Infant Jesus - why?

...sometimes Jesus appeared to St. Faustina as a child with no other clear purpose than to express His tender love for her and rejoice her heart. It became a gift of the Divine Presence. On Christmas Eve in 1937, for example, St. Faustina writes of one such encounter with the Holy Child:


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.

O come let us adore Him!

O come let us adore Him!

The ultimate Christmas post

The ultimate Christmas post is here.
If you love Christmas - read it.
If you hate Christmas - read it.
If you think Christmas is for kids - read it.
Whatever your relationship is to this time of year - READ IT!

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Mercy

God of unfathomable mercy, embrace the whole world and pour Yourself out upon us through the merciful Heart of Jesus.

— Diary of St. Faustina, 1183

Lord, today I bring You the whole world. Its suffering and violence, depravity and sin, take it all, Lord. Immerse it in Your mercy, flood it with Your mercy. And flood me with Your mercy, Lord. Melt my heart of stony ice, for You know how much I need Your mercy. I beg, I plead, I implore You: Have mercy on us and on the whole world.

More meditations here.

Hope

O Blessed Host, our only hope amid the ruin of our hopes and endeavors.

— Diary of St. Faustina, 356

Plans that never come to fruition. Goals that are never reached. Dreams that are never realized. It's hard not to become discouraged in the face of all these disappointments.

But what is the most important thing? That I love You, Lord. That I try to follow You as best I can, even when my best is far from "good enough." In You I find my hope that not one moment will be wasted, even if it doesn't totally turn out the way I want, because You can bring a greater good out of every disappointment. Right now, I beg You for the grace to surrender to You all my disappointments. Take them, use them for Your greater glory and grant me Your peace. I trust in You.

More daily reflections here.

Anonymous - I do have saints for you

Dear Anonymous,
Your heartfelt plea for prayers for your mother does not go unheeded. I am promising you right now that I will pray for her throughout Advent and beyond. I am also asking my readers to pray for her. I am not asking you to divulge her real name but can you provide us with a name that we can call her? It would make our prayers more personal.

You feel your faith is under attack and perhaps this makes it hard to pray. Perhaps the only prayer you can muster now is a simple aspiration such as "Jesus, mercy." This is sufficient. When even that is too much for you then know that we are praying.

My mom also died of a cancer of the reproductive system. She was 55. I can't say I know exactly how you feel because everyone has a different relationship with their mother but I do know what it feels like to watch someone you love suffering. I am praying especially that your mom will receive good pain relief.

God is not bound by the Sacraments; if your mother is not Catholic that doesn't mean she is not going to Heaven. Jesus transformed many things in order to sanctify us and bring us close to Him. He used mud to make a blind man see, changed water into wine, made bread into Himself, and laid down His earthly life so we could enjoy eternal life. Perhaps He is transforming your mother in ways that we cannot see that will bring her closer to Him. He is about right relationships, not just following the rules. After all, God's greatest attribute isn't just Love itself but love's result and extension. Obviously you love your mother very much.

I was so moved when I read your comment that I immediately decided to draw a saint for you and your mom. Your mother's saint is Zelie Martin, mother of St. Therese of Lisieux, and your saint is St. Gianna Beretta Molla. I trust you will find them good and holy helpers.

Please keep me posted on how your mother is doing and also how you are doing. I will pray the Divine Mercy chaplet for her. If you are not familiar with it you can find a link here.

Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven, You are my peace. You are my salvation, You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts. You are the bright ray that lights up the path of my life. You are everything to a lonely soul. You understand the soul even though it remains silent. You know our weaknesses, and like a good physician, You comfort and heal, sparing us sufferings — expert that You are.


— Diary of St. Faustina, 247

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