The record-union., 1897-12-19

| DS0t 10 the END or the incarnation.
Sickness and disease are not among the
general liabilities of the fall of Adam
and We're not in the perfect body OF the
Holy Child. But it was to endure colo
and heat, hunger and thirst. weariness
pain and death itself. United as it was
Immediately to the divine nature, it was
the body of God. There was conferred
on it an infinite dignity, so that to the
sacred flesh, to the precious blood in life
| and in death there is to Joe rendered the
same alteration. the same absolute wor-
| ship as to God himself. Had ii not been
for love of us and of suffering and by
the exercise of the omnipotence of the
| Divine Word the body Of the God child
would have always shown with the glo-
rious splendor manifested on Thabor.
The soul of the Babe of Bethlehem had
from the first moment of existence the
full and free exercise of its faculties un-
bampered in any way by the body which
| it vivified. It was substantially united
20 God the all-holy 1t was flooded With
! sanctifying grace. As foretold by lsal-
ah: 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" In
| Christ then Shere was no sin: he was
! physically incapable of SHINING; nor
could there be in him the least involun-
| tary rebellion of the flesh against the
| spirit: temptation could only come from
without. His human will was ever sub
| ject to his divine will. In the garden he
| prayed: Father, if thou Wilt, remove
this chalice from Me; but yet not my
Will, but Thine be done" the will of the
| Father being none other than the Divine
| will in Christ. Every act of his human
! free will was the act of the Son of God
and therefore of infinite value. By every
such act was the Divine Child meriting
for the sons of men justification, eternal
| life, and an ineXhaustible treasure OF
| spiritual gifts and graces.
| From the very first, the soul of the
Babe of Bethlehem enjoyed that blessed
| vision of God as He is and face to face
which the angels and saints have in
heaven. By it the mind of Christ could
not completely embrace the infinite be-
| ing of God, for this is incomprehensible
| tC every created intellect But this
blessed vision carried into His soul a
world of light and joy. and love and glo-
ry, forming the most rapturous adora-
| ton.
There was also at the same time in
| fused into the mind of the Divine Child
all the knowledge of men and of angels.
The present, the past. the future lay be-
| fore Him in their distinct details. With
out effort or investigation He knew all
PHILOSOPHERS. all sciences, modern and
ancient, all discoveries that ever have
been or ever will be made; for "in Him
are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge"
| It further pleased Christ to acquire
knowledge as do other men by the exer-
else of His senses and His mental fac
ultias. We read in Holy Writ that He
grew in age and WISDOM" and again
that He learned obedience by the things
which He suffered" This acquired ex-
perimental knowledge was not an in
| crease to what was already known by
infusion, but another manner Of learning
the same wisdom In this Christ con-
descended to become like to the sons Of
men.
Enriched with all this holiness and
knowledge anointed with the Holy
Ghost and power" the soul of the God
|
most intense human feelings Of love and
compassion, of joy and sorrow. He re-
ioiced in the glory to be given to His
! eternal Father, in the love Of His earthly
parents: He rejoiced that He was to be
our mediator and high priest, that He
was to declare and bear witness to the
new revelation, that He was made head
over all the church. and that men were
/ ~. l,oiY Of
lasting happiness. But amid all the
joys. He was already the man of sor-
rows. The sight of Gods outraged maj
esty and the sins of men with their IN
gratitude. the foresight of His humilia-
tions and ignominious death, the fore
Knowledge of all that Mary and Joseph
would suffer, were present to the Dl-
vine Infant whether sleeping or wax
ing.
The Son of God is become the son of
man, a member of the great human TAM
ily. BY Him is the wall OF separation
between Jew and Gentle broken down
for "the tidings of great JOY shall be 10
all the people" And through Him are
we made the adopted sons of God, and
He our elder brother. Glory tnen IN
the highest for this manifestation of
power and wisdom, of goodness ana
mercy. In this stupendous mystery OF
love each person of the Most Holy Trim
ity took active part. The Father so
loved the world as to give His only be-
gotten Son." Therefore, coming into the
world the Son sayeth: Sacrifice and OBJ
lation thou wouldst not but body thou
hast fitted to me; holocausts for sin did
not please thee; then said / behold l
come; in the head of the book it is writ
ten Of me that I should do Thy will,
O Cod" The part taken by the third
person of the Holy Trinity is manifested
in the miraculous conception of the
,,-o,.l7 ,,,a5o Aacb a+ Nazareth.