The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1956-03-02
Just Among Ourselves
Passing cOmmenr Considered or Ineons,derste

The fires burn low in the sugar camps; Venture
some crocuseS peep through snow if they can
find any, the first robin has made a thousand
appearances to As many delighted citizens; the
perennially inactive person. begins to account
for his normal Iassitude as the effect of spring
fever.
II is interesting to notice that the season of
spring begins somewhat earlier in the calendar Of
Church feasts than in the calendar of civil
dates. Spring in the Church begins with the
first Sunday Of Lent; this year, the date was
February l9. Often it is earlier than that, as
much as eight days earlier
Ii is also interesting to notice that the season
of fasting and abstaining, the time of special
penances and special devotons is not the winter
of the Church but the spring. 1t is not the season
OF gloom and lifelessness; IT is the glad season
of life and the promise of rich frultfulness. In
deed, the Church has season of gloom;
she has no time for empty sadness and depres-
sion of spirit Yet il is significant that her spring.
call to strong effort, to the achieving OF Joy
through holy sorrow, comes in what this world
regards the dead of the gloomy winter.
March is not only Lenten month. 1t uniteS
with its penances the glad celebration Of great
FeastS Sometimes Easter Day itself comes to-
wards the end of this first spring month. And
always March is the month of the foser-father
of Christ. ST. Joseph 1t is the month of Our
Blessed Mothers Feast of the Annuncation.
And therefore March is also, before others, the
month of the incarnation Within its span of
thirty-0ne days this third month of the year
brings wildly to minds and hearts these Wond-
rous facts. The incarnation Of the Son of God;
the SufieringS of Our Blessed Lord, and in
some years, even His Death and Resurrection;
the coming of Divine Motherhood to Mary; the
IN oT ha
great saint of silence and power Joseph, Guard.
ian of the Holy Family, Patron and Protector of
the Universal Church.
On Annuncaton Day the archangel Gabriel,
messenger of God, came on earth with the great
est news that ever the ears Of mankind were
ever To hear. He came to tell the Blessed Virgin,
and, through her. to tell all the world of men,
that God Himself was TO become man, that,
in our human nature He could suffer and die,
and so offer adequate atonement to the Father
for human sin, and open once more to the chill
dren of Adam the way to eternal JOY in heaven.
The moment the Blessed Virgin Mary consent
cd to follow her glorious vocation; the instant
she said to the archagel Behold the handmaid
of the Lord, be ii done to me according to thy
word at that same moment Our DIVINE Saviour
was conceived in her womb. In that most pre-
cous instant God actually became man. That mo-
ment was the exact moment of the incarnation.
II was on the first Christmas Day that Our
Lord was born into the world to dwell ylSlbly
among us, but it was on Anunciation Day that
He became man And March brings US Annunca-
ton Day.
When God became man. there was no change
whatever in God. The eternal and completely
changeess nature and essence of God, which is
one and the same in all three persons of the
urin hat iG ~
united substantially with ltselD the complete
nature or working essence of man. The union
OF the two natures was effected IN the Person
of the Divine Son, and the personality of Christ
is the personality of the Son, Christ is the Son
of God one and undivided in divine nature with
the Father and the Holy Ghost; Christ is dl-
vine Person, not human person, But He is
nevertheless true man. for He has true human
nature taken from true human mother, with
out human father under the power "of the
Most High"
We repeat: when we say that God became
man. we do not mean that there was change
in God With God there is no change or shadow
of alteration. II change can be predicated of
anything concerned in the Incarnation, il must
be attributed 10 The human nature assumed and
not To the Divine Nature nor TO the Divine Per
son assuming But Our Lord was not an existing
human person who was changed into the Divine
Person of the Son of God, no, change is WORD
out of place in this discussion. The human nature
of Christ tbody, soul blood was created in
Mary'S womb at one and the same indlvlsible
instant in which it was substantially Joined with
the Divine Nature in the Person or HypoStdStS of
God the Son. And this is the HgpoStdtic Union,
The honor we pay to God, and to Christ who
is God as well as man. in our reveren consider
alton OF the glorious mystery of the Incarnation,
involves honor TO her who was marvelouSly hon
ored by God in the enacting of this mystery.
We honor Mary on the day of Annunciation,
how long after the Annunciation Our Lady
held the sacred secret as her own, we do not
know But presently in Gods Providence, st,
Joseph was made aware Of it, and was divnely
instructed that Child conceived in the womb
of his holy spouse was "of the Holy Ghost"
II is no wonder that Christian appreciation
of saving mysteries quickly brought ST. Joseph
into the scene OF the incarnation II is no Won
der that Catholic piety soon discovered the fiji
ness of making the month of the Annuncation,-
which is as we have noticed the month also
of The lncarnation,--a time of special dedica
tion to St Joseph most favored of saints after
the Mother of God herself.
We surely make no mistake in placing rev
erent and affectionae reliance upon the interces
sion of that most noble saint upon whom Mary
relied upon whom Our Lord deigned To rely ir
his human childhood Let this March see us new