Advent Meditation~By St. Alphonsus de Liguori (December 3)

[Dawn Marie]

THE MYSTERIES OF THE FAITH

THE INCARNATION

Discourse by Saint Alphonsus de Liguori

December 3, 2014

 

Discourse 4

 

But what still more evinces the depth of the Divine love towards the human race is, that the Son of God should come in search of Him, whilst man was fleeing away from Him.  This the Apostle declares in these words,  "Nowhere doth He take hold of the angels; but of the seed of Abraham He taketh hold."  On which St. John Chrysostom thus comments:  "He says not, He received but He seized hold of; from the figure of those who are in pursuit of fugitives, that they may effect their capture."  Thus God came from Heaven to arrest, as it were, ungrateful man in his flight from Him.  It is as if He had said,  "O man! behold, it is nothing but the love of thee that has brought Me on earth to seek after thee.  Why wilt thou flee from Me?  Stay with Me, love Me, do not avoid Me, for I greatly love thee."  

 

God came, then, to seek lost man; and that man might more easily comprehend the love of this his God for him, and might surrender his love in return to One who so deeply loved him, He willed, the first time of His appearance under a visible form, to show Himself as a tender Infant, laid upon straw.  "O blessed straw, fairer than roses or lilies," exclaims St. Peter Chrysologus, "what favored land produced you?  Oh, what an enviable lot is yours, to serve as a bed for the King of Heaven!  But, alas!" continues the saint, "alas! you are but cold for Jesus; for you know not how to warm Him in that damp cavern, where He is now shivering with cold:  but you are fire and flames for us, since you supply us with a flame of love which rivers of water shall never quench."

 

It was not enough, says St. Augustine, for the Divine love to have made us to His own image in creating the first man Adam; but He must also Himself be made to our image in redeeming us."  Adam partook of the forbidden fruit, beguiled by the serpent, which suggested to Eve that if she ate of that fruit she should become like to God, acquiring the knowledge of good and evil; and therefore the Lord then said,  "Behold Adam is become one of us."  God said this ironically, and to upbraid Adam for his rash presumption; but after the Incarnation of the Word we can truly say, "Behold, God is become like one of us."

 

"Look, then, O man," exclaims St. Augustine, "thy God is made thy brother;" thy God is made like thee, a son of Adam, as thou art:  "He has put on thy selfsame flesh, has made Himself passable, liable to suffer, and to die as thou art.  He could have assumed the nature of an angel; but no, he would take on Himself thy very flesh, that thus He might give satisfaction to God with the very same flesh (though sinless) of Adam the sinner.  And He even gloried in this, oftentimes, styling Himself the Son of man; hence we have every right to call Him our brother."  

[bernadette szczepkowski]

Amen+

[Alley]

:)