17 December Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations for Every Day

17th December

A CHRISTMAS NOVENA

II. Preparation for the Nativity

1. The Birth of Our Lord is the most wonderful and most moving mystery of divine omnipotence and goodness. At first thought the idea of the infinite God becoming man would seem impossible. Between God and man there is a vast abyss. Why should God have bridged this gap and assumed our poor mortal nature, becoming like us in everything but sin while still remaining God? It is a hard question for the human mind to answer. There is only one reply, however. The immensity of God's power and justice is equalled by the immensity of His love. It was simply because God loved us infinitely that He took pity on us, lost as we were in sin. He assumed a human body and became man, and He suffered and died for us so that we might love and obey Him more easily and follow in the way of goodness.

To our poor intellects God seems not only immense and infinite, but also very remote. For this reason God determined to come closer to us, so close that He became as one of us. He was a tiny infant crying in a manger; then He was a lovable young boy Who spoke words of eternal wisdom among the doctors in the Temple; then He was a prophet Who traversed the countryside of Palestine, teaching and working miracles; finally, He died a martyr's death on the Cross in the cause of truth and goodness. Reflecting on this mystery of infinite love, let us adore and love Him.

2. The better to celebrate this mystery of the Word of God made man for love of us, it is necessary to make some preparation. Then we shall be able to derive real spiritual benefit from the feast of the Nativity.

We can prepare our minds for the celebration of this great mystery by meditating on the infinite goodness of God, Who was so moved by compassion for our misery that He came down from Heaven and became an infant whimpering on a bed of straw in a manger. He offered His first sufferings for our sakes even as He later offered Himself on the Cross as a victim for our redemption. This meditation should elicit from us an act of profound humility. If God so abased Himself, how can such sinful and ungrateful creatures as we are carry ourselves proudly and boastfully in the presence of God and of men?

This humble act of adoration on the part of our intellect should be accompanied by an act of heartfelt love. If we do not love Jesus, whom else are we capable of loving? He alone is worthy of all our affection; only He can satisfy the desires of our heart.

3. Our preparation, finally, should also embrace the will. In other words, we should make good resolutions during our Christmas Novena. We should resolve to be more fervent in prayer, to be more mortified, and to make greater efforts to practise virtue. Every day, and if possible every hour, let us think of and invoke the Divine Child. Let us ask Him to help us to model our lives on His, so that they may be full of humility, of love for God and for our fellow-men, of perfect resignation in suffering, and of voluntary mortification and penance designed to prove our love for Jesus and to expiate our sins.