Chapter V

In the Holy Mass Christ Renews His Nativity

In that day the mountains shall drop down sweetness, and the hills shall flow with milk.“(Joel 3:18) Thus the holy Church throughout the world speaks of the sweet mystery of Our Saviour’s birth. And, indeed, on that day of days, when the only-begotten Son of God, clothed in human flesh, was born into this world, it may truly be said that the mountains dropped down sweetness, and the hills flowed with milk and honey. For He Who is sweeter far than milk and honey, Who is Himself the plentiful source of all sweetness, by His entrance into the world made all things sweet; He brought true joy from heaven, He brought peace to men of good will; He brought comfort to the afflicted, to the world the dawn of a new and brighter day.

Oh, how great was the joy of the heavenly Father in that night when He beheld His well-beloved Son, begotten from all eternity, born of the pure Virgin, whom He vouchsafed to call by the endearing name of daughter! How great the gladness of the Son of God when He beheld Himself clad in the vesture of our humanity, possessing now not only a Father in heaven, but a Mother on earth besides! How great the satisfaction of the Holy Spirit on beholding Him Whom He had united to the Father from all eternity in the closest bond of a perfect love now by His operation joined so intimately to human nature that the two natures, so infinitely distinct and diverse, were united together in the one person of the God-Man! How great the sweetness which filled the soul of the Blessed Virgin when, gazing on her new-born babe, she told herself that the infant she held in her arms was not her Son alone, but also the Son of the Eternal Father, the most high God!

How great, moreover, was the happiness of those who were privileged to look upon the fairest of all the children of men, and to hold Him in their embrace! We read in the life of St. Joseph of Cupertino that it was revealed to him that, after the return of the three kings to their own country, crowds of pilgrims flocked from all parts of the land to Bethlehem to see the newly-born King of the Jews, to feast their eyes on His wondrous beauty. He adds that they entreated the Mother of Jesus to permit them to take the lovely infant in their arms, and press Him to their heart. This our blessed Lady graciously allowed them to do, noticing to her astonishment that the gentle Child lovingly caressed the good, whilst He held Himself aloof from the evil.

Although we rightly count those privileged persons happy, yet it must not be forgotten that we are even more privileged than they, since we may daily gaze with the eye of faith on that tender infant, and may share in the gladness attending His birth* Listen to the words of Pope Leo L: “Our minds enlightened and our love enkindled by the record of the evangelists and the utterances of the prophets, we do not seem to regard the birth of Christ as an event of the past, but as one present to our sight. For we hear proclaimed to us what the angel announced to the shepherds: ’ Behold, I bring you tidings of great joy; this day is born to you a Saviour. Every day we may be present at this happy birth, every day our eyes may behold it, if we will but go to Mass. For then it is in very deed renewed, and by it the work of our salvation is carried on.”

The same is told us in the revelations of the Abbess Hildegard: “At the moment when, in the Mass, the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ the circumstances of His incarnation and birth are mirrored before us as clearly as when these mysteries were accomplished by the Son of God when He was on earth.” This testimony has been confirmed by the Church; she bears witness to the truth that the birth of Christ is renewed and represented afresh in the sight of Heaven, just as when it took place more than 1800 years ago. In what manner and by whose agency Christ is born in holy Mass St. Jerome tells us in these words: “The priest calls Christ into being by his consecrated lips”; that is to say: Christ is born into the world at the bidding of the priest when his lips utter the words of consecration. Pope Gregory XV. declares the same in the prayer he enjoins upon the priest to recite before saying

Mass: “I am about to celebrate holy Mass, and to call into being the body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ”

Holy Church herself teaches us that the birth of Christ is effected anew after a spiritual manner in the Mass, for she places on the lips of the officiating priest the self-same song of praise which the angels sang on Christmas morn: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will/* (Luke 2:14) Let us, when these words sound in our ears, imagine ourselves listening to the angel who thus spoke to the shepherds.” I bring you good tidings of great joy; for this day is born to you a Saviour, Who is Christ the Lord. You shall find the Infant wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and laid in a manger.“(Luke 2:10-12) Suppose our angel guardian were to say to us:” Rejoice, my child, for now, in this Mass, thy Saviour will be born for thy salvation; thou wilt see Him with thine eyes under the form of the sacred host.“If our guardian angel does not say this to us, our faith tells it to us, and ought we not to rejoice on this account? And if we really believe this, we shall adore the divine Child at holy Mass with the same reverence and affection as did those who were privileged to behold Him with their bodily eyes.

In the life of the fathers we read that a certain priest named Plegus, who habitually said Mass with great devotion, conceived a special desire to know in what manner Christ was present under the veil of bread and wine; not that he in any way doubted his Lord’s real presence there, but love prompted the wish to see Him with his bodily eyes. One day when he was saying Mass, immediately after the elevation, this desire was so strong within him that he fell upon his knees, and said: “I beseech Thee, Almighty God, that Thou grant to me, unworthy as I am, to behold the bodily form of Jesus Christ in this sacred mystery; that as Simeon of old took Him in his arms, so I may see Him with my eyes, and touch Him with my hands.” While he thus prayed, an angel appeared at his side, and said to him: “Behold, and see Christ here present in bodily form, as when He was an infant on His Mother s knee.” Startled by these words, the priest raised his head, and there, lying upon the corporal, he saw the Son of God in the shape of a beautiful babe, that looked at him smilingly, and stretched out His tiny hands to be taken in his arms. But out of reverence the priest ventured not to do this, until the angel said: “This is Jesus, the Son of God, Whom a few moments ago thou sawest under the form of bread; He is now present as He really is; fear not, but rise up, and take Him in thy arms, and let thy heart rejoice in God thy Saviour.” Encouraged by these reassuring words, he rose from his knees, lifted the Child in his trembling hands, and caressed Him fondly. Then, gently laying Him again upon the corporal, he again knelt down, and humbly prayed Him to resume His former shape, in order that he might receive Him in holy communion, and bring the Mass to an end. When after this prayer he again stood up, he saw the Blessed Sacrament once more in the form of the consecrated wafer, and consumed it with singular devotion.

This instance has been given in order that we may know and believe that in holy Mass Christ is not present to the imagination alone, or in *a purely spiritual manner, but really and truly, and in a bodily form: the self-same infant Christ to Whom the Mother of God gave birth at Bethlehem, and Whom the three kings came to adore. Here, as there, His countenance is concealed by swaddling-clothes, that is, by the external shape of the consecrated host which we see with our eyes. But the tender child Who lies hidden beneath those outward forms can only be perceived by the interior sight of faith, the faith that believes undoubtedly that Our Lord is in truth concealed beneath this lowly form. The reasons why He thus conceals Himself from our view are many; the principal one is this, to give opportunity for the exercise of faith in so momentous a matter, and enable us to acquire merit every time we hear Mass. Numerous instances might be adduced in which Our Lord, for the confirmation of our faith in His personal presence, has permitted devout Christians, nay, more, Jews and unbelievers, to see Him in bodily shape. We will give one.

Albertus Krantius relates at some length the efforts repeatedly made by the Emperor Charlemagne to convert the pagan Saxons to the Christian faith. Although he more than once completely subjugated them by force of arms, and compelled them to abjure their idolatrous practices, again and yet again, under the leadership of Wittekind, their chief, they fell away from their Christian profession. It was in the Lent of one year when, for the twelfth time, the emperor entered their land at the head of a large force. Easter approached, and all the soldiers of the imperial army were ordered to prepare themselves for the reception of the sacraments, and for the devout celebration of the festival in their camp. At that time Wittekind, the Saxon chieftain, went to the German intrenchments with the object of witnessing the Christian ceremonies. In order to escape recognition he disguised himself in the rags of a mendicant, and in this character, without any companion, he entered the camp, and begged alms of the soldiers. Meanwhile he carefully observed all that was going on, and obtained all the information he could. He noticed how on Good Friday the emperor and all the soldiers went about with a mournful mien, kept a strict fast, and spent a considerable time in prayer; how on Holy Saturday they went to confession, and on Easter Day received holy communion. Whilst he was assisting at the Mass, at the moment of the consecration he distinctly saw in the hands of the priest a beautiful child of most engaging aspect, the sight of which filled him with a joy and happiness which he had never before felt. During the remainder of the Mass he could not take his eyes off the priest. His astonishment was still greater when, on the soldiers going up to receive communion, he saw the priest give the same beautiful child to each communicant, by whom it was received, though not always in the same manner. For to some the child went with evident delight; from others He turned away, resisting with all His might, and only going to them under compulsion. The Saxon chief did not know what to make of the unheard-of marvels which he witnessed. At the conclusion of the Mass he left the church, and took his stand amid a swarm of beggars, who solicited alms from the congregation as they passed out. The emperor gave to each mendicant with his own royal hand, and as Wittekind extended his hand to receive the coin destined for him one of the emperor’s servants recognized him by the peculiar formation of one of his fingers. The man whispered to his royal master: “That is Wittekind, the Saxon leader; I know him by his crooked finger.” The emperor had the stranger brought to him in his tent, and asked him why he, the Saxon chieftain, had come there disguised as a beggar. Wittekind was terribly afraid lest he should be taken for a spy, and treated as such, so he told the truth to the emperor. “Do not be angry with me,” he said; “I only did this in order to have a better opportunity of acquainting myself with the Christian worship.” The emperor then inquired what he had seen, and Wittekind replied: “I have beheld wonders greater than any I have ever before seen or heard of; wonders far beyond my comprehension.” He then told him what he had observed on Good Friday, on Holy Saturday, and what he had witnessed at Mass that same morning, requesting that these mysteries might be explained to him. The •emperor was amazed to hear that God had granted to this obdurate heathen the grace to behold the divine Child in the sacred host, a grace He had given to but few saints. He then explained to the Saxon the reason why they were sorrowful on Good Friday, why they fasted, why they went to confession and communion; and so deeply was the heart of the heathen touched that he renounced his worship of idols, accepted the Christian faith, and, when sufficiently instructed, received the Sacrament of Baptism. He took some priests back with him to his people, and by their ministry the dukedom of Saxony was gradually converted to Christ.

This true story, which was the cause of the conversion of the Saxons, proves beyond a doubt that the infant Christ is truly present in the consecrated host, and has been seen in bodily shape not only by certain of the faithful, but even by heathens. He conceals the ineffable beauty of His glorified body from our sinful sight, but it is not hidden from the eyes of God the Father, and all the company of heaven; on the contrary, in every Mass it is displayed to them in such unspeakable loveliness that the Most Holy Trinity is glorified by it, while the blessed Mother of God, the angels and saints, experience a joy and happiness that no words can adequately describe. For, as Christ is reported to have said to the Ven. Alanus, nothing contributes more towards magnifying God, rejoicing His blessed Mother, and causing the felicity of the saints than the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

When the holy angels look upon this new-born infant, they prostrate themselves before Him in lowly adoration*

This is what St. Paul refers to when he says: “Let all the angels of God adore Him.” (Hebrews 1:6) In the night of the nativity God the Father brought His only-begotten Son for the first time into the world; but whenever Mass is said He brings Him anew into the world, on to our altars, that He may sacrifice Himself for us, and impart to us the fruits of His birth. Then the angels fall down and worship Him; as the Church says in the preface: “The angels praise, the dominations adore, and the powers fear Thy majesty: the heavens also, and the heavenly forces, and the blessed seraphim glorify it in common exultation.’* Thus in the night when He was born they sang:” Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth to men of good will.“We too, together with the heavenly host, will praise and glorify the divine Child, Who comes anew from heaven, and takes upon Himself the form of an infant for our salvation, and grants to all who assist at Mass an abundant share in the merits He has won for us.

The Joy Caused in Heaven and the Blessings Brought to Earth by the Renewal of Christ's Nativity

We need the intelligence of the angels to explain aright this sublime mystery, for it surpasses human understanding. We cannot conceive an idea of the joy which it causes to the Most Holy Trinity; but we know it to be one of the truths of our holy religion that the three sacred Persons of the Trinity are all-sufficient in themselves, and each communicates to the others His own ineffable bliss. Holy Scripture speaks of the uncreated Wisdom, the Son of God, in these words: “He is the brightness of eternal light, and the unspotted mirror of God’s majesty, and the image of His good ness.” (Wisdom 7:26) This mirror has been from all eternity before the eyes of the heavenly Father; in it He beholds Himself reflected most clearly, and finds in it infinite satisfaction; for in it He has always seen, He sees now, and will ever see His own boundless power and sovereign perfections as they are, and as they will remain to all eternity. This knowledge of Himself and the continual contemplation of this divine mirror are the essence of His infinite and perfect felicity, so that in default of all else, these alone would suffice to constitute His perfect happiness to all eternity.

This spotless mirror is placed before the Eternal Father in a new and different manner in the mystery of Christ’s nativity, for the divine mirror was then arrayed in the garb of our humanity, and decked with all virtues and perfections as with rare and costly jewels. The contemplation of it afforded the Eternal Father (to speak after the manner of men) a new pleasure, one in which all the company of heaven took part. Wherefore, in the exuberance of their delight, the blessed spirits raised their voices in that melodious song, the Gloria in excelsis, the strains of which reached earth, and filled the pious shepherds with unspeakable joy, and before the Gloria was ended the angelic choirs came down to Bethlehem, and prostrated themselves before the newborn Babe, paying lowly homage to Him as their sovereign Lord.

All this, which happened on the night of the nativity, still takes place daily in every Mass, for then the firstborn Son of God again becomes man in the hands of the priest, and at his word is born anew. It is no new Christ Who is called into being by the prayer of consecration, no multiplication of His person takes place: He only becomes personally present in a place where previously He was not. He is indeed but one Christ, and remains ever one and indivisible; yet it is not merely in a spiritual manner, but in a corporate manner also, that He is truly present on the altar. And in the sacred elements He remains present so long as they continue intact. When, however, the elements undergo a change, Christ’s personal presence within them ceases, and ceases so completely that were He present in no other place, but only beneath those forms, He would cease to exist, and there would be no Christ either in heaven or upon earth.

Now, when this first-born Son of God is born again at the word of the priest, when this bright mirror, adorned with all divine perfections, is lifted up, and offered both by priest and people to God the Father, what, thinkest thou, is the joy the heavenly Father feels? Certainly it is a joy equal to that which He felt in His beloved Son on the night of His nativity, for then, as now, He beheld the same Son of Whom He said: “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) There is but this difference, that then Christ was clothed with a mortal body, whereas now, in holy Mass, He is decked in His glorified body, and His five sacred wounds shine like costly jewels. Then He was born with a visible and material body; now, on the contrary, He is born in a spiritual, though not less real, manner.

Furthermore, we must consider that God the Father does not only take pleasure in the contemplation of this divine mirror, but that this mirror is His own living and beloved Son, Who loves Him with filial affection, and causes Him inexpressible delight. The felicity which the Godhead finds in the humanity of Jesus Christ is a felicity far surpassing that which accrues to it from the praises of the angels, the adoration of the saints, the worship of the faithful. For only the sacred humanity of Christ, united in His one Person to the Godhead, and thereby divinized, is capable of rendering to the Godhead a tribute of praise, of love, ol glory worthy of its infinite majesty. Christ alone, as He told St. Mechtild2, knows perfectly how that sacrifice of Himself is daily offered upon the altar for the benefit of the faithful. In like manner He alone knows how the Godhead is to be duly praised and magnified in the daily sacrifice of the Mass. This He accomplished in so beautiful, so admirable a manner that neither cherubim, nor seraphim, nor any of the powers of heaven are capable of fully comprehending, much less of themselves performing, this act. All the heavenly hosts look on with amazement and admiration; their intelligence cannot fathom this source of infinite felicity. And since we know it to be repeated every day in thousands of Masses, who can find words to express the magnitude, the extent of the joy which the ever-blessed Trinity derives from the Masses that are daily celebrated?

My God, I fervently rejoice at the thought of this felicity, and fain would I increase it by my heartfelt homage. I beseech Thee, O Jesus, that in the holy sacrifice of the Mass Thou wouldst perform my part in loving and magnifying the Most Holy Trinity, and defray, in my behalf, the debt of love and veneration which I have neglected to pay.

Finally, let us consider the unspeakable blessings brought to a sinful world by the daily renewal of Our Lord’s birth in the holy sacrifice of the Mass. The prophet Isaias, speaking of the nativity of the Saviour, says: “A child is born to us, and a son is given to us.” (Isaias 9:6) The same may be said of His spiritual birth: whenever Mass is said, a child is born to us, a son is given us. How precious, how invaluable is this gift! It is none other than the most precious of all celestial treasures, none other than the Son of the Eternal Father, in Whom all riches dwell. He descends from paradise on every altar when Mass is said, bringing with Him riches immeasurable and celestial treasures. The chief amongst these are: divine grace and mercy, contrition and forgiveness of sins, remission of the penalty due to our sins, amendment of life, the grace of a good death, a greater degree of glory in heaven; besides many temporal favors —preservation from accidents, from sin and shame, the blessing of God on all we do. These and many other graces He is ready to communicate freely to those who hear Mass devoutly, and He will bestow them abundantly.

If we consider more attentively the prophecy of Isaias, we shall find in it something further for our encouragement. He says expressly that a child is born to us, a son is given us. If the child Jesus is thus born to us in holy Mass, and given to us, He is our very own; all that He has is ours, all that He does belongs also to us. The honor, the thanksgiving, the worship, the satisfaction He renders to the Blessed Trinity, is ours as well. What can be a greater consolation to us poor sinners when we hear Mass than to know that not the Mass only, but the infant Christ Himself, is all our own? Hadst thou been present in the stable the night of the nativity, and hadst thou been able to take the tender Babe in thy arms, and offer Him to God the Father, with the earnest entreaty that for the sake of this sweet child He would have mercy upon thee, would He not, thinkest thou, have shown thee favor, and forgiven thee thy transgressions t Well, then, do so whenever thou nearest Mass. Approach in spirit to the altar, take the divine Child in thine arms, ar.d offer Him to God the Father.

Another point remains to be noticed, which is most noteworthy and needs explanation, namely, that Christ is not merely born mystically upon the altar, but He there assumes so lowly a form that both heaven and earth are amazed at it. St. Paul in his Epistle to the Philippians describes the abasement of the Saviour in His first incarnation and birth in these forcible words: “Brethren, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8)

Such are the emphatic words in which St. Paul declares to us the profound humility of Christ, and directs our attention to His annihilation of Himself. But he who considers the spiritual birth of Our Lord in the Mass will find in it a far greater and more profound depth of humility. For in His temporal birth He was made like unto man, and took upon Him the form of a fair and beauteous child; in His mystic birth, however, he assumes the form of bread, and appears to the outward vision as a piece of bread. Nay, more, so entirely does He abase and annihilate Himself as to conceal Himself in the minutest particle that the eye can discern.

This is indeed unparalleled humility and unheard-of self-renunciation! The words which the prophet-king spoke of Christ are most applicable here: “I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people.” (Psalms 21:7) For who heeds a crumb of bread? Who recognizes it as his God? Who renders Him honor and glory? Where is the splendor that appertains to His glorified body? Where is His omnipotence? Where His sovereign majesty, before which heaven and earth tremble and are afraid? He has laid all this aside, and clothed Himself with the garment of the deepest abasement. He Who is the divine and eternal

Word cannot utter z syllable. He Who made the heavens and the earth is unable to move hand or foot He Whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain is confined, imprisoned, as it were, in a little wafer. He Who is seated at the right hand of the Father lies upon the altar bound as a sacrificial lamb, ready to be slain anew in a spiritual manner as a victim for our sake. Behold the infinite humiliation of the sovereign Lord of heaven and of earth! Behold the unspeakable charity of this faithful lover towards the children of men!

Furthermore, in His humility and self-abasement Jesus Christ becomes subject in holy Mass to the officiating priest, and this not only to the good and fervent, but to the lukewarm and indifferent, permitting them to deal with Him according to their will. Nay, what is even more astonishing, He does not refuse to receive their benediction, although St. Paul says: “Without all contradiction, that which is less is blessed by the better.” (Hebrews 7:7) How, then, can Christ, Who is so incomparably greater than the priest, take the blessing of one so infinitely His inferior? Yet the priest blesses the host not only before but after the consecration, and this no less than fifteen times, so profound is the self-abasement of Our Lord. We are told that when Christ came unto John to be baptized by him “John stayed Him, saying: I ought to be baptized by Thee, and comest Thou to me?” (Matthew 3:14) In like manner the priest ought to shrink back in fear, and say: “I, O my Lord, ought to receive Thy blessing, for how canst Thou, the most high God, receive the blessing of a miserable sinner like myself?” This is indeed most astonishing, and we are led to inquire the reason why Christ stoops so low.

One of the chief reasons to be alleged is this: in order by His extreme abasement to appease the wrath of an angry God, and avert from sinful men the just chastisement of their iniquities. There is no surer way of conciliating an enemy than to humble one’s self before him and beg his forgiveness. We learn this from the example of the impious King Achab, of whom it is recorded in Holy Scripture that when the prophet Elias foretold to him, by God’s command, that on account of his evil doings the Lord would chastise his wife and children, so that they should not be buried, but their dead bodies become the food of dogs and of the birds of the air, “Achab rent his garments, and put hair-cloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and slept in sack-cloth, and walked with his head cast down. And the word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying: Hast thou not seen Achab humbled before Me? Therefore, because he hath humbled himself for My sake, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.” (in. Kings xxi. 27-29.)

Now if the godless King Achab, of whom it is said that he did evil above all that were before him, through humiliation and self-abasement so far prevailed with Almighty God that He did not send upon him the threatened punishment, what will not the extraordinary humiliation of Christ upon the altar avail with His heavenly Father? For the sake of sinners, who have provoked the just God to vengeance by their pride and their malice, Christ humbled Himself far more profoundly than Achab ever did. For Christ lays aside His glorious apparel, He conceals Himself under the form of the sacred host; He does not merely “walk with His head cast down,” He lies upon the altar, a patient victim, and from the bottom of His heart calls upon God the Father to pardon and spare the sinner. Will not God Almighty say to His angels as He said to the prophet of old: “Have you n*»t seen how My Son humbleth Himself before Me?” Ar J the angels will answer: “Yea, we see and are amazed * t the deep abasement of our Lord and God.” And God will then reply: “Because My divine Son has thus annihilated Himself, and humbled Himself before Me to plead for sinners, I will spare them, and turn away from them the chastisement their transgressions deserve.”

Listen, then, O sinner, hear what God says to thee, and thou wilt understand how it is that thy life has been so far prolonged, and thou hast not been punished ac cording to the measure of thy iniquities. For my part, I think that it is principally because thou hast often heard Mass, and hast thus shared in the intercession of Christ On the altar He has made thy interests His own, He has humbled Himself before God on thy behalf, He has averted the penalty thou hast deserved. Wherefore return humble thanks to thy faithful advocate, and say to Him in the gratitude of thy heart:

44 Praise and glory be to Thee, O most sweet Jesus, for the infinite love wherewith Thou dost vouchsafe to descend from heaven in the holy Mass to change bread and wine into Thy sacred flesh and blood, to conceal Thyself under these contemptible appearances and by means of this boundless humility to appease the just wrath of God and avert the chastisements due to us. With our whole hearts we thank Thee for this inestimable benefit. With all the powers of our soul we praise and magnify Thee, and we beseech the hosts o\ heaven to unite their voices to ours and compensate for what is defective in our giving of thanks. We humbly pray Thee to enlighten our minds, that we may clearly comprehend the saving mysteries which Thou dost daily enact upon our altars, that we may venerate them aright, and profit by them for out eternal salvation. Amen.“

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