The Sinlessness of Christ

One of the singular glories of Our Lord's Humanity is that He is "holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens" (Heb. vii. 26). This supreme quality of holiness and sinlessness proceeds in the first instance from the union of the Divine Person of the Word with the Humanity. That fact necessarily perfects the human nature of the same Person beyond all conception. The body and soul of Jesus Christ are the body and soul of God the Son. That Divine Person guides and rules them and acts through them with infinite perfection and holiness. The Sacred Humanity of Our Lord is therefore holy and, spotless beyond the holiness of all angels and men, and beyond the holiness of the Immaculate Virgin, although she was absolutely stainless in every respect. Our Blessed Lord, as man, is then the supreme work of God's creative power, beyond which nothing can be more perfect and holy. Not only is this most glorious to God, but it is a great glory to the human race that God should have conferred on it such a distinction, not granted even to the angels. We have all a share in this dignity: for the human race, taken in its entirety as including Jesus Christ, presents a sum of holiness surpassing even that of the whole host of heaven. You individually, when free from sin, and especially in Holy Communion, have a share in that holiness. Take care never to lose this privilege by mortal sin.

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The Infirmities of Christ

"A man of sorrows and acquainted with infirmity: and His look was, as it were, hidden and despised; where upon we esteemed Him" (Isa. liii. 3). Our Lord was all this, notwithstanding the perfection and power of the hypostatic union. It might have been expected that the Divine Nature in Him would have communicated all possible perfections and immunities to the human nature. In fact the Sacred Humanity was elevated and enriched by the communication of many extraordinary gifts, and it was also the most perfect and beautiful example of human nature. Christ is believed to have been perfect in manly vigour, and grace, and strength, and form; "beautiful above the sons of men" (Ps. xliv. 3). He was free from such infirmities as were inconsistent with divine purity and glory; from all internal derangements and maladies, which are generally the result of personal or ancestral excesses. Otherwise the action of the Divinity upon Our Lord's body was suspended, and only for a moment did He permit it to be exercised, in His Transfiguration; its full effect came into operation only after the Ascension. Still there remained most of the afflictions of life; and Our Lord suffered most of our infirmities, in being subject to hunger and thirst, weariness and weakness, heat and cold and sleeplessness, violence and death. Suffer with willingness any infirmities that God sends you; be patient under ill-treatment or injustice; practise mortification, and surrender some of your comforts and rights in union with Our Lord.

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The Power of Christ

"All power is given Me in heaven and on earth" (Matt, xxviii. 18). Power is a characteristic of great men, and especially of God's servants. Our Lord, in His Humanity, necessarily possessed a supernatural power of doing great works and miracles. It belonged to Him as the greatest of mankind and the Father of the supernatural life in them; also because in Him the supernatural and the natural were united perfectly; also because it was the necessary means of manifesting to men His supernatural and divine office. This power, as exercised by the Sacred Humanity, was not divine omnipotence; still, He was able as man to do all that He desired. Either He had an inherent power from the Divinity to raise the dead, cure diseases, etc., or it may be that the power was granted by the Divinity in answer to the prayers and merits of the Humanity. This latter seems to be implied in Christ's words: "Father, I give Thee thanks that Thou hast heard Me; and I knew that Thou hearest Me always" (John xi. 41, 42). In any case it was a permanent power in Our Lord on account of the Divine Person of the Word which was united with His human nature; it was not like the miraculous powers of Moses, Elias and the saints, which were given to them occasionally for some special action which God moved them to do. Jesus is present always in His Church, and with you personally when in the state of grace. His power is communicated to you according to your needs. "He that believeth in Me, the works that I do he shall do also" (John xiv. 12). What perfect confidence and fearlessness this should give you!

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the Intellect of Christ

Intellectual power is the most efficient force on earth, and the advantage most esteemed. It raises men more surely than anything else, and gives them command of the minds, and thereby of the services of other men. In the world it is rated more highly than moral excellence, and still more so than spiritual. Our Lord possessed the most perfect and powerful of created minds, but He concealed its brilliance, and He employed it solely for religious ends. Still, glimpses of its power appeared at times; as when He discoursed at the age of twelve with the sages in the temple; when His enemies confessed that never had man so spoken before; when, with a single word, He eluded snares devised by the most acute and unscrupulous minds; when He laid down the laws that should govern human life; and when He organized the Church which was to defy the ravages of time, the assaults of vindictiveness, and, worse still, the tepidity and neglect of its own members. If Our Lord had not been God, His human intellect would have dominated all the affairs of men, and His law would have been accepted as a masterpiece of insight and prudence. But, because He is divine, the spirit of evil has induced so many of mankind to reject the only system which is capable of meeting their needs. The great bulk of men pin their faith on some eminent intellect, and follow its guidance implicitly. Take Jesus Christ as your master and guide; study to know His mind, and carry out His will with thorough trust and obedience.

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The Graces and Virtues of Christ

The graces of Jesus Christ are innumerable and splendid as the stars of heaven. He is "full of grace and truth" (John i. 14). "In Him it hath pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell" (Col. i. 19). The basis of all His graces was the supereminent one of the hypostatic union, the union of the divine and human natures. This makes Him the Holy of Holies, and involves all divine and human perfections and graces; it excludes the possibility of sin or deficiency, just as the fulness of light is the exclusion of darkness ; it makes Our Lord the supreme object of divine love. This grace, as being infinite, was not susceptible of increase. Neither could the blessedness and happiness of Our Lord be increased, as He always enjoyed the full vision of the Divinity. Our Lord therefore required no further impulse of grace to help Him in His miracles and works of virtue. This completeness of Our Lord's graces is the source of all the graces bestowed on mankind. He is the head in which they all center, and from thence they are transmitted to all parts of the mystical body, to His Blessed Mother first, who was full of grace, and thence to us. "Of His fulness we all have received, and grace for grace" (John i. 16). Address Our Lord with the Psalmist . "Thou art beautiful above the sons of men: grace is poured forth on Thy lips; therefore hath God blessed Thee forever (Ps. xliv. 3). He will communicate His graces to you according to your love for Him. 

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Divine Love in the Incarnation

The Incarnation is the chief exhibition of God's wonderful love for men; and thus it is that Holy Scripture sets it forth: "God so loved the world as to give His only begotten Son" (John iii. 16). As the infinite love of the Divinity within itself produces a third Divine Person within its Unity, so has this love produced a Divine Person among creatures, viz. God the Son made man. Consider the Father's love for us in four aspects. 

1. It is the love of an infinite Being, and so is great in proportion to His mighty nature. 

2. It is exhibited towards insignificant, ungrateful, and yet arrogant creatures, who deserve only to be cast off for their repeated treasons. 

3. It communicates to us as its gift, not some created production of God's hand, but something greater than the whole universe, an infinite gift the Divinity itself in Jesus Christ. 

4. Its last result for us is eternal life, full of all glory and delight, and exceeding our imagination and even our natural capacities. Consider each point separately and apply it to yourself. No comfort can be so great as to know with certainty that you are the object of such a love, and that you will, at a day not far distant, taste of its fulness. How blessed you are in this!

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The Circumstances of the Incarnation

Consider the time when the Incarnation took place. The prophet said: "O Lord, Thy work: in the midst of the years bring it to life: in the midst of the years Thou shalt make it known" (Hab. iii. 2). On the day when Adam fell, God gave the promise of redemption, so that thenceforth all men might look forward to it, and be saved by virtue of their faith and trust in their Saviour. But the accomplishment of the promise was long deferred; the time was not ripe for it. A season of preparation, desire, and prayer, had to precede the granting of the great gift. It had to be merited by the just, and it took place as an answer to their prayers. It depended too on the sinfulness of mankind. They were allowed to go on during thousands of years by the light of their own reason and certain installments of revelation. At last, when it seemed that the early impulses of truth and moral principle were exhausted, when mankind were falling into disorganization and deep degradation, when all perceived that nothing short of a messenger from heaven and a new revelation could renew the face of the earth, God came as man. The time of His appearance was adapted to the varying stages of human development, to the spiritual condition, and to the moral deterioration of the world. It was "in the midst of the years"; early ages lived by their expectation of it, succeeding generations have lived by their knowledge of it. Consider how fortunate you are in seeing and hearing things that so many prophets and kings desired, but never saw or heard. Give thanks to God. 

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Speculations on The Atonement

Which were the sins that necessitated the Atonement by Christ? 

1. Chiefly original sin. This had been the axe at the root of the tree; it had cut mankind off from the supernatural life in its source; it had subverted the original design of God; it had broken the final link of the chain that bound the universe to God; it deprived God of the service and glory of the whole human race. The merciful love of God demanded the restitution of mankind no less than did His greatness. Adam's sin had affected all his descendants without their own concurrence, and God would not allow them to be deprived of their birthright by the act of another. 

2. Our own deliberate mortal sins moved God to pity rather than to wrath; they are to a considerable extent the result of an aptitude towards evil for which we are not responsible; their positive penalties are so much more terrible than the mere privations which original sin inflicts on us; and we are absolutely powerless to escape their consequences without aid from God. 

3. Our venial sins are not of infinite malice, they do not sever us from God, and probably do not require the atonement of an infinite Person. In fact, however, Our Lord has assumed the burthen of them as well, and has left so much less of their punishment for us to bear. Consider what you would have been without Our Lord, how utterly helpless, and how much you owe to His love. Thank Him, love Him, render Him your best service in return. Continue Reading.

The Hypostatic Union and Atonement

By the fall of Adam the supernatural career of mankind was abruptly terminated, and grievous offence was offered to God in lieu of service. There was needed a source of restitution for man and of atonement to God. Without this, the end of God's mighty works would be failure most miserable and the triumph of evil over good. If God simply cancelled and ignored the sin, it would still be a triumph of evil; for it would mean that the universe was not sufficiently equipped to work out its purposes; it would mean that the ordinary law was deficient and had to be supplemented by a quasi afterthought; it would be an extinction of energy without allowing it to work itself out, the intervention of an extrinsic force to remedy the inherent incurable defects in God's own work. The perfection of God's work demands that there should be in the human race itself the means of triumphing over evil, of justifying its own existence and the Providence of God. The goodness of God requires that, whatever happens, good should predominate over evil. God's dignity requires that His great work should not end in a fiasco. Regular order requires that every force should be allowed to work itself out. Equity requires that the offender should suffer the consequences of his offence and should himself make atonement. The only appropriate form of restitution is one in which human energies should neutralize the evil done by men. How helpless you are in the face of such requirements! How hopeless is the case of unaided sinful humanity! Continue Reading.

The Hypostatic Union

Consider the terms, or the elements of the union which took place in the Incarnation. One was the Divinity, the Second adorable Person of the Trinity; the other was the Humanity, composed of real soul and body, with all its powers, senses, and members. The soul is the first of the two sub-elements which compose the human element. The Divinity entered primarily into union with the soul, as being that which completes human nature, and in which the dominant faculties reside. The soul was the chief seat of Adam's sin, and of the taint of sin in his descendants, and of the consequences or punishment of sin. But God did not abhor even the body; it is the companion of the soul, the instrument of its action, a sufferer by the sin, and it is destined to enter into glory. Therefore the Word is said, not to be made a soul, nor even made man, but to have been made flesh." Because the children are partakers in flesh and blood, He also Himself in like manner hath been partaker of the same" (Heb. ii. 14). We have here a reflection of the Trinity; with this difference, that in the Godhead there is Unity of Substance with Trinity of Persons, and in Christ there is Unity of Person with a trinity of substances, viz., the Divinity, the spiritual soul, the material body. How complete and thorough is all that Jesus does for you! Let your service of Him be real and complete in every respect. Continue Reading.

The Fact of the Incarnation

This most wonderful mystery, were it not a fact and revealed to us, might well be deemed an impossibility. How can it be that the Infinite is united with the finite, the Eternal with a temporal, mortal nature, perfect sanctity with a nature derived from a tainted source? How could the Godhead so descend? How could a portion of this universe be so elevated? How could such contradictory terms be brought together in one person? The imagination of man, in its wildest flights, could not devise such a thing; and the more we know of God and of man, the more remote would such a possibility seem. We might well ask, "How shall this be done?" And the only answer is the angel's, "No word shall be impossible with God" (Luke i. 34, 37). The Almighty is not limited in His works to such things as we can understand. His action does not need to be seen and approved by us in advance. His wisdom is infinite to devise such a thing, His power is infinite to accomplish it, His goodness and love are infinite to decree it for our advantage. He would allow no obstacle to stand in the way of pardoning and glorifying us. God does more still. He will unite Himself with you. Wisdom, strength, and love are needed for the purpose, not only in God, but in you. Let no seeming impossibility deter you from this consummation. Continue Reading.

Images of The Incarnation

There is no exact parallel in nature to the Incarnation of the Second Divine Person, but there are some comparisons which partially represent it; and these may be used cautiously, if we remember that they are not adequate images of it. The Incarnation is likened to three persons who invest one among themselves with a new and special robe. The three Divine Persons all operate in investing the Second Person, God the Son, with the additional garment of human nature. Holy Scripture speaks of the Divine Humanity as a garment. "Who is this that cometh up from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra, this beautiful One in His robe, walking in the greatness of His strength? I that speak justice and am a defender to save. Why then is Thy apparel red, and Thy garments like theirs that tread in the wine-press?" (Isa. Ixiii. 1, 2). St. John also speaks of the Word of God as having "on His garment and on His thigh written, King of kings and Lord of lords" (Apoc. xix. 16). God the Son, on entering this world, assumed human nature as a garment that made Him visible to us while cloaking the glory of His Divinity. It was something exterior and different from His divine nature; and when it was rent in the Passion, the personality of the Word still remained undefiled and impassible. Thank Our Lord for thus divesting Himself of the royal garment of His glory, and putting on the lowly apparel that you wear. When you approach Him, divest yourself of your pride and supposed grandeur and merits, and clothe yourself in humility so as to be like to Him. Continue Reading.

The Knowledge of The Incarnation

The union of the Divinity with humanity is called by St. Paul "the mystery which hath been hidden from ages and generations, but now is made manifest to His saints" (Col. i. 26). Even in our own sphere we cannot detect the point of union between our body and soul, or the manner of it. Still farther beyond us is this most marvellous operation of the Omnipotent Trinity. It is beyond all our experience, and imagination, and desire. It is indeed "a new thing upon the earth" (Jer. xxxi. 22). The angels even cannot comprehend this novelty beyond all other novelties and without example. In order to grasp it with our intelligence and fathom its profundities of ingenuity (so to speak) and beauty, we should need a full comprehension of the mystery of the Three Persons in Unity. In order to accept it, we need the infused power of faith from God, spiritual vision, and the light of God s countenance shining upon us. Reason cannot discover it or explain it, but only approve its reasonableness. How many there are from whom even now this mystery is hidden, who apprehend it most imperfectly, or to whom it is anything but a living reality! Be grateful to God for revealing it to you, and ask Him to enlighten your mind in meditating on it. Continue Reading.

Principles of the Divine Governance

Although God has supreme power and direct authority over all creatures, yet He makes use of secondary causes or subordinate authorities to work out His natural and His spiritual decrees. A being is more admirable when its goodness is diffusive than when its goodness is in itself and for itself only. God completes the likeness to Himself which is in creatures, by making them channels and agents of the bounty which proceeds in the first instance from Himself. Thus the sun is the means of communicating heat, energy, motion, to this earth. Parents are the intermediaries by whom God gives life to new beings, and furnishes them with their daily bread. In like manner, Jesus Christ, as man, has all things committed to Him by the Father, and is the first agent and supreme mediator. But all creatures have functions of utility towards others. The angels are the ministers of God. Men are apostles, teachers, intercessors, mediums of divine grace. The Blessed Virgin has, beyond all others, the office of intercessor for all mankind, and channel of grace from her Divine Son. Parents and civil authorities rule in the name of God, and declare His will in the natural, political or domestic sphere. They should remember that they are His agents and act accordingly. You too have to act on God's behalf for the natural or spiritual welfare of others, as His agent, mediator, or temporal providence. Endeavour to make yourself an adequate representative of Him, and act in His spirit and for His ends. Continue Reading.

The Government of The World

"Thy providence, O Father, governeth it" (Wisd. xiv. 3). God is not only Creator, He is also Guide and Ruler. The action of governing and directing all things is complementary to the action of creating them. It is necessitated manifestly by God s perfection, by His love for all that He has made, and His continual interest in it. The arrangement and order of the universe show clear evidence of God's continual guidance. Every creature, every molecule and atom, has its use and function; it serves God, and tends towards Him according to its nature and capacity; every creature moves forward towards the end and purpose of its being, and that, in the last analysis, is God. Material things do not, like intellectual beings, approach to the possession and enjoyment of God; but they represent His perfections, make Him known to those who can understand Him, and bring them nearer to Him. God has knowledge of every one of the innumerable particles in the universe, and manages and rules it for the general good. This is the greatest happiness and consolation to the faithful soul. You are not abandoned to yourself, nor left to be the sport of accident and chance; "for in His hands are all the ends of the earth" (Ps. xciv. 4). Never forget this, or think that you are forgotten. Say always: "The Lord ruleth me. I shall want for nothing" (Ps. xxii. 1). Continue Reading.

Restitution by Jesus Christ

"Where sin abounded grace hath abounded more" (Rom. v. 20). The weakness of humanity is its strength: its disabilities become the source of its privileges. God in His mercy pities our weakness, extending as it does even into wickedness; and, like tender mothers, He bestows greater love and care on the most afflicted and troublesome of His children. God knows that our tendency to sin dates from before our birth, that the perversion of our character is an inheritance from our ancestors, that our offences are due in some measure to our surroundings, and not entirely to our deliberate malice. The smallest injustice or harshness towards us is utterly alien from His infinite goodness. He makes the broadest and kindest allowance for our deficiencies, and bestows on us still greater favours and aids towards salvation. As far as the dominance of our free will allows, God compels us to come in; and it is only by extraordinary blindness, perversity and obstinacy, that we can be lost. God has adapted the order of His Providence to our needs. Our state of sinfulness becomes our strongest claim upon His mercy, and may even become the occasion of higher glory for us. In the present order, God exhibits His holiness and power, not by rejecting us for our sins, but by sanctifying us in spite of them and through them. Confess yourself an unworthy sinner, admit that you have no claims, and at once you are endowed by the Son of God with His own claims to eternal glory. Continue Reading.

The Transmission of The Sin

The enormous change produced by Adam's sin in him could not be without effect on his descendants. A man of great energies may, with his blood, transmit his features and his character for generations; his family may grow into a tribe and even into a nation impressed with his likeness. A prepotent influence must belong to him who was created to be the father of all mankind. He inaugurated the line of human life, and its general direction was naturally permanent, whether divergent from the line ordained by God, or accordant with it. God had bestowed on our first father an additional supernatural life as a gratuitous gift. Adam held it at first on trial; he was called upon, as head of the race, to ratify this donation by his acceptance of it. He cast it away in his solemn probation, and chose the merely natural state. This he transmitted to us: and necessarily so, for it has never been claimed for heredity that it is able to perpetuate qualities that have not yet been acquired. The inorganic cannot generate the organic, nor the natural life beget supernatural life. We have inherited what our ancestor had to bequeath, all that belonged to the essence of human nature, nothing of that which was to have been superadded as a special reward for fidelity under trial. This state of privation of original justice is the state of sin. God has not allowed us to abide in this condition. In another way He restores what we had lost. Thank Him for His infinite goodness. Continue Reading.

The Inward Consequences of the Sin

In Paradise, Adam, united to God by charity, possessed three great goods, viz., pleasure and contentment in seeing God, knowledge and possession of all things, dignity as the supreme ruler of creation. When union with God was destroyed, these great prerogatives were lost, and there remained three great voids in human nature. Man tries to fill these voids with created things; he seeks delight in sensual gratifications, in the knowledge and possession of material goods, in exalting himself in his own esteem above others. Nothing can fill the space once occupied by God; man's desires, therefore, are forever growing; he may acquire far more than he can use, but he is never satisfied; and his efforts to gain more become continually more ferocious. These desires are what the Apostle speaks of: "All that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 John ii. 16). These could not exist in the state of original justice, but they broke out in human nature at the time of the fall, and have been the torment and the peril of man ever since. These are not only the source of individual sins, but of all the miseries, without exception, which affect human society. There is no other remedy for those evils, but to satisfy the illimitable desires of the soul with the one gratification that is infinite, viz., God. All other remedies are futile. Seek no other in your troubles. Continue Reading.

Outward Consequences of Sin

The supernatural state had sanctified and elevated every faculty and action of human nature. Adam had been subject to God alone; all creatures were subject to him, and he was dependent on none of them. In his supernatural and natural endowments he possessed all that he required. The progress and development of man in the unfallen state would have been very different from what it is at present; it would have been more rapid, more complete, more extensive, and would have proceeded in marvellous ways that we cannot picture to ourselves. As we are now, our progress has been very slow, laborious, accompanied by many checks, mistakes, failures. It has been dependent for the most part on the compulsion of our wants, on our material surroundings, on climate, food, and the natural features of our place of abode. Except under such pressure, there has been little progress among men. The loss of the supernatural has changed all the conditions of human life, and among them the character of our material progress. The first step in the new order of material civilization is indicated by the clothing of our first parents in the skins of beasts. The influences of climate had become hostile to them. They needed protection from heat, and cold, and moisture. God Himself inaugurated this first step in the work of civilization for fallen man. We still need His aid, even for our natural and material works; we can carry out what is merely material without God; but we cannot ensure that its action on human beings will be beneficial. 

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The Triple Sentence

In the divine order called Nature the effect follows rigidly on the cause, and is proportioned to it; for the sequence amounts to a transmutation of energy from one form to another. It is the same in the higher divine order, the supernatural. Sin is a negative energy, a destructive force: its effect, that is, its punishment, is proportioned to the amount of supernatural energy which sin has neutralized. The three maledictions pronounced by God are prophetic indications of the course of events necessarily consequent on the sin of Adam and Eve. First, God addresses Satan and describes the future in metaphors appropriate to the form which he had, either literally or figuratively, appeared in. He shall be accursed for ever, a cause of death and an object of horror like his reptile type. He shall crawl in snake-like fashion, and shall "eat dirt" (in oriental language), shall grovel in moral baseness and the uncleanness of his temptings of man to sensuality. A second Eve shall arise, who will avenge the fall of her mother by crushing the head of her tempter, in the fact of bearing a divine Son in her virginity. Pay homage to the most blessed Virgin. Great must be her dignity and her power over Satan, since she is mentioned by God on this portentous occasion. Her victory makes her the glory of the human race. Continue Reading.

After the Fall

"And the eyes of both of them were opened" (Gen. iii. 7). This was what Satan had promised and Adam and Eve had desired, but it was different from what they expected. Their eyes were opened in disillusion. They found themselves deceived, fooled, robbed of their most precious possession. Peace, tranquillity, enjoyment were gone; anxiety and bitter remorse had succeeded. They had not taken their place in the sinless sphere of lower creatures; that sphere was adequate for the animal world, but not for rational beings that had once been supernatural. Their natural faculties, sufficient for life in the lower sphere had they never been raised above it, were insufficient under the blighting influence of sin. There was little satisfaction in their new independence, for they now felt how necessary to their life was the dominion of God. First of all they were conscious of shame; their fearlessness and confidence were gone; they felt unfit to be seen by God or by one another. There was turmoil in their souls, an insurgence of the inferior and the animal against the higher and rational element. They had fallen under the degrading dominion of sense which had been their slave; for their mastery had been ensured by their subjection to God. So it always is. Sin promises much, but it is never really profitable. Its boasted revelations amount only to disillusion, disappointment, failure, and shame. Continue Reading.

The Temptation and Fall

The temptation of our first parents was connected with the two mysterious trees of Paradise. The enemy hastened to induce the first of men to reject the supernatural and choose the natural order, as the first of angels had done; he tempted them to eat of the tree of knowledge so that they might be unfit to eat of the tree of life. He approached the woman as being the weaker, hoping to use her influence to overcome the caution and strength of the man. The first word of temptation was, "Why has God given this prohibition?" It was the suggestion of doubt. To question authority is more than half-way towards setting it aside. Eve should have recognized that God's commands are not to be questioned, His reasons not to be demanded. If He commands or reveals to us, His word is enough; we should trust Him sufficiently to accept it without explanation. Eve listened and argued. This prepared the way; she was not shocked or indignant when Satan blasphemed against the veracity of God and declared "You shall not die."He imputes base motives to the All-Holy, the desire to deprive His creatures of their rights, and keep them in undue subjection. He promises great power and happiness as the reward of sin: "You shall be as gods." These are the ordinary stages of temptation, the ordinary motives placed before men to make temptation seem plausible. Many are deceived. They take one false step, and this originates a long series of evils. Continue Reading.