When I arrived at Midnight Mass, from the very beginning I steeped myself in deep recollection, during which time I saw the stable of Bethlehem filled with great radiance. The Blessed Virgin, all lost in the deepest of love, was wrapping Jesus in swaddling clothes, but Saint Joseph was still asleep. Only after the Mother of God put Jesus in the manger did the light of God awaken Joseph, who also prayed. But after a while, I was left alone with the Infant Jesus who stretched out His little hands to me, and I understood that I was to take Him in my arms. Jesus pressed His head against my heart and gave me to know, by His profound gaze, how good He found it to be next to my heart (Diary of St. Faustina, 1442).
Tender moments in prayer such as this one filled St. Faustina with wonder at the mystery of the Incarnation: God loved us so much that He came among us and was born in a lowly manger to win our hearts for His own. In this way, St. Faustina reminds each of us of the value of slowing down and simply basking in the holy presence of the Christ Child. We adore Him as the Word made flesh for our salvation. As she writes, "... the inconceivable miracle of Your mercy takes place, O Lord. The Word becomes flesh; God dwells among us, the Word of God, Mercy Incarnate" (Diary, 1745).
Saint Faustina also discovered that devotion to the Christ Child deepens our trust in God, because we know we have nothing to fear from a God who would stoop so low as to become a little child for us. What repentant sinner can possibly cringe in fear before the Almighty, All-seeing, Thrice Holy God, if He gives Himself to us in weakness and helplessness, with the smiles and tears of an infant? He disarms our fear of His justice with His littleness. As St. Josemaria Escriva wrote: "He has become so small —you see: a Child! — so that you can approach Him with confidence." After Holy Communion one day, St. Faustina experienced the disarming power of the little Christ Child in one of her most touching visions:
...I suddenly saw the Infant Jesus standing by my kneeler and holding on to it with His two little hands. Although He was but a little Child, my soul was filled with awe and fear, for I see in Him my Judge, my Lord, and my Creator, before whose holiness the Angels tremble. At the same time, my soul was flooded with such unspeakable love that I thought I would die under its influence (Diary, 566).
Previous to reading this I never understood devotion to the Infant Jesus. I do now.
