the land of Israel. An angel appeared to Joseph with the welcome news that those who had sought the life of Jesus were dead, and that therefore they might go back in safety. Those who are willing to wait are sure to obtain their desires. It is impatience, and the restless desire for immediate relief, that lead to so many disappointments. In the things of God, as in all else, it is those who wait who win.

How full of joy were the hearts of Joseph and Mary, as they neared once more their native land. Like all the Saints, they had an intense love for their country and their people and their home. Holy indifference does not mean that we have no natural affections for kindred and for fatherland, but that those affections are entirely subordinate to the will of God.

If the people of Egypt knew not that their God was dwelling among them, they knew that they had amongst them those who were the special friends of God. Mary and Joseph had endeared themselves to all around by their gentleness, charity, patience, courtesy, humility, thoughtful kindness to all. To them how terrible a grief was the departure of the Holy Family! Do I endear myself to those among whom I live?

January 24th

The Hidden Life

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The life of each member of the Holy Family was from the first a hidden life, for it was a life hidden with God, and concealed from the busy world. The life of Jesus in Mary's womb was thus the model of the lives of all who desire to give themselves entirely to God; a life completely withdrawn from all that could interfere with a continual thought of God, and a continual union with Him by acts of adoration and of love. This should be my aim at least during such portions of the day as I am able to give to prayer and to spiritual things.

But a life of complete removal from external things is not possible on earth. It is reserved for the Blessed in Heaven. Even Joseph and Mary had sometimes to turn their thoughts to earthly things and to the cares of life. Yet they never lost sight of God, and amid the most distracting occupations the remembrance of Him was ever in their hearts. This should be my constant endeavor; thus to lead a hidden life by having ever hidden in my heart the precious treasure of the love of God.

But the hidden life of Mary and Joseph was from the very first much more than this; they, in the midst of the most distracting cares, had the gift of always having the thought of God actually present to them. Their conscious intercourse with Him never ceased. This is the nearest approach to the life of the Angels that is possible for mortal man on earth. What a contrast to my life, so often absorbed in worldly trifles!

January 26th

The Hidden Life at Bethlehem

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When the Son of God first appeared among the children of men. He chose no ordinary dwelling for His birthplace. Not even the little cottage at Nazareth, not even the humblest room in the humblest of the shepherds' huts at Bethlehem, but a stable--a place quite unfit for human habitation. There it was that Mary had to take shelter, there it was that the God-made Man first saw the light of day. Compassionate Jesus and Mary on what seems to us so unworthy of the dignity of God and His Holy Mother.

Why did Jesus choose a stable for the place of His Nativity? It was not merely on account of its poverty, or the discomforts it brought with it, but also because it was of all places the last where men would naturally look for the Son of God, and therefore the one where He would most perfectly fulfill the words of Holy Scripture, "Truly Thou art a hidden God!" As He completely concealed His Divine glory under the veil of flesh, so He concealed the glory attaching to Him as Man by seeking all those circuмstances where it would be most entirely out of sight. What a contrast to myself, who seek to make the most of all that I think would tend to my own honor, and exalt me in the eyes of men.

There was another reason why Jesus thus hid Himself. He desired to teach us that if we wished to live in close union with God, we must live a hidden life, far away from the busy crowd and the din and strife of human society. Even if our lot is cast in the midst of the world's din and tumult, yet in heart and desire we must seek to dwell with Jesus in the retirement of the peaceful stable at Bethlehem.

January 28th

The Lessons of the Purification

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How was it that Almighty God allowed the spotless Virgin to submit to what seemed to justify the inference that Mary did not differ from the rest of the Jєωιѕн women, and even that the Son of God was born in the same condition as any other child? Jesus had come to be made sin for us; and therefore took upon Himself all the consequences of sin as far as His sinless and Divine Nature permitted. Mary then, on account of her share in the work of redemption, had to submit to the same law. She had to share all the various forms of suffering and ignominy that Jesus took upon Himself, so far as one could whose nature was wholly created by God.

Already by His Circuмcision Jesus had appeared, as it were, in the character of a sinner; and therefore it was but fitting that Mary should appear as one who needed purification. Yet how false, how blasphemous the inference! Learn never to Judge rashly, however plausible the inference may seem to be.

As our Lord prayed and fasted, to teach us the importance of prayer and fasting, though He needed neither; so Mary was purified, that we might learn how essential to us it is that we should purify ourselves from all defilement, if we are to be fit to approach the God of infinite purity, and to hold sweet communion with Him in His temple. It is that we may learn how in the sight of God not even the angels are pure, that Mary Immaculate, of all creatures the purest, spent these days of legal purification.