Chapter V: Part 5

The outstretched arm is a sign (1) of _power_. The little One Whom we are expecting, though so winning and gentle and loving, is nevertheless the Almighty and All-powerful God. He it is Who said: "I made the earth and the men and the beasts that are upon the earth by My great power and by My stretched out arm" (Jer. XXVII. 5). He it is Who said of those who would not acknowledge Him as their King: "I will Myself fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm" (chap. XXI. 5). He it is Who "with a strong hand and a stretched-out arm" delivered His people of old out of the land of Egypt (Deut. XXVI. 8). He it is Who gave the law on Sinai, when "the thunders began to be heard and lightning to flash and a very thick cloud to cover the mount, and the noise of the trumpet sounded exceeding loud and the people ... feared." Why? Because "the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai in the very top of the mount" (Ex. XIX. 16, 20). He came then in power to give with His own outstretched arm His commandments to His people; but now He is coming in the silence of the night to win them by His love and no one will be afraid of a little Child.

Oh! come, and redeem us by Thy stretched out arm. Come in all Thy might to save us from our sins--our past sins and the evil habits they have left, our present attachment to venial sins which we are ashamed of, but are obliged to confess lingers still; come and deliver us from our countless imperfections: "Lord if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean" (St. Matt. VIII. 2).

The outstretched arm is also a sign (2) of _pity_, of _yearning_, of _longing_. A mother stretches out her arms to receive her babe taking its first tottering steps, to welcome her prodigal, to protect those in danger, to help in every time of need.

When God was longing to deliver His people of old from the cruel bondage in Egypt, He attracted Moses' attention by a burning bush, so that He could tell him of His yearnings towards His people. Moses saw that the bush was on fire and was not burnt and he said: "I will go and see why the bush is not burnt" (Ex. III. 2-3). That bush hid two mysteries which were beyond Moses' power of reason, but God revealed them later to His Saints. The fire that burned was the Divinity and the bush which was impregnated by the fire and yet not burnt was the Sacred Humanity. Again, the bush was a figure of Mary who though she received the God-Man into her sacred womb yet remained a virgin--the bush held the flame of fire which lighted the whole world and yet remained intact. Moses though he did not see the things which we see, nevertheless saw a "great sight" and "when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, He called to him out of the midst of the bush" and told him not to come too near and to take off his shoes for the ground was holy. He then told him Who He was and why He had come: "I have seen the afflictions of My people.... I have heard their cry ... and knowing their sorrow, I am come down to deliver them" (verses 7, 8). It was the Heart of God yearning for His children. His Hands were stretched out in pity and love, but His hour was not yet. He waited and "when the fulness of the time was come, God sent His Son" (Gal. IV. 4); and now we are kneeling before the Sanctuary wherein He has still a few days to wait; we have turned aside to see the "great sight," we know that we are treading on holy ground. "_Rubum quem viderat Moyses incombustum conservatam agnovimus tuam laudabilem virginitatem_; _Dei genitrix intercede pro nobis._" In the bush which Moses saw unconsumed, we acknowledge thy admirable virginity preserved: intercede for us, O Mother of God. (Little Office. B. V. M.--A Christmas antiphon).

As we keep near to the Burning Bush we wonder more and more at the mystery; we ask why, but we never receive a satisfying answer, for who can fathom the mystery of the love of God? The Word is silent yet. Could He speak, we should hear the same words as Moses heard, for the Heart of God changes not: "I have seen the afflictions of My people.... I am come down to deliver them." How intense were His yearnings! How great was His expectation! Let me try to make Him some little return by my desires and my yearnings for Him! Oh! come, little Saviour, come and redeem us by Thy outstretched Arm!

_Colloquy_ with Him Who is so soon to come.

_Resolution._ To wait with His Mother to-day asking her to give me some of her desire.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "A little Child shall lead them" (Is. _XI._ 6).

O RADIX JESSE!

December 19th.

"O Root of Jesse! Who standest as the ensign of the people,
before Whom Kings shall keep silence and unto Whom the
nations shall make their supplication, come and set us free,
tarry now no longer."

(Vide Is. XI. 10 and Apoc. XXII. 16).

_1st. Prelude._ The Tree of Jesse so often seen carved on cathedral porches and painted on windows, and in Missals.

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to rally under the Standard of the Tree of Jesse.

POINT I. THE ROOT OF JESSE.

"There shall come forth a Rod out of the Root of Jesse, and a Flower shall rise up out of his Root; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the Spirit of Wisdom and of Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and of Fortitude, the Spirit of Knowledge and of Godliness; and He shall be filled with the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord" (Is. XI. 1-3). St. Jerome says that the Branch is Our Lady and the Flower her Son, Who says of Himself: "I am the Flower of the field and the Lily of the valleys" (Cant. II. 1); and a responsory dating from the middle ages says: "_R._ The Root of Jesse gave out a Branch: and the Branch a Flower; and on the Flower resteth the Holy Spirit. _V._ The Virgin Mother of God is the Branch, her Son is the Flower, and on the Flower resteth the Holy Spirit."

So once again, if we would find the Flower we must first find the Branch which bears it. The Flower is still in bud but presently it will open, and its beauty and fragrance will fill the whole earth and attract all men to it: "What manner of one is thy Beloved of the beloved, O thou most beautiful among women?" "My Beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands" (Cant. V. 9, 10). I can understand that thy beautiful Lily is white, for I know that such is His purity that even the heavens are not pure in His sight, but why is His apparel _red_? (Is. LXIII. 2). Because He is "clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood: and His name is called: _The Word of God_" (Apoc. XIX. 13). Even now, before His delicate petals are unfolded, they are marked with the Cross.

O Root of Jesse, can ever tree compare with thine--one of whose branches was found worthy to bear a Flower so fair! There are further beauties as we gaze--a heavenly Dew is resting on the Flower, it is the Holy Spirit Himself, Who at that blest moment when He overshadowed the Branch poured out all His choicest gifts upon the Flower. As God, the seven-fold gifts were His from all eternity, and directly the Humanity was united to the Eternal Word, the divine perfections belonged to it, so that as man "He was made unto us the _Wisdom_ of _God_" and could understand all mysteries. By the gift of _Understanding_ He knew and entered into all God's plans for the Redemption of the world. The gift of _Counsel_ showed Him exactly what was the Will of His Father which He had come to do. The gift of _Fortitude_ gave Him the strength to carry out His Father's Will and to say ever: Not My Will but Thine be done. His _Knowledge_ was so profound that He preferred poverty to riches, and to be despised rather than to be honoured; He knew as Man the true worth of the thing which as God He had created. The gift of _Piety_ established that tender relationship between Him and His Father which He wished us to have when He taught us to say: _Our Father_; it included also His perfect relationship with His Mother and St. Joseph. The gift of _Fear_ gave Him as Man a reverence and respect for the majesty of God. (_Vide_ Heb. V. 7).

It was thus that the heavenly Dew rested on the heavenly Flower.

O my JESUS, come and tarry no longer! I know that Thou hadst no need of any of these gifts; they rested on Thee because Thou art my Model and Thou wouldst show me how to use them.

POINT II. THE ENSIGN OF THE PEOPLE.

It is the Tree of Jesse which stands as an ensign, about which Our Lord says: "I am the Root and Stock of David" (Apoc. XXII. 16). He then is the Standard-bearer and the Standard is His Cross. "Bearing His own Cross He went forth" (St. John XIX. 17). He is the "_sign_ which shall be contradicted" by His enemies (St. Luke II. 34), but when the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in the Heavens (St. Matt. XXIV. 30) it will bring joy and hope to the hearts of all those who love His Coming (2 Tim. IV. 8). "My beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands," or according to another translation: "My beloved is white and ruddy a _Standard bearer_" (Cant. V. 10 A. V. Margin), chosen for His strength as well as for His beauty. To Him shall the nations make supplication, for He said: "I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all things to Myself" (St. John XII. 32).

There are only two standards in the world--that of JESUS Christ and that of the devil. Both leaders want me to enlist; both are trying to win me; but by what different means! The devil strives to entrap me with the silken threads of sin which seem so insignificant and harmless, but which if I allow myself to be trapped by them, he will twine into a thick rope and hold me fast; while JESUS draws me to Himself with the cords of love. Both are infinitely more powerful than I am, and yet all depends on _me_, that is, on my will. The cords of love are far stronger than the cords of hate, so I need not be afraid of the devil's capturing me against my will; but on the other hand JESUS will not draw me with the cords of love against my will. "_If thou wilt_, ... come," is His method. There _are_ chains, there _is_ a cross, but all is love. A little Child holds the Standard, a little Child leads, and all He asks is that we should follow Him and do as He does.

Come, then, little JESUS, set up Thy Royal Standard, come, tarry no longer. I am longing to show Thee that I am not going to be a soldier in name only; longing to show Thee that I understand that a soldier who has pledged himself to fight under Thy Standard must adopt Thy methods, that if I would be a soldier on whom Thou canst count, I must be really mortified, really poor, really ready to give up my own will and my own methods, really anxious to have humiliations because I know that there is no other way of attaining the beautiful virtue of humility. I am longing to show Thee that I understand that those who march under Thy Standard must be marked by the Cross. Oh! come, and set me free from all that keeps me from offering myself whole-heartedly for Thy service. Come and cut all the many little cords that still bind me to the service of self. Thy Mother wants Thee, the Angels are longing to look upon Thy Face, the world wants Thee though it knows it not, and I am longing to want Thee too. Oh! teach me to want Thee more.

_Colloquy_ with the Branch and the Flower.

_Resolution._ To examine myself to-day as to my attachments.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Come and set us free, tarry now no longer."

O CLAVIS DAVID!

December 20th.

"O Key of David and Sceptre of the House of Israel! Who
openest and no man shutteth; Who shuttest and no man openeth;
come and bring forth from his prison-house the captive
sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death."

(Isaias XXII. 22, Apoc. III. 7, Gen. XLIX. 10, Heb. I. 8).

_1st. Prelude._ The little King with the Key and the Sceptre.

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to respond to the Key and the Sceptre.

POINT I. THE KEY OF DAVID.

"I will lay the Key of the House of David upon His shoulder" (Is. XXII. 22). "To the Angel of the Church of Philadelphia write: These things saith the Holy One and the True One, He that hath the Key of David, He that openeth and no man shutteth, shutteth and no man openeth: I know thy works. Behold I have given before thee a door opened which no man can shut, because thou hast a little strength." (Apoc. III. 7-8).

The Babe unborn has already had the Key laid upon His Shoulder. He already has authority. Soon, very soon now, He will come to use it. How will He use this Key and what is it? It is the Key of authority but it is also the Key of love. (1) He is coming to unlock the gates which hold the human race fast in ignorance and sin, to be its Redeemer, to give it "a door opened which no man can shut," to give it a chance if it will of walking out of its prison-house into the liberty wherewith Christ alone can make it free (Gal. IV. 31). (2) He is coming to put His golden Key of love into the hearts of men, to open those doors which are shut against Him and which none but He can open, for none but He can give grace. Each little child whose heart is filled with grace at its Baptism is only able to receive it because the little Child with the golden Key has opened its heart. "Thou hast opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers." Come, then, O Key of David, come and begin Thy blessed work on earth. Thou hast already put Thy magic Key into the heart of St. John the Baptist and doubtless of many another; come and tarry not, come and found Thy Church and pass on the wondrous power of the keys to those with whom Thou wilt leave Thy authority. (3) He is coming to open with His Key of love His own most Sacred Heart. None but He can open that vast treasure-house of love, and none but He can shut it. It will be there for a refuge for all His children in all time--a standing memorial of His love. What does He ask in return? Only that when we hear Him put His golden Key into our hearts, there may be a response: "My Beloved put His Hand through the key-hole and my heart was moved at His touch. I arose up to open to my Beloved" (Cant. V. 4-5). The rising up to let Him in is our part, He puts in His Key and unlocks, that is, He removes all obstacles by His grace, but we must respond to that grace for though He has unlocked the door He will not force an entrance. "Behold I stand at the door and knock," and then He waits, waits for our correspondence and for our love. "My son, give Me thy heart," He wants it, He has used His Key of love to obtain it, but He will not take it, it must be a free gift of love.

At the last great Advent the door of His mercy will be shut against all those who have refused Him an entrance into their hearts, and when He shuts, no man can open. "Lord, Lord, open to us," and the answer will come through the eternally locked door: "I never knew you, depart from Me."

Oh! come, Divine little One, come with Thy Key while yet there is time and unlock the many hearts which still find no place for Thee, no time to attend to Thee waiting so patiently, no desire to give Thee an invitation this Christmas; and give them grace to respond.

POINT II. THE SCEPTRE OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.

The little One Who is to come not only has a Key on His Shoulder, but a Sceptre in His Hand. The word used for Sceptre (_shebet_) in the Hebrew has four distinct meanings and we can apply them all to our Lord and Saviour, JESUS Christ. It is:

(1) a rod of _command_, a sign of _royalty_ (Esther IV. 11, Ps. XLIV. 7);

(2) a rod of iron, a rod of _correction_ (Ps. II. 9, Prov. XXII. 15);

(3) the _shepherd's_ rod or wand (Lev. XXVII. 32);

(4) the _flail_ which separates the grain from the chaff (Is. XXVIII. 27).

(1) _A sign of royalty._ He is my King--how much that says to me! He has authority over me and a right to command me, a right to my service from every point of view; but He will not exact it from me. He stretches out His Sceptre of mercy in token of clemency. He wants my service, but He wants it to be the outcome of my love and so He uses His Sceptre to attract me. He brings Himself down to my level, He calls Himself my Brother, my Friend. He tells me that if I will throw in my lot with Him and do as He does, one day I shall share His Kingdom and reign with Him. Such is my King and such is the meaning of His Sceptre. "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" Thou art as yet hidden, O my little King, but Thou wilt be _born_ a king for "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, a sceptre of justice is the sceptre of Thy Kingdom" (Heb. I. 8). What is my response going to be to that Sceptre stretched out once again? That of a loyal, whole-hearted, loving subject or that of one who is still hesitating between the service of self and the service of the King?

(2) _A rod of correction._ For His enemies it is a "rod of iron," but for His children a rod of love, for what son is there whom the father doth not correct? "Whom the Lord loveth He chastiseth; and He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. Persevere under discipline. God dealeth with you as with His sons." (Heb. XII. 6-7). We are not to "faint" nor "be weary" nor "neglect the discipline," not to be inclined to give all up and choose an easier path; no, but to regard the discipline as a "consolation," (verse 5) a proof of love, a sign that we are really the children with whom He does what He likes, instructing us according to His own pleasure (verse 10).

Oh! my little King, come with Thy rod of correction, come and make me a saint and do not spare me in the making. He that spareth the rod spoileth the child. I do not want to be a spoilt child, but a child on whom Thou canst count, that is, a child to whom Thou canst say what Thou wilt and whom Thou canst criticize as thou wilt, by the mouth of whom Thou wilt, a child whom Thou dost not _consider_ because Thou art sure of its love, sure, that is, that it loves Thee and Thy ways better than self and its ways.

(3) _A shepherd's staff or crook._ As it had been prophesied of Him that He should be a king, so it had also been prophesied that He should be a shepherd: "I will save My flock ... and I will set up one Shepherd over them and He shall feed them and He shall be their Shepherd" (Ezech. XXXIV. 22, 23, and XXXVII. 24). "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd, He shall gather together the lambs with His arms, and shall take them up in His bosom, and He Himself shall carry them that are with young" (Is. XL. 11). "I am the Good Shepherd;" even now while He is yet in the womb of His Mother He is counting His sheep, calling them out, knowing each one by name, thinking of the great fold which He is going to make, of the one shepherd to whom He will entrust the great work of feeding His sheep, of the "other sheep" whom He "must bring" into the fold sooner or later. Even now He is planning to lay down His life for His sheep "that they may have life and have it more abundantly."

(4) _The flail_ which separates the chaff from the good grain, the _tribulum_ which causes "great _tribulation_" on earth's threshing floor, but which is used only for the good of the grain and ensures its being gathered into the heavenly garners. Oh! my little King, Who art coming to bring peace make me understand that I shall never have peace till I am fully persuaded that all my _tribulation_, all my troubles, trials and afflictions are directly caused by Thee, that it is Thou Thyself and no other Who dost use the threshing instruments to separate me from all that is not pleasing to Thee.

Come then, and with Thy Key of love unlock the prison-house and bring forth the captive sitting in darkness and then with Thy Sceptre rule him, correct him, guide him and afflict him.

_Colloquy_ with Him Who has the Key and the Sceptre.

_Resolution._ To rise up and open to my Beloved.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ O Clavis David!

O ORIENS!

December 21st. Feast of St. Thomas.

"O Orient! (Dawn of the East, Rising Sun. Dayspring)
Splendour of the Light Eternal and Sun of Justice, come and
enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of
death."

(Is. IX. 2, Zach. III. 8, VI. 12, Mal. IV 2,
St. Luke I. 78).

_1st. Prelude._ "The light of the morning when the sun riseth" (2 Kings XXIII. 4).

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to tread always the "Way of Peace."

POINT I. THE ORIENT.

"Behold I will bring my Servant the Orient." (Zach. III. 8). Now God has kept His promise for Zachary has already sung: "The Orient from on high has visited us." But where is He, this Servant of God Who has come to do His Will, this Man Who is also God, this Splendour of the Light Eternal and Sun of Justice? As yet He is hiding His light, but "fear not for on the fifth day Our Lord will come unto you" (Antiphon of the _Benedictus_ for to-day). He will come and He will not tarry; but when He comes He will still hide His light under the swaddling clothes and the helplessness and dependence of a little babe. Why is this, O Orient? Thou art the Light Eternal and the Sun of Justice and yet Thy rising seems to make so little difference in the world. Hardly any know that Thou hast risen. My child, it is true that I am the Light of the world, true that I am the bright and morning Star, but the light can only reach the world by faith. Those who have faith like Zachary and his wife and infant son know that I have visited them, not because they have _seen_ me, but by faith. It is the same with my own sweet Mother: "Blessed art thou that hast _believed_" (St. Luke I. 45). It will be the same when I am born in a few days' time. Most will see nothing beyond a babe in swaddling clothes, but to a chosen few who have the gift of faith the Sun of Justice will have risen, the Star will have appeared, their cry will be: "Behold a Man," even the Man-God, "the Orient is His name." It will be the same all through My life on earth, only the few will recognize the Light of the world; most will not come to Me, but will prefer darkness rather than light. It will be the same with My sacramental life in the Church. I shall be there, but only the eye of faith will detect Me. The Sun of Justice has risen with health in His Wings, but only very gradually will He make Himself felt in a world that is sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death.

And why, O Orient, Splendour of the Light Eternal, why dost Thou not cast Thy bright beams over the whole world at once that all may know and recognize Thee as the Dayspring which has risen?

Because, My child, I love faith and it is by faith that I intend men to know Me. I do enlighten "every man that cometh into this world" (St. John I. 9), that is I give to each sufficient light to save his soul, to one more, to another less, and I shall judge according to the light I have given; but what I want from all is co-operation, I want their faith, I want them to believe, not because they can see and understand, but because by means of My grace in their hearts and especially by means of the revelation given to My Church I enlighten their minds. Yes, the Sun has risen with health in His Wings, and gradually He will increase in strength till the "uttermost parts of the earth" respond to His light. It is a work of time just as it is a work of time in each individual soul. The soul does not see clearly as soon as the light enters; there is a period when men seem like trees walking (St. Mark VIII. 24); but if only it will respond and hold on by faith, the time will come when it will see all things clearly.

O Orient, come and enlighten those that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death with the light of faith. It is faith that is needed on the earth, it is faith that is needed in each individual soul. It is faith that I need, more faith, more confidence in Thy dealings. Many shadows are still cast on my soul by sin--even a wilful imperfection casts a shadow. Oh What need I have of Thee, O Orient from on high, to come and visit me and chase away the shadows of the night! "Till the day break and the shadows retire" (Cant. II. 17, IV. 6).

POINT II. ST. THOMAS.

It is a coincidence, if not something more, that puts the antiphon _O Oriens!_ on the same day as the Feast of St. Thomas. It was on account of St. Thomas' _doubt_ that the great principle was given to the Church: "Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed." It is on account of St. Thomas' _faith_ that countless Indulgences are granted every day to the faithful who make use of his words: "My Lord and my God" when their sight shows them nothing but a little Host elevated by a priest. It was St. Thomas' _zeal_ which made him go to the Indies and proclaim that the Orient had visited His people and that God had become incarnate for men. "Thou didst make all the Indies shine with much light" (Hymn of the Greek Church to St. Thomas), and that light was the light of faith in Him Whom they had not seen. It is St. Thomas who comes to-day to revive our flagging faith, to introduce us to the Babe of Bethlehem and tell us that He is indeed the Orient though He is hiding His light, to warn us to give no heed to temptations against the faith, to tell us that when we are contemplating the humility and nothingness of our God and the temptation comes to us, as it did to him to say: Unless I see for myself, "I will not believe," to remember the words of the Master: "Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed."

O blessed Saint Thomas! who art now in the land of light and vision, intercede for us that we may be as little children, believing all we are told and quietly waiting till the day dawn and the Orient arises in all His majesty and strength, _preparing_ as a giant to run His course, but for the moment hiding everything under the form of a helpless babe. We do not ask for sight but for the light which will lead us to Him, the light of faith, so that when we see Him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger we may cry out with you: "My Lord and My God."

POINT III. THE WAY OF PEACE.

The Orient visited us not only "to enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death," but also "to direct our feet into the way of peace" (St. Luke I. 79). And what is the way of peace but the way of _faith_, which He is coming to light up? Nothing can bring peace to this dark and sin-stricken world but faith. The Sun of Justice is rising with health in His Wings and that health is faith. It is the remedy for all ills. Men try every other remedy but they leave out God and His faith and the result is that the world remains in chaos. The Light has risen, the Orient has visited us, but men shut their eyes to the light and prefer the darkness, because their deeds are evil.

The _Way of Peace_ is made by the Prince of Peace, it is the Highway to the Heaven of Peace. Am I on it? Yes, for I am one of "the household of faith" and can never thank Him sufficiently for having directed my feet into the City of Peace. But this is not all. Many people, even those of the "household of faith" have very little real peace in their lives. They spend their time in complaints, regrets, criticisms, anxieties. Is this what the King of Peace intends? Oh no! He is ever there waiting to direct their feet towards the "green pastures" and "the still waters," but the Way of Peace is the way of faith, of trust and confidence. Until I can really trust Him, the peaceful pastures can never be mine, I can never lie down in them and rest. I am His sheep, but I do not wholly trust my Shepherd. If I did, I should believe that whatever He chose and arranged for me was the best; I could not _complain_ of what He had planned for me, however hard it might be. I could not criticize His arrangements and want to make my own. May my trust be so absolute this Christmas that it is apparent to everyone that I possess the peace which the Babe of Bethlehem comes to bring. O Orient come once more and direct my feet into the way of peace.

_Colloquy_ with the Orient.

_Resolution._ "Although He should kill me, I will trust in Him." (Job. XIII. 15).

_Spiritual Bouquet._ O Oriens!

O REX GENTIUM!

December 22nd.

"O King of nations and their desired One and the Corner-stone
that makest both one, come and save man whom Thou didst form
out of slime!"

(Gen. XLIX. 10, Agg. II. 8, Isaias XXVIII. 16, Gen. II. 7).

_1st. Prelude._ Mary and Joseph on the road to Bethlehem. "Behold thy King will come to thee.... He is poor and riding upon an ass." (Zach. IX. 9).

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to welcome my King.

POINT I. "THE DESIRED OF ALL NATIONS SHALL COME."

King of nations He has always been, for He created them; in Him they live and move and are. (Acts XVII. 2). He has been in His earth ever since He created it, governing it, sustaining and preserving the life which He gave, co-operating always with His creatures. We must not think of Him as creating the world and then leaving it to do the best it could till the time came for Him to be incarnate. That is a false idea. His delights were _always_ to be with the children of men and though the Orient did not begin to dawn till the time of the Incarnation, the Light had been in the world all along; the Sun of Justice had existed from all eternity. "He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not." (St. John I. 10). But though it knew Him not, the world had enough light to desire Him. Ever since God at the time of man's fall had made His great promise concerning the Woman and her Seed, He that was to come had been to the nations "their desired One." That promise had been carefully cherished, handed on from father to son till Moses came and recorded it in the book of Genesis; and though of necessity one nation had to be selected to which the Woman and her Seed were to belong, yet the promise was given to all nations and all claimed their share in it. The chosen _nation_ through whom all the others were to be blessed was Abraham's. Through him and his seed the great promise was to be fulfilled (Gen. XII. 3). The _time_ was hinted at in the patriarch Jacob's blessing to Juda: "The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till He come that is to be sent and He shall be the expectation of nations" (Gen. XLIX. 10). The house or _family_ which was to have the joy of realizing the promise was David's; the _place_ where the Woman was to bring forth her Seed was Bethlehem. Here "she that travaileth shall bring forth" and here "shall He come ... that is to be the Ruler in Israel" (Mich. V. 2-3). Each subsequent prophecy or promise developed and enlarged the original one given in Eden, but in that one the nations had all that they needed upon which to build up their hopes and nourish their desires--the Woman and her Seed, the "Child with His Mother"--and though the promise _belonged_ to the chosen nation (Rom. IX. 4), the first great promise had been handed down through the other nations and they knew enough to make them _desire_, enough to find the Light if they sought it as did the Wise Kings of the East.

O King of nations, as I look back through the ages and see the Child and His Mother so clearly set forth in promise and prophecy, in type and example, when I think of Thy plans for the redemption of the world, made from all eternity and gradually unfolding as the fulness of time approached, when I think of the nations all desiring Thy coming, when I think of the intense desire of Thy loving Heart, there is one thing that seems to jar and to be out of harmony with the rest, and that is the lamentable want of desire in my own heart! The time is very short now, the Child with His Mother are already on the way to Bethlehem. Oh! Let me multiply my Acts of Desire that my little King when He comes may be indeed _my_ "desired One" too. "I sat down under His shadow, Whom I desired." (Cant. II. 3).

POINT II. THE CORNER-STONE THAT MAKETH BOTH ONE.

"Behold I will lay a stone in the foundations of Sion, a tried stone, a corner-stone, a precious stone, founded in the foundations" (Isaias XXVIII. 16), "the stone which the builders rejected" (Ps. CXVII. 22).

This is one of the promises confided to the chosen nation. Our Blessed Lord claims it as applying to Himself (St. Matt. XXI. 42, St. Luke XX. 17), and St. Peter and St. Paul both speak of it as if it were well known. (Acts IV. 11, 1 Peter II. 6-8, Rom. IX. 33, Eph. II. 20).

He is the Corner-stone Who is coming to make both one (Eph. II. 14), both the Jews to whom belongs the promise (Rom. IX. 4) and the Gentiles who are "co-partners of His promise" (Eph. III. 6). He is coming to preach peace to them that are far off as well as to them that are nigh, coming to make "the strangers and foreigners" feel that they are "fellow-citizens with the saints and the domestics of God," coming to weld all together into one great building of which He Himself is to be the chief Corner-stone, binding together the two walls (Jews and Gentiles), supporting each stone and keeping each in its place, a holy temple in the Lord, "a habitation of God in the spirit." Such is the picture St. Paul draws for us (Eph. II), and such is the picture which the antiphon for to-day brings before our minds. "All one in Christ JESUS." He is the King of all nations, the Desired of all nations, the Corner-stone of the whole building; with Him there is neither Jew nor Gentile (Gal. III. 28).

Let me tell Him even now before He comes how I long to share in the great work so dear to His Sacred Heart, let me offer myself to co-operate with Him in His designs for the human race which He loves so well.

Let me be ready to labour, to suffer, to pray, to spend and be spent, if only I may thus bring Him a few stones for His Holy Temple. I was "sometime afar off" but now have been "made nigh by the Blood of Christ" (Eph. II. 13). "What shall I render?" (Ps. CXV. 12).

POINT III. COME AND SAVE MAN WHOM THOU DIDST FORM OUT OF THE DUST.

"Their desired One" Who has never been far from the hearts of His children, knows the need of the nations. He Who formed man out of the dust knows his need of a Saviour. What are the desires of the nations compared with His desire? From all eternity He has desired the time to come when by taking the nature of man He could fulfil their desires and be to them both a King and a Saviour. Very soon now will the Angels be telling the glad tidings to man: To you is born the Saviour. Very soon will the heavenly choirs be singing the praises of the new-born King, and the question will be asked even by distant nations: "Where is He that is born King?"

Oh! come, little King, come and fulfil the desires of all hearts. Thou hast given them and Thou also must satisfy them. Art Thou really the one desire of my heart, around which all my hopes centre? If Thou wert not there, I know that life would be nothing but a blank. Come and create a greater desire than ever after the perfection Thou wouldst have, and then show me how to follow after it. "In what place soever Thou shalt be, my Lord King ... there will Thy servant be" (2 Kings XV. 21). To-day then I will journey with Thy blessed Mother, for surely the closer I keep to her, the greater must be my desires.

_Colloquy_ with "the desired One."

_Resolution._ Grace to desire Him more ardently.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ O Rex Gentium!

O EMMANUEL!

December 23rd.

"O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Expectation and
Saviour of the nations! Come and save us, O Lord our God."

(Is. VII. 14, VIII. 8, XXXIII. 22, St. Jas. IV. 12).

_1st. Prelude._ Mary and Joseph in the temple at Jerusalem.

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to worship with them.

POINT I. EMMANUEL, GOD WITH US.

On the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem lies Jerusalem and we may be quite sure that a happy event for Mary and Joseph on this long and tiring journey now nearing its end would be their visit to the Temple, near which Mary, and probably Joseph too, had spent most of her life. We may think, then, of Mary to-day taking her Son into His own Temple. We may think of the joy of the Angels as they lifted high the gates to let the hidden King come in. In the Holy of Holies of Solomon's Temple was the Ark of the Covenant, inside which were the Tables of God's law and upon which was manifested the presence of the All-Holy. But here kneeling in the Temple, in the women's court afar off, was the real Ark of the Covenant of which the other was only a type, hiding within her chaste womb the new Lawgiver Whose Presence was known only to the Angels who were worshipping round His Shrine, and to Mary and Joseph the only earthly worshippers in the Temple that day who understood.

Here was the Virgin with her Son, the prophecy was fulfilled--God with us. "His name shall be called _Emmanuel_."

Yet Mary and Joseph were not the only worshippers in the Temple that day--there was a Human Soul worshipping God as He had never been worshipped before. The Heart of Jesus now so near the end of the first stage of Its existence on earth was offering to God all Its homage and all Its love, offering to Him all the work that had been done during the nine months passed in the holy "Ark of the Covenant," all the humiliation and self-abasement, the silence and dependence, the suffering and patience, the satisfaction and merit. He had been doing all the time the things that pleased His Father, the things that He had made Himself man to be able to do. Now He is waiting--and the very waiting is another Act of worship--waiting for the moment to come when He can take the next step in His earthly journey, waiting with His Mother whose intense desire is only second to His Own.

O Emmanuel! God with us! I feel that I must go too to Thy Sacred Courts to-day and make one more worshipper before that Holy Shrine. Advent is nearly over, my time of preparation is well-nigh at an end. What have I to offer as I kneel in adoration? Feeble desires, broken resolutions, failure again in the thing I did so want not to fail in this Advent, good intentions, but little else. Dare I come and kneel there where all is so holy and so perfect? Yes, for He is _Emmanuel_, God incarnate for me. Let me hand Him through His Mother all my poverty and wretchedness and weakness and failure, together with my contrition and repentance and love, and in exchange He will hand me His forgiveness and the promise to offer my inadequate worship, together with His own Divine perfections, to His Father, Who will be satisfied. This is what _Emmanuel_ means.

POINT II. OUR LAWGIVER.

"The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King He will save us." (Is. XXXIII. 22).

He is our King, therefore He has a right to make laws for us. And who could be a better Judge of how the laws are kept than He Who made them? Am I afraid at the sterner aspect which things seem to have taken? There is no need, for He is still our _Emmanuel_, but He can only be thus our Friend and Companion by being also the One Who has an absolute right to make laws for us and to expect our obedience. "You are My _friends_, if you do the things I command you" (St. John XV. 14). The reason for _all_ His titles is that He wills to _save_ us. He is first of all the Saviour and then, in order that our salvation may be accomplished, He makes Himself our King, our Lawgiver and finally our Judge. "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Such is our Lawgiver's appeal. Surely His commandments are not grievous. He Who did always the things which pleased His Father, asks us to try to do the same.

O my little Lawgiver, accomplishing so silently and so perfectly the Will of Thy Father, command me and I will obey, give Thy orders through whom Thou wilt; be they hard or easy, be they in accordance with my will or contrary to my whole nature! I will think of Thy perfect submission to Thy Father's Will during those nine months for me and will say: I, too, will do always the things which please Him no matter what they cost.

POINT III. THE EXPECTATION OF THE NATIONS.

JESUS is waiting, Mary is waiting, the Angels are waiting, all nations, all the earth, and Heaven too is waiting--waiting for our Emmanuel to come and save us. The empty manger speaks of the Church's expectation to-day. We can count the hours now, all things are ready. Oh! come and save us! Come and begin Thy blessed work over again, come and save the many who as yet know Thee not and who are expecting everything this Christmas _except_ a Saviour. May the sight of the empty crib remind me to look well into my preparations to-day to see that nothing is wanting in the welcome I am going to give to the King!

_Colloquy_ with our Emmanuel. At the Incarnation, at Thy birth, all through Thy life, Thou didst dwell _with us_; on every altar Thou hast promised to be _with us_ all days; in Holy Communion Thou hast said I will dwell _with them_; in the hour of death I will fear no evil for Thou wilt be _with me_; and Thou hast secured Heaven for me by Thy prayer: "Father, I will that those whom Thou hast given Me be _with Me_ where I am." "Emmanuel, _God with us_."

_Resolution._ Grace to expect Him to-day in all that I do.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ O Emmanuel!

CHRISTMAS EVE.

"This day you shall know that the Lord will come and save us:
and in the morning you shall see His glory."

(Ex. XVI. "Introit" for Christmas Eve).

_1st. Prelude._ The stable and the manger waiting for JESUS.

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to make my final preparations.

POINT I. MY PREPARATION--LAST TOUCHES.

To-day Mary and Joseph arrive at their journey's end. We think of them footsore, weary, homeless; we think of the discouragement and rebuffs that they meet with as they hear on all sides that there is no room for them; but do we think enough of the intense joy that reigned in Mary's heart, a joy communicated to her by her Son? He is rejoicing that His hour is come; the very refusals of His people to receive Him and His Mother are to Him a sign that His work has begun and is already being opposed. Mary shares His joy; she is absorbed by one thought--soon she will look upon His Face--and that thought is so great that there is scarcely room for any other in her heart. And Joseph? Can we imagine him anxious and disturbed and worried? No, it is impossible--he is with JESUS and Mary, he has lived his life close to them for nine months, he has imbibed their spirit. If his joy is not as intense as theirs, his _peace_ is unruffled; he has brought the Mother with her Child to Bethlehem as he was told to do, and he knows that God will take care of His own.

My first lessons, then, for to-day are apparent. In the morning I shall see His glory; the point of Advent is reached, my preparation is nearly over. I was told to get ready for Him, I was told to come to Bethlehem, I have been trying to do so, trying to keep up with Mary and Joseph on their journey; often, I am obliged to admit it, it has been a following afar off, but still by God's grace, I _am_ following and I know that to-day He is coming to save us and that to-morrow I shall see His glory for He will come to me in Holy Communion. He will be born again in my heart and make me understand once more that He is incarnate for me. Are my joy and my peace so great that nothing has the power to touch them? There are many occupations that must of necessity claim my time and my attention to-day, as there were many coming and going on the roads that led to Bethlehem; there are many things to be thought about in my last preparations for Christmas--it was so with Mary and Joseph too. Almost certainly I shall have to-day, as they had, things that try and weary me, perhaps suffering, temptation, slights and even insults. Shall I receive them as last and most precious opportunities for adding the finishing touches to my preparation, for gaining a victory where I have perhaps so recently lost one, for making reparation to my King and for uniting myself more closely to Him and His Mother? Will the thought that He is coming be so absorbing that the difficulties of the way are hardly noticed or are welcome as a reminder that I too am journeying to Bethlehem? If I cannot aspire to the joy of JESUS and Mary, I can at least aim at the peace of St. Joseph.

POINT II. HIS PREPARATION.

_His_ preparation is coming to an end too. Let me go over in my mind once again all that He had to plan and to do by way of preparation before He could come to me in Holy Communion. It was for this that the Incarnation was a preparation. In order to feed me with His Flesh and Blood, He had to become incarnate. This is the point of Christmas, and it is the point of contact between JESUS and my soul. To-morrow Mary in an ecstasy of joy will look upon His Face and press Him to her heart; to-morrow Joseph, full of awe and wonder, will take Him in his arms; to-morrow the Angels will sing their _Glorias_ as they gaze upon their God incarnate; to-morrow the shepherds will adore and offer Him their gifts; and to-morrow I too shall touch Him very closely for I shall receive into my body and into my heart His Body and Blood, His Soul and His Divinity. He will be with me and I with Him. It is for this that I have been making my preparations and it is for this that He has been making His. How long has He been preparing? Not only during Advent, not only during the nine months, not only since the great promise was given in Eden, not only since the time when there was war among the Angels because of the Incarnation--I am getting beyond time already and farther back than that I cannot go for my mind is finite; but His is infinite and just because it is infinite there never was a time when the Incarnation was not in His mind, and there never was a time when I, His child, was not in His mind, and also there never was a time when He did not see the blest moments when He should bring the two into contact and make me understand personally what the point of the Incarnation is. These blest moments are my Communions and surely one of the most blest must be my Christmas Communion when He Who comes to me and Who feeds me with Himself is the Child Who was born at Bethlehem, He Who had been so long expected, the Seed of the Woman, the Orient from on high, the Star of the East, the Desired One of the nations, the Root of Jesse, the King of the Gentiles with His Key and His Sceptre, Emmanuel, God with us.