The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-01-03
THE MAcI.
What the Wise Men DO at Bethlehem
Their Gifts to Jesus-The Re-
ward Of Their Generosity.

they nave learned Where the Messiah
is to be found. And now the star
again goes before them, pointing out
to them the road they are to follow.
This repeated favor of divine provi-
dence fills them with great joy:
They are at Bethlehem. The star
rests over the place where the Child
is. But what place! This wretched
stable, unfit even to shelter brute
beasts, can it be the dwelling of Him
who, is the King of Kings? The wise
men have no doubt, and here we see
the perfection of their faith. Faith
was strong in these men when they
undertook the journey, stronger still
when they continued after the dis
appearance of the star, when, not find
ing Him, they sought Him at Jeru-
salem; but here at Bethlehem, their
faith is what we may venture to call
heroic. They enter the stable; some
thing within them tells them that this
Child is the Redeemer of the world,
that He is God and all the name i'm
plies. They take no offence at the
poverty that surrounds Him. The
swaddling- clothes, the manger, even
the weakness of the Child, nothing of
what they see clouds their belief.
Faith teaches them the greatness of
the newborn King, teaches them of
what His divine kingdom really con-
sists They fall on their knees, prais-
ing and adoring.
How penetrating the eyes of true
faith! These men acknowledge God
of all majesty and power in that hum
BILE Child At the foot of the Cross,
one day, they will know Him also, in
spite of the immense sorrow that ac-
companies His death. o my God, give
me spark of their faith when I ap-
proach the altar Thou givest light to
the humble and lowly, for them Thou
hast no secrets. Like the Wise Men
wish to annihilate myself; show to
me, as Thou didst to them, glimpse
of Thy majesty, and the world will be
nothing but Thee.
The Gifts They Offer.
The gifts the Wise Men offer indi-
cate plainly what an exalted idea they
have of the Child. Gold means the
tribute which is due to temporal
kings; they acknowledge Him as the
newborn King. Incense is offered to
the divinity; they acknowledge Him
as God. Myrrh, which is used in pre-
serving the body from corruption, was
a figure of His humanity which was
to suffer death for love of us. So the
Wise Men acknowledge in the Child
at Bethlehem their King, their God,
their Saviour.
Jesus is all that for us as well as
for the Wise Men; let us offer to Him
gifts also, and may our hearts be as
pleasing to Him as we're the hearts
of the Wise Men. Charity is some
times compared in Scripture to gold
refined in the fire; we must buy that
fire from Jesus and give it back to
Jesus: But how can we purchase it?
Bossuet answers: Love is bought by
love. He who already loves, may
love still more ardently; in loving
your neighbor you can learn to love
God" Incense is burned. The per
fume of incense is the result of light
ing it, Let us annihilate ourselves in
the presence of God. Again says
Bossuet: "He that denies himself and
forgets himself, burns with the love
of God; such one is an incense
pleasing to Almighty God" In the
language of the Church, incense is
also an emblem of prayer: Myrrf
represents modification; this last pre-
serves the soul from the corruption OF
sin, making of man, as it were, liv
ing victim, holy and acceptable tC
Almighty God
What They Receive in Return fol
Their Gifts.
st. Bonaventure has represented tt
us the Wise Men on their knees be
fore the poor manger, where the Sol
} of God was born. He says: 'Theil
} souls were filled with sweet consola
J, ton" After adoring the Son the!
} converse with the Mother; they tel
, her of the occasion of their journey
: the many incidents connected with it
| and the Virgin Mother speaks to then
of the mystery of her Son. TIL
child Jesus, with a loving smile, show
plainly how pleased He is with thei
! coming. On the other hand they gaz
on Him with unutterable joy, not onl,
with the eyes of faith, but with bodil,
eyes also, for Jesus was the fairies
among the children of men. In return
! for the gold they have offered, says
{ pious writer, they receive the gift Q
: true wisdom, which enlightens thei
: minds in regard to the sublime mys
+ teries of religion, and enables them t
j impart the same to others; for tn
gift of incense, the spirit OF praye
: was given them, prayer by which the
/. parted with the world to cling to Go
only; for the gift of Myrrh. God CAV
them the science of the cross; H
taught them the value of the suffel
: ings endured in life for the sake {
e God.
BY the advice of an angel, the
went back by another way into thei
$ own country. There is no doubt tina
e they spread everywhere the news
t what God had done for them. Afte
|. adoring Jesus, they went away lik
/ so many apostles; later on they wi
{ he martyrs. How fast one prOgresSe