LOCUTUS EST NOBIS IN FILIO
"In many and various ways
God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets,
but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,
whom he appointed the heir of all things,
through whom also he created the world."
(Heb 1:1-2)
ET HABITAVIT IN NOBIS
"'And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us' (Jn 1:14).
The Greek word for flesh is sarx,
which denotes man as he actually is,
with his body,
and therefore its insecurity,
its weakness,
in a certain sense its transitoriness
('All flesh is grass'-as we read in the Book of Isaiah 40:6).
Jesus Christ is truly a man in this sense.
He took flesh and a human nature from his mother Mary, the Virgin of Nazareth.
...St. Ignatius of Antioch calls Jesus 'sarkophoros' (Ad Smyrn., 5)...."
(John Paul II, Audience, 27 Januray 1988)
DOLORES NOSTROS IPSE PORTAVIT (Is 53:4)
"Therefore Jesus had a body subject to fatigue and suffering,
a mortal body;
a body that finally undergoes the torture of martyrdom
through scourging, crowning with thorns,
and eventually crucifixion.
During the terrible agony when dying on the cross,
Jesus utters the words, 'I thirst' (Jn 19:28),
in which is contained
a final, sorrowful and moving expression
of the truth of his humanity.
Only a true man could have suffered
as Jesus suffered on Golgotha;
only a true man could have died
as Jesus truly died. ...
Only a true man could suffer and die on the cross,
only a true man could rise from the dead.
To rise again means to return to life in the body.
Although transformed,
endowed with new qualities and powers,
and also glorified ...,
it is a truly human body.
In fact the risen Christ makes contact with the Apostles;
they see him,
look at him,
touch the wounds which remained after the crucifixion.
He not only speaks to them and stays with them,
but he also accepts some of their food."
(John Paul II, Audience, 27 January 1988)
INCARNATUS EST DE SPIRITU SANCTO...
[Christ's Humanity] "is the work of the Spirit.
The Evangelist Matthew states this explicitly,
when referring to the Angel's words to Joseph:
'that which is conceived in her (Mary) is of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 1:20). ...
The Spirit shaped the sacred humanity of Christ:
his body and his soul,
with his intellect, will,
and capacity to love.
In a word, he molded his Heart.
Christ's life was placed fully under the sign of the Spirit.
It is from the Spirit that there comes to him
the wisdom which filled the doctors of the law and his fellow townspeople with amazement,
the love which welcomes and pardons sinners,
the mercy which stoops down to human misery,
the tenderness which blesses and embraces the children,
and the under-standing which soothes the pain of the afflicted.
It is the Spirit who directs the steps of Jesus,
who sustains him in trials,
and above all who guides him on his way to Jerusalem,
where he will offer the Sacrifice of the New Covenant ....
(John Paul II, Angelus, 2 July 1989)
...EX MARIA VIRGINE
On the other hand, Christ's humanity is also the work of the Blessed Virgin.
The Spirit molded the Heart of Jesus in the womb of Mary,
who collaborated actively with him as mother and educator:
--as mother, she adhered knowingly and freely to the salvific plan of God the Father,
accepting with trepidation and silent adoration
the mystery of the Life which had germinated and was developing in her;
--as educator, she had molded the Heart of her Son;
with St. Joseph she introduced him to the traditions of the Chosen People,
and inspired in him a love for the Law of the Lord .....
She helped him to develop his intellect
and exercised a sure influence in the formation of his character.
Although knowing that her Child surpassed her because he was 'the Son of the Most High' (cf. Lk 1:32),
the Blessed Virgin was no less solicitous for his human upbringing (cf. Lk 2:51).
Therefore we can truly say:
in the Heart of Christ there shines forth the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit;
in it also there is reflected the Heart of his Mother.
May every Christian's heart be like the Heart of Christ:
obedient to the Spirit's action
and to the Mother's voice."
(John Paul II, Angelus, 2 July 1989)
CALL HIM BY HIS NAME
"Let go of the fear
of calling the Lord by His name--Jesus--
and of telling Him that you love Him."
(St Josemaria, The Way 303)
VIVO AUTEM IAM NON EGO (Gal 2:20)
"The whole Christian life, then
is Christ and his love.
We ourselves live and love no longer,
it is Christ who lives and loves in us.
In us Christ loves the Father,
and the Father loves Christ in us.
Christ in us loves our neighbor,
and in our neighbor we love Christ."
(Eugene Boylan, This Tremendous Lover, p 368)
"Et erit unus Christus seipsum amans."
(St Augustine)
PRAYER
"Maria autem conservabat omnia verba haec
conferens in corde suo."
(Lk 2:19)
"Et mater eius conservabat omnia verba in corde suo."
(Lk 2:51)
Mary, Mother of Jesus, my Mother,
you listened to God's word,
you received the Son of God into your womb,
"and the Word was made flesh."
Teach me to listen to the Word,
teach me to meditate on it,
teach me to receive His Body and Blood,
teach me to welcome Him.
Teach me as you taught your Son,
bring me up in the school of the Savior.