What consequences for the world and for each of us does this Child Whom we contemplate in a manger bring? Among others, it is the offering of a choice: either we let ourselves be deified by Him, or, frustrated and full of pride, we attempt to usurp the throne of God through our own efforts.
Gospel of the Nativity of the Lord – Mass During the Day
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. 4 What came to be through Him was life and this life was the light of the human race; 5 the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 A man named John was sent from God. 7 He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world came to be through Him, but the world did not know Him. 11 He came to what was His own, but His own people did not accept Him. 12 But to those who did accept Him He gave power to become children of God, 13 to those who believe in His name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified to Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of Whom I said, ‘The One who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because He existed before me.’” 16 From His fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, 17 because while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, Who is at the Father’s side, has revealed Him (Jn 1:1-18).
I – “To You this Day Is Born A Saviour”
Amidst the shadows, the poverty in which the beautiful Child lies arouses a certain sense of pity. His crib is but a simple and rustic manger worn by the use of countless animals. His bedding of straw complements the humble swaddling clothes wrapped around Him.
It is a winter’s night. An ox and a donkey provide Him some warmth since the grotto’s roughly hewn stones retain the cold and humidity typical of the season. If, in visiting a palace, we were to encounter such a scene, it would seem to be an aberration. Nonetheless, the reality is even more shocking, since it unfolds in a crude, inhospitable and isolated grotto.
Who is this Child, born in such desolate conditions?
To find out, it would suffice to leave this grotto and wander through the hills of Bethlehem, where we would find some shepherds searching, with boundless joy, for this same Child. Amidst emotional exclamations, they would tell us: “An Angel, resplendent in glory, appeared to us, and as he approached, his brilliance encompassed us. We greatly feared, but he reassured us by affirming that he came bringing good tidings. For this night has been born a Saviour in the City of David, Who is Christ the Lord. The Angel told us how we should recognize the child. He would be wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Then the Angel ascended into the heavens and joined a heavenly multitude, singing in magnificent chorus: Glory to God in the highest and peace to men of good will on earth. And this is why we are going to Bethlehem, to see these happenings” (cf. Lk 2:8-15).
Then we could return to the grotto to adore the Lord, Jesus Christ the King. We would again behold Mary and Joseph, silent and imbued with unequalled piety, devotion, wonder and tenderness. In our imagination, we also kneel and let ourselves be enveloped by this atmosphere of graces and blessings flowing from the Divine Infant.
We contemplate His countenance, so peaceful, serene and radiant. His smile is captivating and His gaze so full of wisdom. He is absolutely unique. His skin is far superior to ivory, and softer than ermine. His physical appearance is perfect; the hands, the little arms, the legs and tiny feet constitute the most beautiful work of art ever seen. Everything about Him is so well proportioned that not even the angelic intelligence would be capable of imagining Him. He moves His limbs with such elegance, distinction and nobility that, at times, we forget that this is a baby. And we cannot help but notice the close resemblance He bears to His Mother.
At this point in our admiring contemplation, all aspects of poverty and misery vanish from our sight. We now see the awaited One of the Patriarchs, Prophets and Kings, Who, long before birth, had been acclaimed Immanuel—God with us (cf. Is 7:14), “Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of peace” (Is 9:6). In Him is found the sublime mystery of wisdom and mercy, united with the highest and most unforeseen glorification of human nature.
We are reminded of the words of Isaiah: “Behold, a young Woman will conceive and bear a Son” (Is 7:14).
Centuries later, regarding this birth, St. Bernard would comment: “It is fitting that a God be born in such a manner: of a Virgin. And to this Virgin, it was perfectly fitting that she give birth to God Himself.”1
II – Man Is Consumed with a Thirst for the Infinite
Christmas offers a powerful lesson at the start of this millennium so pervaded with egalitarianism. Since the departure of our first parents from Paradise, human pride—a treacherous and insatiable vice, on par with the non serviam of Lucifer—has always been at odds with authority above itself. When given free rein, this pride brings its victim, in the first stage, to desire absolute equality in the distribution of goods, conditions of existence, gifts, etc., and it craftily conceals the desire of being god, king of creation, and of disposing of the latter as it pleases. Thus, the proud man tirelessly seeks to dominate all beings around him.
The delirium of being equal to God, the root of humanity’s demise
This insane ambition, echoing the cry of revolt in Empyrean Heaven, was the cause of the first sin on earth. The serpent could find no better means to lead Eve to disobedience than promising her equality with God: “you will be like God” (Gn 3:5). Attracted by such an impressive promise, Eve did not hesitate. It is evident from the description in Genesis, that within the yet innocent soul of the mother of the human race, the dream of being “like God” had awakened a strong desire. This is at the very root of our banishment to this land of exile.
It did not take long for God to see “that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gn 6:5). But the flood did not bring humanity back to the right path: it was not long before man wanted to build a tower that would reach the heavens (cf. Gn 11:4-9). Not even the chastisement of the confusion of tongues was sufficient to stem the irrational desire of being equal to God. In Rome, as in Persia and Syria, tyrants were not lacking who, to be adored, built temples and obliged their fellow creatures to worship them.
Were it not for lack of time and space, we could fill countless pages with the absurdities committed by man over the course of history, seeking to usurp the throne of God.
However, it is not necessary to search the distant past to analyse this absurd tendency. We need only open newspapers or magazines, turn on the television or radio, or enter some worldly setting to find one of the main causes of present-day impiety.
Humanity lives as if God did not exist; practical atheism has taken hold of the entire world. While few will affirm that they do not believe in God, they deny His existence by their manner of living, their way of being and their customs. People have lost the sense of how ridiculous self-praise is. It is unusual to find someone who only rarely speaks of himself. Self-worship has reached unimaginable extremes: the repetition of “me…myself…and I…” is the centre of every conversation and concern. We are witnessing, with our hands tied, the abolition of any and all idealism, and of the highest values. This is why the same frustration that was generalized at the time of the flood or after the disappointment caused by the unsuccessful Tower of Babel, is now taking hold of present-day humanity, leading to the conjecture, for example, that nervous depression will soon become the most common malady. The annals of history will bear witness to the fact that the evils of our day are due to mankind’s refusal to humble itself before God, consumed by its desire of occupying His throne.
There is only one way to satisfy our thirst for the infinite
To cut to the root of the sins committed everywhere today, souls would only have to hearken to the message that the Divine Infant brings us, from His bed of straw in the manger.
The thirst for the infinite ardently burns within our will, but there is no true rest for us outside of God, as St. Augustine affirmed.2 And it was God Himself Who created this yearning, to help us search for the Absolute. Nevertheless, we will never reach this plenitude to which we so passionately aspire, if we rely solely on our own strength. It could be said that it is a paradox. Why would God want to inflame our poor hearts with unattainable desires, since we do not have the means to realize them? Is this an example of little or no paternal kindness on the part of God?
No! God is Goodness in substance. He truly wants to make us “gods”… not by means of an egalitarian revolution rooted in pride on our part, but through humility, submission and love. This exuberant diffusion of goodness can be seen even in the work of creation. The sun never tires of sending us its heat; the waters give forth their fish; the earth its fruits, always in superabundance. They are mineral, vegetable and animal beings, which, if able to experience happiness, would rejoice in giving themselves over to the service of humanity. This is but a pale reflection of the infinite goodness of the Creator, Who, to redeem us from sin and reconcile us to Himself, resolved that His Word would take on flesh and surrender His life to the last drop of Blood: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”
This is the solution for a problem that has existed for millennia: God realizes that which, by our mere natural strength, is impossible. We could never become equal to God by our own efforts; therefore, He clothed Himself in our flesh and was born as a Divine Child: God is Man, and, in Him, man is “god”!
This is the “magnum mysterium” of which choirs sing on Christmas Eve:
“O magnum mysterium, et admirabile sacramentum, ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, iacentem in præsepio. Beata Virgo, cuius viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Iesum Christum. Alleluia — O great mystery and admirable sacrament, that animals see the Lord born, lying in a manger. Blessed Virgin, whose womb was worthy to bear the Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia.”
The magnitude of this event is so extraordinary that it constitutes one of the principal mysteries of our Faith.
The power to make us sons of God
The effects of this marvel were not limited to the manger or the grotto of Bethlehem; they even reach us. If we enter any church and approach the baptismal font, we will perhaps encounter an infant awaiting the miraculous moment of rebirth through water. Sin and darkness are its inheritance, and the curse of God follows it. With the administration of the Sacrament, grace pervades the infant’s whole being, the virtues and gifts are planted in the soul, and at that moment, what was a mere creature becomes a child of God, a living tabernacle of the Blessed Trinity, and an heir of Heaven. In a word, it is divinized: “From His fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
But to what point does this “fullness of grace” reach? Today’s Gospel tells us: “But to those who did accept Him He gave power to become children of God; to those who believe in His name, who were born, not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.”
The renowned twentieth-century theologian, Fr. Antonio Royo Marín, OP, addresses this subject: “In virtue of this divine graft, the soul becomes a participant in the very life of God. It is a true spiritual generation, a supernatural birth which imitates natural generation, and recalls, by analogy, the eternal generation of the Word of God. In a word: as St. John the Evangelist clearly states, sanctifying grace not only gives us the right to call ourselves ‘children of God’, but in reality makes us such: ‘See what love the Father has given us that we may be called children of God; and so we are’ (1 Jn 3:1). This ineffable wonder would seem unbelievable, were it not explicitly stated in divine Revelation!”3
He became like us to make us like Him
Speaking further on the same subject, this fondly remembered theologian affirmed: “The dignity of a soul in grace is so great that all the greatness of the things of the earth vanish like smoke before it. What is nobility or kingship compared to a beggar who, although clothed in rags, carries in his soul the infinite treasure of sanctifying grace? All the grandeurs of the earth become nothing and misery, inasmuch as they end with death. The grandeur of a soul in a state of grace, on the other hand, infinitely surpasses the boundaries of time and the sphere of the entire created universe, reaching, in its soaring flight, God himself in His own divinity. In other words, it becomes similar to Him as He is in Himself. Thus, the least participation in sanctifying grace is worth infinitely more than the entire created universe; that is, the whole ensemble of beings created by God, past, present and future, until the end of time, taken in their totality.
“St. Thomas does not hesitate to write: ‘The good of grace in one is greater than the good of nature in the whole universe: Bonum gratiae unius maius est quam bonum naturæ totus universi (I-II, q.113, a.9 ad 2).”4
He became one of us, equal to us, so that we could be of Him, equal to Him. Is it possible to give a creature a greater good? Evidently, the answer is no. Accordingly, we should make every effort to avoid a revolt against the Child we adore on Christmas Eve. It is indispensable, in the scope of a holy reciprocity, to surrender ourselves unreservedly to Him. We should enthusiastically accept His invitation, love perfection, embrace the way presented here and be just like Him, thus to enjoy eternal happiness.
We must choose to be for Christ or against Christ
Incredible as it may seem, this invitation was, is, and will be rejected by many, leading them to perdition. However, by its acceptance, a great number will attain a resurrection in glory: “Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against” (Lk 2:34). How can such an immense paradox be explained? This Child will later state, during His public life, that He came to save (Jn 12:47). That being so, why then did the elderly Simeon prophesy that He would be a “sign that is spoken against”?
It is not difficult to solve this puzzle if we bear in mind the affirmation of Our Lord in the Gospel: “He who is not with Me is against Me”(Lk 11:23). There is a clear reference here to the only two factions existing in the world: those for Christ and those against Him. He does not speak to us of a third position: non datur tertius. Either one is with Christ or against Christ. Until the Word assumed flesh, there had been no clear and indisputable manifestation of Truth, Goodness and Beauty. From the moment of His birth in Bethlehem, the possibility of indifference in face of God was abolished, for there was God Himself made Man. Before such splendour, we either surrender ourselves, body and soul, or we will have embraced the opposition. In effect, not desiring to be divinized with the help of grace, embracing the agreeable and fleeting pleasure of sin, and decidedly adopting this way of life, is to become an enemy of Christ.
No one renounces the desire to be “god.” Those on the side of Christ love this divinization, humbly accepting their state of contingency. Others strive to achieve this through their own efforts, and in their pretentious pride judge themselves to be in an evolutionary process that is transforming them into necessary and absolute beings.
In the present world, where vice, crime and sin are so widespread, we can ask ourselves: who is wholeheartedly with Christ?
This question is appropriate, given that today’s Gospel tells us: “He came to what was His own, but His own people did not accept Him.” Would today’s world accept this Child, who is Innocence, Purity and Integrity in essence? To accept Him, is to adhere to Him and understand Him in the love and fulfilment of the Law, for it is not enough to say “Lord,” it is necessary to do the will of the Father (cf. Mt 7:21). Now, pride and sensuality, which, by means of a centuries-long process have been undermining humanity, are presently producing their most bitter and harmful fruits in a world that looks on thoughtlessly and carelessly at the evanescence of the family, innocence, chastity and of so many other virtues. The worst moral atrocities are being sanctioned by a growing chain of governments. The Law of God is being contested and substituted by atheistic, relativistic and illicit human decrees. Fashions, in their irrepressible striving to reach the utopia of nudism, today tend to the ragged, the eccentric and real or apparent dirtiness. Ugliness has replaced beauty, malice has driven out kindness in social relations, and the lie arrogantly asserts itself and despises the truth. Could it be said that this world accepts Jesus?
It would be wise for the present world to look back historically to see how God deals with His enemies, with those who abuse His mercy by revolting against His precepts. At the beginning of creation, we see the fate of Lucifer and his accomplices, or the bitter consequences of the disobedience of our first parents. Scripture tells us that God begins by laughing at those who mock Him and ends by condemning them (cf. Ps 2:4-5).
III – Jesus Desires the Salvation of All
Who, therefore, will accept this Child born on Christmas Eve? The righteous—men and women who remain faithful to the Law, lovers of Truth, Goodness and Beauty, who refuse to bend their knees before Baal. How many will they be? Their number does not matter. Whether they are few or many, the day will come in which they will witness the triumph of Jesus, “full of grace and truth”, in “His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (Jn 1:14).
He desires the condemnation of no one (cf. 1 Tm 3:4). He always sought, from His Incarnation, the salvation of all, and this is His disposition in the manger. It was humanity’s wickedness that caused Him to lament in the Garden of Olives, in asking Himself: “Quæ utilitas in Sanguine meo?” (Ps 29:10). It is the evil use of our free will that precipitates us into eternal misery.
Thus, “to those who did accept Him, He gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (Jn 1:12). This is the true meaning of the words of Our Lady in Fatima: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” ◊
Notes
1 ST. BERNARD. De laudibus Virginis Matris, Hom. II, n.1. In: Obras Completas, vol. II: Tratados (2º). (Ed.2). Madrid: BAC, 1994, p.615.
2 Cf. ST. AUGUSTINE. Confessionum, L.I, c.1, n.1. In: Obras, vol. II. (Ed.7). Madrid: BAC, 1979, p.73.
3 ROYO MARÍN, OP, Antonio. Somos hijos de Dios. Madrid: BAC, 1977, p.21.
4 Idem, p.18.
