Ave Maria Mediations
In order to draw closer to men and give them a more convincing proof of His love, Eternal Wisdom went so far as to become man, even to become a little child, to embrace poverty and to die upon a cross for them. How many times while here on earth could He be heard pleading, “Come to Me, come to Me, all of you.
Do not be afraid, it is I. Why are you afraid? I am just like you; I love you. Are you afraid because you are sinners? But they are the very ones I am looking for; I am the friend of sinners. lf it is because you have strayed from the fold through your own fault, then I am the good Shepherd. lf it is because you are weighed down with sin, covered with grime and utterly dejected, then that is just why you should come to Me for I will unburden you, purify you and console you.”
Eternal Wisdom, on the one hand, wished to prove His love for man by dying in his place in order to save him, but on the other hand, He could not bear the thought of leaving him. So He devised a marvelous way of dying and living at the same time, and of abiding with man until the end of time. So in order fully to satisfy His love, He instituted the sacrament of Holy Eucharist and went to the extent of changing and overturning nature itself.
He does not conceal himself under a sparkling diamond or some other precious stone, because He does not want to abide with man in an ostentatious manner. But He hides himself under the appearance of a small piece of bread – man’s ordinary nourishment -so that when received He might enter the heart of man and there take His delight . Those who love ardently act in this way. “O Eternal Wisdom,” says a saint, ” O God who is truly lavish with Himself in His desire to be with man!”
St. Louis Marie de Montfort
