The Grace of Christmas
Jesus speaks: I was born, born for you in a cave in December, in the cold, homeless, in the middle of a winter’s night, in the unheard-of poverty of the extremely poor, in solitude, in an abandonment unique in this world. What, my children, do I want you to learn from my birth? To believe in My love, to believe that I have loved you until now. To hope in Me, who have loved you so dearly. I want to teach you to despise the world, which was so unimportant to Me. I want to teach you poverty, lowliness, solitude, humility, penance. I want to teach you to love me, for I was not content with giving Myself to the world in the Incarnation, sanctifying it invisibly in the visitation; no, that did not satisfy My love. From the moment of My birth onward, I showed myself to you, giving myself wholly to you, putting myself in your hands. From then on, you could touch Me, hear Me, possess Me, serve Me, console Me.
Love Me now; I am so close to you. In My unimaginable goodness, I did not merely give Myself to you at My birth for a few hours or years: I am still in your hands, and shall be henceforth until the end of the world. Think of the unending good fortune I brought you in My birth: the ability to serve Me – to serve Me by serving the Church, to serve Me by serving your neighbor, to serve Me Myself, living there near you in the tabernacle. Not only can you serve Me, you can also console Me …
How happy you should be to be able to console Me at every moment of your lives! By becoming so small, so gentle a child, I was crying out to you: Have trust! Come close to Me! Do not be afraid of Me, come to Me, give Me what children need: loving embraces. Do not be afraid, do not be so frightened in the presence of such a gentle Baby, smiling at you and holding out His arms to you. He is your God, but He is all smiles and gentleness. Do not be afraid.
Bl. Charles de Foucauld
