CHAPTER XXI.
Mirror Of Justice.
God, who is infinite perfection, is infinite justice. Every conceivable or possible perfection is in Him in an infinite degree so that the union of them all constitute in Him but one infinite perfection, since He is the only infinite Being. There is nothing, nor can there be anything, wanting in Him.
"Glorify the Lord as much as you can, for He will yet far exceed, and His magnificence is wonderful. Blessing the Lord, exalt Him as much as you can, for He is above all praise. When you exalt Him, put forth all your strength, and be not weary: for you can never go far enough.
Who shall see Him and declare Him? And who shall magnify Him as He is from the beginning" (Ecc. XLIII—32-35). The more you study, admire, praise and magnify Him, the more scope you find to study, admire, praise and glorify Him.
In comparison to what He is, all our admiration, all our laudation of Him are less than the grain of sand compared to the universe, less than the dew drop, compared with the oceans of the world. Infinite in all things, there is nothing that can be added to Him. He gives of His treasures without diminution or change in Him. Whatever of perfection there is in the angels, in men, in all His creatures, it is in Him without limit, infinitely. He is infinitely justice, because He is infinite perfection.
"Infinite wisdom," says the Holy Scripture, "reacheth from end to end mightily and ordereth all things sweetly" (Wis. VIII—1).
In the incarnation, God, according to His infinite justice, brought together two extremes, two things the most widely different from one another, the infinite and finite, the divine and human. All was in disorder, but in becoming man, God reestablished harmony everywhere and in all things.
"Behold," says the Prophet Isaias, "a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel" (Isa. VII—14). Who He is, Saint Paul tells us: "And evidently great is the mystery of godliness, which was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the spirit, appeared unto angels, hath been preached unto the Gentiles, is believed in the world, is taken up in glory" (1 Tim. Ill—16).
He is the Word made flesh, true God and true man. As God, He is equal in all things to His Father. He possesses infinite justice, which is infinite perfection. The Incarnation is the masterpiece of the Almighty, more stupendous than the creation of the universe. There is an infinitely wider difference between God and man than there is between the world and nothingness. Man, the king of creation, is finite, so that the difference between Him and nothingness is not infinite whilst it is infinite between God and His creature.
But Mary, the ever glorious Virgin Mother of God, is the masterpiece of His creation. She possesses, in a supereminent degree, all graces, all perfections. There is neither spot nor stain in her. Of all creatures, she is the nearest and dearest to God. She is the marvel of creation, the prodigy of the universe.
If the grain of sand, the snowflake, the drop of rain, the insect, not visible to the naked eye, speak to us of God; if the sun in the heavens reflects His brightness, the moon His beauty, the ocean His immensity, the universe His greatness; if all nature mirrors His perfection, how supremely beautiful is He not reflected in the masterpiece of His creation, in His ever glorious and immaculate Mother. In God are all perfections. In Mary are all perfections. In God they are infinite, in Mary, they are necessarily finite.
Since the union of all perfections is justice, God is infinite justice, Mary is but finite justice, yet in a degree eminently above that of all other creatures. She mirrors, therefore, more perfectly God's infinite justice than do all the kingdoms of creation. Truly, then, is she the mirror of justice.
CHAPTER XXII.
Seat Of Wisdom.
Saint Paul gives us an insight into the wisdom and knowledge of God in his Epistle to the Romans.
"O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counsellor? For of Him, and by Him, and in Him are all things" (Rom. XI—33-36).
It is apparent from the teaching of the great Apostle, that wisdom is of the very essence of God. He is eternal wisdom, and from Him must all wisdom come. "Wisdom is an infinite treasure to men; which they that use, become the friends of God. For in her is the spirit of understanding, holy one, manifold, subtile, eloquent, active, undefiled, sure, sweet, loving that which is good, quick, which nothing hindereth, beneficent, gentle, kind, steadfast, assured, secure, having all power, overseeing all things, and containing spirits, intelligible, pure, subtile. She is a vapour of the power of God, and a certain pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty God; and, therefore, no denied thing cometh into her.
"For she is the brightness of eternal light, and the unspotted mirror of God's majesty, and the image of His goodness. For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom" (Wisd. VII—14, 22, 28). From this eloquent description of wisdom, wherein we find that God loves only those who dwell with wisdom, we fully understand what the Apostle writes of Jesus Christ, the well beloved Son of Eternal Wisdom. "In whom," (Christ Jesus) "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colos. II -3).
"But we preached Christ crucified, unto the Jews, indeed, a stumbling block, and unto the Gentiles foolishness: but unto them that are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. I—2, 3,24).
The Apostle declares that true wisdom is to know Christ and Him crucified, for the knowledge of Christ and His Cross is wisdom. "Howbeit we speak wisdom among the perfect; yet not the wisdom of the world, neither of the princes of this world that come to naught; But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, a wisdom which is hidden, which God ordained before the world; which none of the princes of this world know; for if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor. II—6-8).
It is, therefore, wisdom to know Jesus Christ and what He has endured for us. It is to have a knowledge of Christ and of His Cross, of His grace, of the Incarnation, of redemption, salvation and eternal glory. All these heavenly blessings come to us through Jesus who is the wisdom of His Father. True wisdom consists in knowing, loving and serving God above all things; it helps us to follow Jesus and to praise and thank Him with our whole heart and soul.
Mary loves, above all men and angels, God and Jesus best. Rather than place in jeopardy her immaculateness, she would have rejected the honor of becoming His Mother. Only on the assurance of the angel that she would remain a virgin did she give her consent that the Word should be made flesh of her.
God said to Solomon: "Ask what thou wilt that I should have to give to thee." "Give me," answered Solomon, "wisdom and knowledge."
And God said to Solomon: "Because this choice hath pleased thy heart, and thou hast not asked riches, and wealth, and glory, nor the lives of them that hate thee, nor many days of life: but hast asked wisdom and knowledge; wisdom and knowledge are granted to thee" (2 Paralip. I—7, 10, 11).
Solomon received the gift of wisdom that he might serve God wisely and rule justly his people, over whom God had placed him.
Mary is called to govern, not one people, but all men and nations through the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus, the Redeemer and Saviour of the world. To rule wisely and in entire conformity to the will of her Creator, she supplicates Him that she should remain always a virgin most pure, most chaste. So acceptable was this to God, that He assured her that she should remain immaculate and that a union more intimate still should exist between them, for He would, in the person of His Divine Son, tabernacle in her most chaste womb and be born of her.
Eternal wisdom would take up His abode in her, and our Mother Mary, our sweet loving Mother, would be the throne, the seat of wisdom among men.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Cause Of Our Joy.
Cause Of Our Joy.
Jesus Christ is the real, the infinite source of our joy. Unfortunately for the human race, sin entered into the heart of the first man and drew upon him and his posterity misery and death.
The pleasant relationship between the Creator and His creatures were severed; their close union was broken. God sought man, after his fall, where He was wont to hold colloquy with him, but man fled from the face of his Creator, knowing that he was no longer worthy to appear before Him.
It was a sad lot for man. Was this sorrowful condition to endure always; was no reconciliation to be affected; had peace for all time fled from his soul? No; the merciful Saviour offers to make reparation for the wrong and restore man to the friendship of his Creator. Jesus, our loving Lord, is our joy, for we were in bondage and He freed us.
He loved us even unto death, and that the ignominious death of the Cross.
Our joy is founded on the mercy of God, Who will heed the prayer and accept the sacrifice of His well-beloved Son for us. "Let your soul rejoice in His mercy" (Eccl. LI—37). It rests on our confidence and hope in God. "For my hope is in the Eternal, and joy is come upon me from the Holy One" (Baruch IV—23).
It comes from God's own promise to us. He will send a Saviour who will crush the head of the tempter and restore peace to the heart of man. "I," said the Lord of Hosts, "I Myself will comfort you" (Isaias LI—12). "Then shalt the Virgin rejoice in the dance, the young men and the old men together: and I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them joyful after their sorrow.
And I will fill the soul of the priests with fatness: and my people shall be filled with My good things," saith the Lord (Jer. XXXI—13, 14).
The coming of our Redeemer in our midst, the efficacy of the merits of His passion and death applied to us, give allegress to our souls. In His day the prophet Habacuc exclaimed: "I will rejoice in the Lord: and I will joy in God my Jesus" (Hab. Ill—18).
Hundreds of years before the advent of the Redeemer, the prophet announced His name and rejoiced in Him. He foresaw that through Jesus all would be delivered from the slavery of the most wicked one, and that we would be blessed and would rejoice in Him. Happy is the soul that corresponds to the love of Jesus for us. He is our joy, our peace, our life. He is our all.
But who is the woman promised by the Almighty, whose seed should be our Saviour Jesus, the joy of the human race? All generations know her and call her blessed. She is none other than the humble Virgin Mary of Nazareth, the Mother of Jesus. On her answer to the Angel whom God sent to announce to her that she was to become the Mother of His Divine Son, depended the coming of Jesus, who is our joy.
Her consent was awaited by the Most High, and when she spoke her flat: "Be it done unto me according to Thy word" (Luke I—38), Jesus nestled 'mid the lilies of Mary's virginal womb, took of her substance and was born of her.
"Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee" (Luke I—28). You pleased the Lord our God, who chose you for the Mother of His Son, who is our joy. We hail you, O most sweet and loving Mother as the cause of her joy, and all generations, throughout the endless ages, shall call you blessed. .
CHAPTER XXIV.
Spiritual Vessel.
In the Acts of the Apostles we find a narrative of the life and mission of Saint Paul.
Saul of Tarsus, which was his name before he became an apostle, was in his day a violent persecutor of the followers of Christ. While on his way to Damascus, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, Jesus appeared before him, surrounded by light, and chided Saul for persecuting Him. His heart was changed and he asked our Lord what He would have him to do.
Jesus bade him arise and go into the city, where he would learn what would be expected of him. Jesus called His servant Ananias and requested him to seek out Saul of Tarsus, who was in the house of Judas, to restore to him his eyesight, which he had lost, to instruct and to baptize him.
Ananias, who had heard of the persecutions waged by Saul against the Saints of God in Jerusalem, feared to seek him out. But our Lord said to him: "Go thy way, for this man is to Me a vessel of election, to carry My name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel" (Acts IX—15).
Encouraged by the words of Jesus, Ananias went to the house where Saul was and told him of his mission to him.
Saul received him kindly, listened attentively to his instructions, was baptized, and immediately went forth to preach Christ crucified in the synagogues, declaring Him to be the Son of the living God.
God prepares His servants and adorns them with the needed graces for the work He calls them to do in His name. In a most miraculous manner did He select Saint Paul, making him a vessel of election, "to carry His name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel."
If God condescended to make use of the marvelous to fit unto Him a "vessel of election" in the person of Saint Paul, who was to bear His name to the Gentiles and proclaim that Christ is in very truth the Son of God; what prodigy will He not be pleased to work in order to create a vessel worthy to carry, not merely His name to a people, but to carry Himself to the whole world?
The vessel that is to carry Him must be as far as possible like unto Him, for none other would be a fitting receptacle for Him. But God is an infinite pure spirit. He is the Alpha and Omega of all things. "I am," He says, "who am." Saint Thomas calls Him a pure act. Saint John says: "God is a spirit, and they that adore Him, must adore Him in spirit and in truth" (John IV—24).
In the secrets of Divine Providence, He resolved to take unto Himself our human nature, and to do so, he fitted a vessel, all spiritual, wherein He might be carried, and would even take of its substance to form for Himself a body and become man. This spiritual vessel, the wonder of God's creation, was Mary, His Mother, whom He created without spot or stain, immaculate, full of grace.
He put forth the might of His arm in creating her, making her all fair in body and soul, for she it was whom, from all eternity, He had chosen to be the Mother most holy, most pure, of Jesus. She is that Spiritual Vessel wherein He, the infinite, pure spirit was carried without prejudice to His infinite perfection.
CHAPTER XXV.
Vessel Of Honor.
In Saint Paul's second Epistle to Timothy, he warns him against those who had the temerity to abandon the truth and embrace error. But the Apostle assures his disciple that he is consoled in the fact that God's eternal decree, whereon rests the salvation of His chosen ones, is irrevocable. All the efforts of Satan cannot prevail against it.
In Saint Paul's second Epistle to Timothy, he warns him against those who had the temerity to abandon the truth and embrace error. But the Apostle assures his disciple that he is consoled in the fact that God's eternal decree, whereon rests the salvation of His chosen ones, is irrevocable. All the efforts of Satan cannot prevail against it.
"The Lord knoweth who are His, and not one of them shall perish." "Let every one depart from iniquity who nameth the name of the Lord," and he shall be saved. Whence comes it that there are to be found many unworthy members in His Church? The Church is likened to a household, whose inmates differ widely among themselves. "In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and earth; and some, indeed, unto honor, but some unto dishonor."
"If any man, therefore, shall cleanse himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and profitable to the Lord, prepared unto every good work" (2 Tim. Ill—20-21). Contrariwise, those who follow false teachings, or who surrender themselves to the corruption of their heart are in the house of God like vessels of dishonor, and they shall be instruments of His justice and victims of His wrath. The Apostle declares that the vessel of honor is the one "sanctified and profitable to the Lord, prepared unto every good work."
Sanctification is the first requisite for the vessel destined unto honor. The more sanctified the vessel of honor, the more precious it is. Of all the members of God's household, in a word, of all His creatures, Mary is the nearest and dearest to Him, because she is the most sanctified. The Divine maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the closest union that can possibly exist between the Creator and one of His creatures. It was made possible by the loveliness and holiness of the vessel, the immaculate Virgin Mary. She obeyed the injunction or Zachary that we serve God, "in holiness and justice all our days" (Luke I—75). She well understood what her Divine Son meant when He said to the woman who exclaimed: "Blessed is the womb that bore Thee;" "Yea, rather," said Jesus, "blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it" (Luke XI—28).
Sanctification, in the words of the Apostle, is: "To present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God" (Rom. XII—1). This Mary did all the days of her life. And, while sanctified in body and soul, she was also "profitable to the Lord." To her alone is God, so to speak, indebted, for she gave Him of her own substance wherein to form the body of His eternal Son, Jesus.
He was to be the promised Redeemer, hence he had to become man, and this could be affected only through the most chaste and ever blessed Virgin Mary, the vessel chosen for the greatest honor in the gift of God to man, that of being His Mother. She is, in all truth, the vessel of honor. She was "prepared unto every good work." Her whole life was one continuous act of love towards God and her Divine Son, Jesus. God's will was law with her, and she accomplished perfectly every design that God had on her. He had chosen her from all eternity as that vessel of honor wherein He was pleased to dwell.
She is holy above all the saints and angels; she is profitable to the Lord more than all His other creatures; she fulfilled more perfectly than all of them His divine will in her. She is the vessel honored by angels and men, exalted and honored by the Creator Himself.
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