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Christmas 2011
Extracted from Matthew, Chapter 2: The visit of the Magi
1 After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, suddenly some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east
2 asking, 'Where is the infant king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.'
3 When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem.
4 He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 They told him, 'At Bethlehem in Judaea, for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are by no means the least among the leaders of Judah, for from you will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel.'
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared
8 and sent them on to Bethlehem with the words, 'Go and find out all about the child, and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do him homage.'
9 Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And suddenly the star they had seen rising went forward and halted over the place where the child was.
10 The sight of the star filled them with delight,
11 and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
12 But they were given a warning in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.
After note: The following is extracted from “The Poem of the Man-God” - Volume 1, by the visionary Maria Valtorta, Chapter 34: page 174-175:
Jesus says:
“And now what shall I tell you, o souls who feel your faith is dying? Those Wise Men from the East had nothing to assure them of the truth. Nothing supernatural. All they had was an astronomic calculation and their own considerations made perfect by a strictly honest life. And yet they had faith. Faith in everything: in science, in their own conscience, in God’s goodness.
Science made them believe in the sign of the new star, which could only be “the one” expected by mankind for centuries: the Messiah. Because of their consciences they had the voices of their consciences, which heard heavenly “voices” saying to them: ‘That is the star announcing the advent of the Messiah”. Because of God’s goodness, they believed that God would not deceive them, and since their intention was honest, He would help them in every way to reach their aim.
And they were successful. Among so many people fond of studying the signs, they were the only ones who understood that sign, because only their souls were anxious to know the words of God for an honest purpose, the main care of which was to praise and honour God immediately.
They did not seek any personal advantage. On the contrary, they have to face hardships and meet expenses but they do not ask for any human reward. They only ask God to remember them and save them for eternal life.
As they have no desire for any human rewards, so they have no human worry, when they decide on their journey. You would have hundreds of problems: “How will I be able to make such a long journey in countries and among peoples speaking different languages? Will they believe me or will they put me in prison as a spy? What help will they give me to cross the deserts, rivers and mountains? And the heat? And the winds of the highlands? And the malarial fever along stagnant marshes? And the floods and heavy rains? And the different food? And the different languages? And...and...and…” That is how you reason. But they do not reason like that. With sincere, holy daring they say: “You, o God, can read our hearts and You see the purpose we are aiming at. We trust to Your hands. Grant us the superhuman joy of adoring Your Second Person, Who has become flesh to save the world”.
That is all. And they set out from the far away Indies. Jesus then tells me that when He says Indies, He means meridional Asia, where Turkey, Afghanistan and Persia are located in our geography. From the Mongolian chains of mountains which are the dominion of eagles and vultures, where God speaks with roars of winds and torrents and writes words of mystery on the immense pages of glaciers. From the land where the Nile rises and then flows with the green blue waters to the azure heart of the Mediterranean, neither mountains, nor woods, nor sands, dry oceans more dangerous than the seas, can stop them from preceeding. And the star shines upon them at night, preventing them from sleeping. When one seeks God, natural habits must yield to superhuman considerations and necessities.
The star guides them from the north, the east and the south, and by a miracle of God, it proceeds for the three of them towards one point. And by another miracle of God, after many miles it gathers them at that point and by a further miracle, it anticipates the Pentecost Wisdom, bestowing on them the gift of understanding and making themselves understood, as it happens in Paradise, where only one language is spoken: God’s.
They are dismayed only for one moment, when the star disappeared and they are humble, because they are really great, they do not think it is due to the wickedness of other people, as the corrupted people of Jerusalem did not deserve to see the star of God. But they think they had failed to deserve God themselves, and they examine themselves with trepidation and contrition ready to beg forgiveness.
But their consciences reassure them. Their souls were accustomed to meditation and each of them had a most sensitive conscience, refined by constant attention, and by sharp introspection, which made of their interior a mirror on which even the slightest fault of daily actions are reflected. Their conscience has become their teacher, a voice that warns and cries out not at the least error, but at the least inclination towards errors, at everything human, at the satisfaction of one’s “ego”. Consequently, when they place themselves before that teacher and that severe clean mirror, they know that it will not lie. It reassures them and gives them heart.
“Oh! How sweet it is to feel that there is nothing against God in us! To feel that He is kindly looking at the soul of His faithful son and blesses him. Faith, trust, hope, strength and patience are increased by such a feeling. The storm is raging just now. But it will pass, because God loves me and He knows that I love Him, and He will not fail to help me again”. That is how those speak who enjoy the peace that comes from an upright conscience, that is the queen of every action of theirs…” |
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I will keep My Love for Him always—Extracted from Psalm 89: 3-4, 16-17, 27, 29:
‘I have made a covenant with My chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: I will established your dynasty forever and set up your throne through all ages.’
Happy the people who acclaim such a King, who walk in the light of your face, who find their joy every day in your name, who make your justice the source of their bliss.
‘He will say to Me: “You are my Father, my God, the Rock who saves me.”
I will keep My love for Him always; for Him My Covenant shall endure.’
With justice He will rule the world - Extracted from Psalm 96: 1-3, 11-13
O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless His name.
Proclaim His help day by day, tell among the nations His glory and his wonders among all the peoples.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad, let the sea and all within it thunder praise, let the land and all it bears rejoice, all the trees of the wood shout or joy at the presence of the Lord for He comes, He comes to rule the earth.
With justice He will rule the world, He will judge the peoples with His truth. |
