The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-01-08

tation closed against her. The Sow
ereign of the Universe is driven to
seek shelter in stable, to receive
from the brute creation that hospital
ity refused Him by His own. 'He
came unto His own and His own re-.
ceiyed Him not" Well might He say:
Learn of Me, because am meek and
humble of heart" To make us value
still more this virtue of humility, the
first great mark of prediction which
He bestowed after His appearance on
earth was in its behalf. 1t was to a few
lowly shepherds, engaged in the hum
BILE occupation Of tending their flocks,
that He first impaired the good tidings
of His coming; to these wanderers of
the hill it was that the angels first
announced the birth of the Desired of
Nations, and the distinctive mark by
which He chose to be recognized was
the state of singular humiliation in
which they should discover Him.
This" said the Angel, "will be sign
to you: you will find the infant
wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid
in manager" Such was the first APP
pearance of the King Who was to
change the destiny of mana strange
beginning, surely, to a worldwide en-
pire. But so great was the attraction
of His divine humility that all the ma
lions gathered as His Feet, and bowed
before the presence of the hidden God.
Even in our days, when paganism and
unbelief reign under SO many new
forms and DISCUSSES, when people try
to forget the lessons of the Carpenters
Son-eyen in this our day the empire
OF the Divine Infant extends from pole
to pole, and above two hundred mil
lions of Christians gather in spirit
round the lowly manger of Bethlehem
and make their offering to the newly
born King. Such is the innate power
of this virtue of humility. It is the
salient virtue of the Man-God, the
necessary outcome of the mystery of
the Incarnation of the Son OF God. The
| devil taught man pride from the be-
ginning-the pride that wrought his
ruin; the lesson taught us by the In.
FAINT Jesus is humility, the profound
humility that raises us again to God
and heaven.
Again, the Divine Infant, with the
treasures of the universe at His dis
posaI, prefers for our instruction to
be born i'll a state of absolute in
digence. Out of all the kingdom
which His Hands had formed, He did
not possess whereon to rest His head
The swaddling bands of poverty are
the marks by which the King of Heay
en- chooses to be recognized at His
| first entrance into this world. His
palace is a stable; His cradle q
manager; His bed the litter, ON which
He is to repose in common with the
beasts of the field.
~ 4Gan.~ those = whems Providence has
destined to a life of poverty and hard
ship complain that the path on which
they have to walk is too rugged, hard
and painful, seeing that it has been
smoothed and softened by the foot
! steps of the Infant Jesus? If they
have hardships to endure-and they
have many-Christ vouchsafed tc
mitigate their rigor by first enduring
them Himself. Can they repine at 9
condition which, in preference to any
other, He chose for His own, espe
cially when they have the positive
assurance that ''if they suffer, they
shall reign with Him? If He deprives
them for the present of the dangerous
and transitory riches of this world
He will most amply repay them by the
| imperishable treasures of the next
Blessed are the poor in spirit, fol
theirs is the kingdom of heaven
theirs already. But observe that it is
only to those who are poor in spirit nc
less than in fact, that is, to those who
are satisfied with their state, however
Iowly, that He addresses this consolins
promise. God loves the virtuous poor
who are really contented with theil
| humble lot. Every moment of tot
and hardship they endure for Gods
sweet sake will be numbered and
placed to their account for ever
Every drop that labor wrings from
| their brow will add a new ray Of
brightness, new jewel, to their ever
lasting crown. They will then ex
perience, when the last great day o.
reckoning comes, that 1.-THE sufferings
of this time are not worthy to be com
pared with the glory to come, thai
shall be revealed in u.s. (Rom. VIII
49,.