The Mystery of the Incarnation or Nativity

Adam, our first parent, sins; ungrateful for the great benefits conferred on him, he rebels against God, by a violation of the precept given him not to eat of the for-bidden fruit. On this account God is obliged to drive him out of the earthly paradise in this world, and in the world to come to deprive not only Adam, but all the descendants of this rebellious creature, of the heavenly and everlasting paradise which he had prepared for them after this mortal life.

Behold, then, all mankind together condemned to a life of pain and misery, and forever shut out from heaven. “And now, “says God, “ what delight have I left in heaven, now that I have lost men, who were my delight?” My delights were to be with the children of men.' But how is this O Lord? You have in heaven so many seraphim, so many angels; and can You thus take to heart having lost men? Indeed, what need have You of angels or of men to fill up the sum of Your happiness? You have always been, and You are in Yourself, most happy; what can ever be wanting to Your bliss, which is infinite? “That is all true," says God; “but, losing man, I deem that I have nothing;' I consider that I have lost all, since my delight was to be with men; and now these men I have lost, and poor creatures, they are doomed to live forever far away from me."

“But no," then said the Lord,” I will not lose man; straightway let there be found a Redeemer who may satisfy My justice on behalf of man, and so rescue them from the hands of their enemies and from the eternal death due to Adam."

And here St. Bernard, in his contemplations on this subject, imagines a struggle between the justice and the mercy of God.

Justice says: “I no longer exist if Adam be not punished; I perish if Adam die not."

Mercy, on the other hand, says: “I am lost if man is not pardoned; I perish if he does not obtain forgiveness."

In this contest, the Lord decides that in order to deliver man, who was guilty of death, some innocent one must die: “Let one die who is no debtor to death."

On earth, there was not one innocent. “Since, therefore," says the Eternal Father, “amongst men there is none who can satisfy My justice, let him come forward who will go to redeem man.” The angels, the cherubim, the seraphim are all silent, not one replies; but one voice alone is heard, that of the Eternal Word, who says, Lo, here am I; send Me.'

“Father,” says the only-begotten Son, “Thy majesty, being infinite, and having been injured by man, cannot be fittingly satisfied by an angel, who is purely a creature. Though You might accept the satisfaction of an angel, reflect that, in spite of so great benefits bestowed on man, in spite of so many promises and threats, We have not yet been able to gain his love, because he is not yet aware of the love We bear him. If We would oblige him without fail to love Us, what better occasion can we find than that, in order to redeem him, I, Your Son, should go upon earth, should there assume human flesh, and pay by My death the penalty due by him. In this manner, Your justice is fully satisfied, and at the same time, man is thoroughly convinced of Our love!”

“But think, “answered the Heavenly Father “think, O my Son, that in taking upon Thyself the burden of man's satisfaction, You will have to lead a life full of sufferings!” “No matter," replied the Son: “ Lo, here am I, send' Me.”

“Think that You will have to be born in a cave, the shelter of the beasts of the field; then You must flee into Egypt while still an infant, to escape the hands of those very men who, even from Your tenderest infancy, will seek to take away Your life." “It matters not: Lo, here am I, send Me."

“Think that, on Your return to Palestine, You shall there lead a life most arduous, most despicable, passing Your days as a simple boy in a carpenter's shop." “It matters not: Lo, here am I, send Me.”

“Think that when You go forth to preach and to manifest Yourself, You will have indeed a few, but very few, to follow You; the greater part will despise You and call You impostor, magician , fool, Samaritan; and, finally, they will persecute You to such a degree that they will make You die shamefully on a cross by torments.” “ No matter: Lo, here am I, send Me.”

The decree then passed that the Divine Son should be made man, and so become the Redeemer of men, the Archangel Gabriel speeds on his way to Mary. Mary accepts Him for her Son: And the Word was made flesh. And thus behold Jesus in the womb of Mary; having now made His entry into the world in all humility and obedience, He says: “Since, O my Father men cannot make atonement to Your offended justice by their works and sacrifices, behold me, Your Son, now clothed in mortal flesh, behold Me ready to give You in their place satisfaction with my sufferings and with my death!"

It was an immeasurably greater humiliation for God to become man than if all the princes of the earth, than if all the angels and saints of heaven, with the divine Mother herself, had been turned into a blade of grass, or into a handful of clay; yes, for grass, clay, princes, angels, saints, are all creatures; but between the creature and God there is an infinite difference.

Yes, all this is of faith: And the Word was made flesh! He has loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood! The Holy Church declares herself to be filled with terror at the idea of the work of Redemption.

Hence St. Thomas terms the mystery of the Incarnation the miracle of miracles; a miracle above all comprehension, in which God showed how powerful was His love towards men!

Source:

The Incarnation, Birth, and Infancy of Jesus

Original Publication from 1927

St. Alphonsus Liguori, 1696 - 1787

Doctor of the Church