Page:Meditations For Every Day In The Year.djvu/66

 introduced so  much  evil  into  the  world,  and  imitate  the example of  humility  which  Christ  has  given  in  His  incarnation.

II. Consider His  ineffable  charity;  "  For  God  so  loved the  world  as  to  give  His  only  begotten  Son." (John iii, 16.)  The  Son  Himself  had  such  an  affection  for  it  that He willingly  surrendered  Himself. Who, and  for  whom? The God  of  majesty,  for  a  vile  and  ungrateful  slave. Love, therefore,  so  loving  a  God  with  your  whole  heart, with all  your  soul,  and  with  all  your  strength;  and  feeling  convinced  that  you  cannot  love  Him  sufficiently,  endeavor  according  to  your  state  and  calling  to  draw  as. many as  you  can  into  the  love  and  service  of  so  good  a God.

III. Consider His  infinite  goodness  in  communicating Himself to  man  in  the  highest  possible  degree;  His  mercy, in taking  upon  Himself  our  miseries  and  their  relief;  His justice, which  induced  Him  to  satisfy  His  Father  to  the utmost, by  making  the  whole  of  our  debt  His  own;  lastly, His power,  in  uniting  two  extremes  of  infinite  distance from one  another,  God  and  man,  the  Creator  and  His creature. " Sing  ye  to  the  Lord  a  new  canticle,  because He  hath  done  wonderful  things.  The  Lord  hath  made known  His  salvation:  He  hath  revealed  His  justice  in the  sight  of  the  Gentiles." (Ps. xcvii.  1  and  2.)

I. After  the  Incarnation  had  been  decreed,  the  eternal Word might  have  assumed  the  perfect  body  of  a  man, such as  was  formed  for  Adam,  without  infringing  the rigor of  God's  justice,  which  He  desired  to  satisfy. He chose, however,  to  be  born  of  a  mother:  first,  in  order  to