"minister to the wants of the Incarnate Word; but "much more Blessed was she, in that she was and ever will be the keeper and doer of the love due to "that same her Son." Is it not this same truth which our Lord teaches us on that other occasion, where he says: Whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother? And why was the Angel sent to Mary in preference to all the rest of the daughters of Israel, but because she had already conceived the Divine Word in her heart, by the vehemence of her undivided love, the greatness of her profound humility, and the incomparable merit of her virginity? Why, again, is this Blessed among women holy above all creatures, but because, having once conceived and brought forth the Son of God, she continues for ever his Mother, by her fidelity in doing the will of the heavenly Father, by her love for the uncreated light of the Divine Word, and by her union as Spouse with the Spirit of sanctification? : We But, no member of the human race is excluded from the honour of imitating Mary, though at an humble distance, in this her spiritual Maternity for, by that real Birth which she gave him in Bethlehem, which we are now celebrating, and which initiated the world into the mysteries of God, this ever Blessed Mother of Jesus has shown us how we may bear the resemblance of her own grand prerogative. ought to have prepared the way of the Lord2 during the weeks of Advent; and if so, our hearts have conceived him therefore, now, our good works must bring him forth, that thus our heavenly Father, seeing not us ourselves, but his own Son, Jesus, now living within us, may say of each of us, in his mercy, what he heretofore said, in very truth, of the Incar 1 St. Matth. xii. 50. St. Matth. iii. 3; Is. xl. 3. nate Word: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.1 Let us give ear to the words of the Seraphic Saint Bonaventure, who, in one of his sermons for Christmas Day, thus explains the mystery of the birth of Jesus in the soul of man. "This happy birth hap"pens, when the soul, prepared by long thought and "reflection, passes at length to action; when the flesh 'being made subject to the spirit, good works are "produced in due time: then do interior peace and "joy return to the soul. In this birth, there is neither travail, nor pain, nor fear; everything is "admiration, and delight, and glory. If then, O de"vout soul! thou art desirous for this birth, imagine thyself to be like Mary. Mary signifies bitterness; bitterly bewail thy sins: it signifies illuminatrix; "be thou illumined by thy virtues and lastly, it sig"nifies Mistress; learn how to be mistress and "controller of thy evil passions. Then will Christ "be born of thee, and oh! with what happiness "to thyself! For, it is then that the soul tastes "and sees how sweet is her Lord Jesus. She ex"periences this sweetness, when, in holy medita"tion, she nourishes this Divine Infant; when she covers him with her tears; when she clothes him "with her holy longings; when she presses him to "her heart in the embrace of holy tenderness; when, in a word, she cherishes him in the warmth of her glowing love. O happy Crib of Bethlehem! "in thee I find the King of glory: but happier "still than thou, the pious soul which holds within "itself Him, whom thou couldst hold but corporally!" Now, that we may pass on from this spiritual conception to the birth of our Lord Jesus; in other words, that we may pass from Advent to Christmas, 1 St. Matth. iii. 17. we must unceasingly keep the eyes of our soul on Him, who wishes to be born within us, and in whom the world is born to a new life. Our study and ambition should be, how best to become like Jesus, by imitating him; for, though the imitation must needs be imperfect, yet we know from the Apostle, that our heavenly Father himself gives this as the sign of the elect their being made like to the image of his Son.1 Let us, therefore, hearken to the invitation of the Angels, and go over to Bethlehem.2 We know what sign will be given to us of our Jesus-a Child wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and laid in a crib. So that, you, O Christians! must become children; you must not disdain to be tied in the bands of a spiritual childhood; you must come down from your proud spirit, and meet your Saviour who has come down from heaven, and, with him, hide yourselves in the humility of the crib. Thus will you begin, with him, a new life. Thus will the Light, that goeth forwards and increaseth even to perfect day, illumine your path the whole remaining length of your journey. Thus the sight of God which leaves room for faith, and which you receive at Bethlehem, will merit for you the face-to-face vision on Thabor, and prepare you for the blissful UNION, which is not merely Light, but the plentitude and repose of Love. So far, we have been speaking only of the living members of the Church, whether they began the life of grace during the holy Season of Advent, or were already living in the grace of the Holy Ghost when the ecclesiastical Year commenced, and spent their Advent in preparing to be born with Jesus to a new year of higher perfection. But, how shall we overlook those of our Brethren, who are dead in sin; and so dead, that neither the Coming of their Emmanuel, 1 Rom. viii. 29. 3 St. Luke, ii. 12. we nor the example of the Christians throughout the universal Church earnestly preparing for that coming, could rouse them? No, we cannot forget them: love them, and come to tell them, (for even now, they may yield to grace, and live,)—that there hath appeared the goodness and kindness of God our Saviour. If this volume of ours should perchance fall into the hands of any of those, who have not yielded to the solicitations of grace, which press them to be converted to the sweet Babe of Bethlehem, their Lord and their God; and who, instead of spending the weeks of Advent in preparing to receive Him at Christmas, lived them out, as they began them, in indifference and in sin :-we shall, perhaps, be helping them to a knowledge of the grievousness of their state, by reminding them of the ancient discipline of the Church, which obliged all the Faithful, under pain of being considered as no longer Catholics, to receive Holy Communion on Christmas Day, as well as on Easter and Whit Sundays. We find a formal decree of this obligation given in the fifteenth Canon of the Council of Agatha, (Agde,) held in 506. We would, also, ask these poor sinners to reflect on the joy the Church feels, at seeing, throughout the whole world, the immense number of her children, who still, in spite of the general decay of piety, keep the Feast of the Birth of the Divine Lamb, by the sacramental participation of his Body and Blood. Sinners! take courage; this Feast of Christmas is one of grace and mercy, on which all, both just and sinners, meet in the fellowship of the same glad Mystery. The heavenly Father has resolved to honour the Birth-day of his Son, by granting pardon to all, save to those who obstinately refuse it. Oh! how worthy is the Coming of our dear Emmanuel to be honoured by this divine amnesty! 1 Tit. iii. 4. Nor is it we that give this invitation; it is the Church herself. Yes, it is she, that with divine authority, invites you to begin the work of your New Life, on this Day, whereon the Son of God begins the career of his human life. That we may the more worthily convey to you this her invitation, we will borrow the words of a great and saintly Bishop of the Middle-Ages-the pious Rabanus Maurus-who, in a Homily on the Nativity of our Lord, encourages sinners to come and take their place, side by side with the just, in the stable of Bethlehem, where even the ox and the ass recognise their Master in the Babe who lies there. "I beseech you, dearly beloved Brethren, that you "receive with fervent hearts the words our Lord 'speaks to you, through me, on this most sweet Feast, on which even infidels and sinners are touched with "compunction; on which the wicked man is moved. "to mercy, the contrite heart hopes for pardon, the exile despairs not of returning to his country, and "the sick man longs for his cure; on which is born "the Lamb who taketh away the sins of the world, 'that is, Christ, our Saviour. On such a Birth Day, "he that has a good conscience, rejoices more than "usual; and he whose conscience is guilty, fears with a more useful fear. Yes, it is a sweet Feast, "bringing true sweetness and forgiveness to all true "penitents. My little Children, I promise you without hesitation that every one, who, on this Day, shall repent from his heart, and return not to the "vomit of his sins, shall obtain all whatsoever he shall "ask; let him only ask with a firm faith, and not re"turn to sinful pleasures. * * "On this Day, is taken away the sins of the entire "world-why needs the sinner despair? On * * as this Day of our Lord's Birth, let us, dearest Brethren, "offer our promises to this Jesus, and keep them, "it is written: Vow ye, and pay to the Lord your |