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 came after  Christ. Thus the  virtue  of  the  cross touches each,  and  Christ’s  sweetness  and  refreshing grace are  ever  ready  to  their  hands,  though  in  this respect the  Christian  has  the  advantage. To the men of  old,  God  said:  “Go  before  Me  and  be  perfect,” but  to  His  Christian  followers  Christ  Himself has shown  the  way,  and,  leading,  says: “ Come,  follow Me.”

Q.  On what  day  was  the  Son  of  God  conceived  and made  man?

A. '' The Son  of  God  was  conceived  and  made  man on  Annunciation  Bay  — the  day  on  which  the  Angel Gabriel  announced  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  that she  was  to  be  the  Mother  of  God. ''

We adore  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation  twice during the  Mass,  viz. at the  words  of  the  Creed, Et homo  factus  est,  and  at  the  Et  Verbum  caro factum est,  of  the  last  gospel. A young man while assisting  at  Mass  neglected  to  genuflect  at these  two  points,  and  immediately  the  devil  with  a threatening  aspect  appeared  and  said: “ Ungrateful wretch! have you  no  sense  of  thankfulness? If God had  only  done  half  as  much  for  us  we  would  be constantly  prostrate  before  Him  adoring  and  thanking Him.”

Q.  On what  day  was  Christ  born?

A.  Christ was  born  on  Christmas  Day, in  a stable at  Bethlehem,  nineteen  hundred  years  ago.