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 come down from Heaven to seek you. Hearken, he goes on to say, how, scarcely yet born, His wailings call to you, as if He would say, O soul of Mine, it is thee I am seeking; for thee, and to obtain thy love, I am come from Heaven to earth. "Having scarcely quitted the Virgin's womb, He calls thy beloved soul after the manner of infants, Ah, ah, My soul, My soul! I am seeking you; for you am I making this pilgrimage."

O God, even the very brutes, if we do them a kindness, if we give them some trifle, are so grateful for it; they come near us, they do our bidding after their own fashion, and they show symptoms of gladness at our approach. And how comes it, then, that we are so ungrateful towards God, the same God Who has bestowed His whole Self upon us, Who has descended from Heaven to earth, has become an Infant to save us and to be loved by us? Come, then, let us love the Babe of Bethlehem, is the enraptured cry of St. Francis; let us love Jesus Christ, Who has sought in the midst of such sufferings to attach Our hearts to Him.

And for love of Jesus Christ, we ought to love our neighbors, even those who have offended us. The Messias is called by Isaias, Father of the world to come. [9:6] Now, in order to be the sons of this Father, Jesus admonishes us that we must love our enemies, and do good to those who injure us: Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, ... that you maybe the children of your Father