Spiritual Reflections at, TX US - IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD....

In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him. What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of all; and the light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it... The Word was real light that gives light to everyone; he was coming into the world. He was in the world that had come into being through him, and the world did not recognize him. He came to his own and his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believed in his name who were born not from human stock or human desire or human will but from God himself. THE WORD BECAME FLESH, and lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.--John 1:1-5;9-14 CROSS REFERENCES IN THE READINGS: John 1:1-5-- In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning Through Him all things came to be Not one thing had its beginning but through Him. All that came to be had life in Him and that life was the light of men a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not over- power. Cross Reference: Genesis 1:5 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. There was darkness over the deep. God's Spirit hovered over the water. God said: Let there be light; and there was light. He divided light from darkness. He called day light and darkness night. I John 1:1-2--Something which existed since the beginning, that we have heard, and we have seen with our own eyes; that we have watched and touched with our hands: the Word, who is life - this is our subject. John 1:14--And the word was made flesh And dwelt among us,And we saw His glory The glory that is His as the only Son of the Father. John 1: 9-12--And the Word was the true light that enlightens all men; and He was coming into the world, that had its being through Him, And the world did not know Him. He came to His own domain And His people did not accept Him; but to all who did accept Him He gave power to become children of God. Cross Reference: Wisdom 7:26 Wisdom is a reflection of the Eternal light, untarnished mirror of God's active power and image of His goodness. I John 2:15--The love of the Father cannot be in anyone who loves the world. I John 4:7--Let us love one another. Anyone who fails to love can never know God.--By Sr. Mary McArdle The Incarnation of Jesus Christ: "In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin bethrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The Virgin's name was Mary. The angel said to her:'Rejoice, O highly favored daughter! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.'" She was deeply troubled by his words, and wondered what his greeting meant. The angel went on to say to her: 'Do not fear, Mary. You have found favor with God. You shall conceive and bear a son and give him the name Jesus... The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; hence the holy offspring to be born will be called Son of God'...I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say.'" --Luke 1:26-38 ...And so, the WORD became flesh and dwelt among us... Who is the Incarnate Word? by Rev. L.M. Dooley, SVD "From the rising of the sun unto its setting, the Lord's name is to be praised." Look ye at yon ruddy hill, Still look ye there and see Is this not blood ... red blood that fell From the Incarnate Word for me? Still do I gaze at it, and well I see that bloody cross of wood... What more, what else, what word but love is this... All Beautiful, all Good." "Who is like God?" Thousands and many more thousands of years have vanished like incense wafting its way heavenward, since the Prince of Angels uttered these words, "Who is like God?" Today, after all these centuries we still say, "Who is like God. " "The heavens show forth the glory of God and the firmament declare the work of His hands. " God is wonderful in all His works. Gaze if you will upon the bespangled heavens with its immense distances, and contemplate their worlds of twinkling stars and shining planets, worlds within worlds; or, look out upon the blue and try to conceive the depths of ocean waters, peer upon that boundless deep which, rocking to and fro, or dashing against the barren coastline, or like a beautiful lullaby, stills the hearts at sea, and imagine, if you will, the mystery of its creation; or touch the foliage and feel, if you will, nature's green velvet as God so made it; stretch forth your hand and pluck a rose, yet... "Is there not wonderment in this rose, Upon the stem of thorn?"... Again turn your eyes to that rich oriental vegetation, that olive or palm grove, and try if you can to solve the mystery that surrounds it; stand in pensiveness and study the flashing plumage and listen to the songs of God's feathered choristers ... that peacock, strutting with head cocked high, that dove cooing over the dormer, the brown thrush singing in the thicket; the gull sailing aloft o'er the deep, the sand-piper flitting across the beach, the bob-o-link calling out his name on yon fence post, the little prisoner in the gilded cage, himself arrayed in yellow gold, warbling his cheery notes; or, try if you will to hold all the wealth of minerals and ores that are in captivity in the heart of the earth in your two hands, and then like St. Michael will you not say, "'Who is like God?" Do these not all cause us to break forth in astonishment and ad miration at the creative power of God's omnipotent hand? Still surpassing these worlds is the masterpiece, the spokesman of all this grandeur . . man, with his superior intellect, his will and memory reflecting faintly by these three powers the very Trinity Itself. Yes ... God made man the master over these worlds and gave him gifts far above any of the beauties of these. In awe the Psalmist himself exclaims at man's, exaltation over all this visible grandeur, "How admirable is Your name, magnified throughout the universe. With glory and honor You have crowned man and placed him over all the works of Your hand.” Yet, God, after making this creature called man, showed even more His infinite wisdom and power. This came with the crowning masterpiece when the God-man was made Incarnate of the Virgin through the marvelous intervention and the working of the Holy Spirit. This God-man, this Incarnate Word came with the crowning masterpiece when the God-man was made Incarnate of the Virgin through the marvelous intervention and the working of the Holy Spirit. This God-man, this Incarnate Word, is worthy of our deepest study and contemplation. Let us meditate on this in three phases of the meaning of this Word, the most wonderful spoken by the Father... I. THE INCARNATE WORD IN THE BOSOM OF THE FATHER. For awhile let our minds wonder and wander in a little reverie on the intense happiness of the Incarnate Word in the embrace of the Blessed Trinity. Here the Word rested ... before the first rose spread its gorgeous coloring to the sun and before the sun first kissed the rose with crystal dewdrops; before the first bird flitted cheerily through the trees and the trees opened their arms to these feathered songsters; before the first palms, waving their frondescence in the zephyred breeze, threw, as it were, perfume o'er the stilly night; before the tiniest of waves fretted on the shore and made their diamond sprays sprays sparkle in the sun; before the first sunrise shed rays of lustrous light upon the sleeping earth; before the first mountain rose into loftiness and grandeur; before the first river ever thundered through rocky gorge; before the first star over twinkled in its loveliness; before the first thread of nature’s green carpet was ever sewn; before the various-colored hues were ever painted in her vaulted rainbow roof; before its white curtains draped her starry windows; before the clouds first teardrops fell on daisy-eyes upturned, or into yellow buttercups; before the first icy breath of cold north winds froze the silver lake, or hung its frosted lanterns on the eaves, or covered "the pine, and the fir, and the hemlock with ermine," or the roofs with carrara; before the first southwest wind gently touched the trees with her fairy wand and lo! she clothed them, in green with golden apples waying in their branches, or with her first warm words encourage the flowers to open their buds, the birds to sing, and the corn to wave its golden hair in the breeze; before the first prayer of innocent heart was ever wafted upward to the throne above, as incense rises from the golden censer unto the Most High ... before these ... all ... the Incarnate Word was in the Bosom of the Father. Ponder awhile on the Activities there: Eternal Complacency forever to be in the heart of God Almighty. Eternal companionship of the Father and the Holy Spirit, the most exalted beings Whose minds were in union and harmony with this Word and set to the same eternal song. "Holy, holy, holy. " Eternal happiness, the Holy Spirit being the mutual love of the Father and the Word. No thoughts of unrest, or weariness, or sin, only the love of this Triune God. Eternal planning, to project Himself into His own creation, as a creature in time. Why? To redeem man whose fall was foreseen by the mind of God. Eternal planning by this Incarnate Word with the cooperation of the Father and Holy Spirit, Whose minds, as magnanimous as His own, were also in perfect unison with His designs. God saw ahead to the fall of man ... showing us that He was ever mindful of us, His children. Oh, what can we not say of this Incarnate Word resting in the bosom of the Father... aye ... fairer to behold than any beauty or grandeur that can be imagined. He rested there with a far greater loveliness than a beautiful white swan at her ease on still blue waters; He rested with a weightier anchor of love drawing Him to the Father than an argosy of rich bounty lying in a quiet harbor. He rested there in the serenity of His repose, awaiting to come down to earth, to become one of mankind, a true, living man, yet not losing any of the faculties of the Godhead. II. AND THUS HIS BIRTH: What can we say, or think, or dream, or ponder o'er that will bring home to us the tenderness of it all? Think of the Annunciation: what joy, inexpressible must not the Incarnate Word have felt knowing that it was near a Virgin heart that He would rest for those nine months; knowing that this Virgin Mother of His did not refuse to accept the gift that He was giving to her of Virginity combined with motherhood; knowing that she, so pure in His eyes, was really so, having been preserved from original sin from the first moment of her conception; knowing what a glorious work He had in store for her and how the sword of sorrow would pierce her heart because of it; knowing with what inexpressible tenderness she would press Him to her heart saying, "You are all mine, and I am all Yours." And . . . still, the journey ... the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem which was crowned with hardships and trials from first to last.. . Oh, the inexhaustible tenderness and beauty of these two hearts united with the Incarnate Word. Ponder well on the refusal at the Inns, "No room, no room for a God-man to rest upon ... When into this world He came, unheeded, unsung. " What an ocean of sadness in the Hearts of Mary and Joseph, but like the tender One to come, they knew how to forgive. And out into the dark night, the still night..."out yonder to the cave they went... Only a stable for Mother and Babe, How cruel the world, my God. " Then with a deep insight into mystery, let us ponder on the sacredness of that night, truly holy night. "O night divine,what mysteries lie beneath thy darkened pinions, Unbridling thy tongue and proclaiming Here lies upon a bed of gold The King of Glory, Only straw, yet doth it tell The sweetest human story That ever from night's twinkling twilight fell, Silent night, holy night." Ah! deep in Your solemnness and deeper in Your sacredness is it blessed. There is revelry in Bethlehem proper, kinsmen meeting kinsmen, and conversing upon the happenings of their lives and affairs, but never does Bethlehem tell so soon the cause of its joyfulness. This is something too pure for its eyes to look upon. So ... while the crowded Inn raises its voice of laughter high above its very walls ... lo! yonder two praying ... the holiest of hearts contemplate the coming of the King. "For now He is nigh even to the doors," and the hour strikes Then comes the King unknown, Yea, even unto His own. In ecstacy Mary and Joseph adore Him; see this Virgin Mother wrapping Him in swathing bands. With what indescribable tenderness she fondles this Babe, her own beloved Son and presses Him to her heart. This, the Birth of Eternity in Time, the appearance of the Incarnate Word. "Behold," says Crashaw, "all wonders in one sight, eternity shut in a span in the length of a Baby's body," Weak, helpless Babe... ah! so He looks ... but the ruler of creation. The heavens break loose; shafts of light are in the midnight sky; multitudes of the Heavenly Chorus are heralds of the glad tidings. "Gloria in excelsis Deo" swells on the air, "and peace, peace to men of good will. " The sacred revelry is a sharp contrast with the irreverent revelry of the cruel- hearted citizens. Then, behold! their song from out the blue is heard and the shepherds see them as they light the sky and are frightened, but the angel bids them "Fear not, for this day is born to you a Savior Who is Christ, the Lord." They go over to Bethlehem, and finding the Incarnate Babe they fall down and adore Him offering their gifts. "The shepherds have come from the hills to adore The Babe in the manger, my God." So, too, the Magi, this aristocracy, coming with the tinkling of bells, and in a strange cavalcade, coming in their royal purple, and falling at the feet of this Babe they adore Him. Thus the Incarnate Word, the Eternal Wisdom receives as guests the representatives of earthly learning and wisdom. He forgets that He is true Wisdom, and lets man speak to Him. He lays aside His creative mind, His merciful and benign self and listens to man. What learning they possess is mere nothingness aside this tiny Babe before them. See them in their silk and their ermine robes with golden ornaments hanging upon their breasts and holding to this King Whom they have sought, gold, frankincense and myrrh. Ah! we pause and wonder at their great faith; should we not wonder also at our too little faith, our little faith in the Incarnate Word, the Word At Whose word not spoken even, Calleth down the hosts of heaven. Look now at another scene ... across the desert wastes, with the torrid noonday sun beating down on them, and the chilly dews of night falling upon them, with the weird call of the wild around them, and the thirst and hunger, and the want of shelter the three lone ones hasten on to Egypt. How pitiful ... a persecution at once after the Magi have returned another way to their country. A hazardous trip to Egypt. Here in this country the first steps were taken by the Incarnate Word; His tiny baby feet stumbled and tripped across the floor to Mary who held out her hands to protect this Child of hers. How eagerly she listened to the first lispings of His baby lips which afterwards were to discourse so eloquently with His " Blesseds." She watches His tiny lips form the word of "Mother", and in the shadows she sees the silhouette of the cross. Then, we find this Word at Nazareth. What visions have we of Nazareth but those of peace. After He went down to Nazareth and "was subject to them" we find this carpenter's Son giving joy unbounded to Mary and Joseph. But ever amidst His greatest toil the cross "loomed" up before Him, and He thought of Calvary. Yet... notwithstanding these thoughts, His human soul ...enjoyed perfect peace, and He ever sought the . . . same peace for all men. And not only did He love the works of His Father, this wonderful creation of nature, but He pointed out the way for others to revel in her beauties. He, the carpenter's Son, fashioned a cradle for a tender babe, a crutch for the invalid, a staff for the old man's faltering steps, a chair for tired hearts to rest, but for the strong, a cross... a cross to carry up life's weary way to Calvary. III. HIS PUBLIC LIFE What expressions of fondest farewell could compare in the minutest detail to that of Christ bidding farewell to His Mother! The hour of parting at last had come, and He embraces her before He sallies forth "on His Father's business." We see Him now, a physical beauty ... His eyes, "the summer glory of the skies" . . . His fine sense of etiquette, of perfect poise, of well defined manliness with the glow of youthful adventure coursing through His veins, the eagerness to go on to His goal, that cross on the distant hill. So He disappears from sight and the Mother . . . so beautiful, now as always, even more so because of her sufferings, follows the reports of Him, and eagerly welcomes Him home, welcomes Him as she did on that first Christmas night. But what is He about. . . what is the work of the Word Incarnate? "Behold!" says St. John the Baptist, "behold the Lamb of God, behold Him Who takes away the sins of the world." His first work was to call His Apostles in order to form His Apostolic band. "Go forth and preach the gospel to every creature . . . thus they receive their commission. These were the first priests of the Church. Their great Preacher is this Incarnate Word. What did they think of Him, what did they look for in Him, what did they ask? Ah! all these fade into oblivion for they say of Him, "Never did man speak as this man." And miracles were performed: He feeds the starving multitude With Heavenly Bread. The blind see, the deaf hear, and risen are the dead. Yes-more ... The soul at last set free From bonds of sin and stain, And now no more to grieve Him, But a living God to gain. What can we say of the parables which He expounded? We go back to the time when Mary and Joseph sought Him in the Temple . . . and there they found this Incarnate Word confounding the Doctors of the Law. Then already could they say "Never did man speak as He." Now even more we ponder o'er His words of deep wisdom. He knew that men had to be shown real, living examples of what He Himself would have them do in order to save their souls, and thus He went down into the depths of nature and drew over her face a veil of exquisite beauty and loveliness, and poured upon her brow the oils of power to charm and soothe even the savage beast; He drew about her the robe of heavenly wisdom; upon her breast He placed the plate of justice; shod her feet with the sandals of time, and on her fingers the ring of love; He gave her a golden chariot filled with the men of the ages and four winged steeds to fly surely and swiftly to Him Who rules the universe. So He drew nature apart from herself and instead, brought her closer to the things of Heaven, and in His loving words brought home to man those precepts He would have them follow. He says, " Consider the lilies of the field, how they sow not, neither do they reap, and yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these." Again, "Not a sparrow falls from the housetop without your Heavenly Father knowing; are you not of much more worth than they?" But ingratitude: they hound Him to death. Still He forgives them and leaves a parting gift, the Blessed Sacrament. Ah sweet mystery of Love Divine What can you give us More than this Life of Thine? Yes, His own Life's flesh and blood, and this not alone for one day, one week, or one year, but as often as we would come to Him ... for His words are these, "Behold I am with you all days even unto the end of time. " Thus after He has given this superb gift, comes death ... Death comes . . . upon the tree of wood He hangs, Death comes, still feels the Christ its pangs, Death comes; He dieth not but rises high, Beyond the summit of an earthly sky. Yes He rises..."Doomed to death, but destined not to die." The nails that fasten Him to the tree, cannot hold Him there; they are only the means by which the way to heaven's portals can be lighted so man may not stumble all the way. And what does the Incarnate Word leave us as His parting eulogy? Oh sublime words, words which, sinking into our souls, leaves them filled with thoughts eternal. What are these words? "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do. Amen, amen, I say to you, this day you shall be with Me in Paradise. Behold thy Mother, Behold thy son. I thirst. My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me. Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit. It is consummated." "Behold your Mother." This Word gave us even His Mother. What do we think when we hear, "Behold your Mother? " Are we not confounded and ashamed to think of how much He gave us and how little we give Him? Are we not struck dumb and open not our lips to bespeak our admiration and wonderment for the love He bore us in His death? Yet still more when we, even to the best of our limited intelligence, try to comprehend the Resurrection. Should we stop and in reverie steal awhile to the side of the tomb and see this miracle of miracles? The grey dawn is about to burst into beaming light, the awakening birds twitter in the olive trees, the brook of Cedron murmurs low yet joyfully for it feels that something is about to happen. The ruddy cross still stands upon the silent hill, and three women are hastening to the sepulchre. At once, the guards fall down upon their faces, and not a spectral, but the living Incarnate Word comes forth from the tomb, sublime, splendid, gloriously arrayed, brighter than the sun, emitting from His person the rays of dazzling whiteness and so He comes forth from the tomb. This first class miracle proves that He is God. The coming of the dawn each morning always brings home to us... that after the gloom, Comes the opening of the tomb. He, the Incarnate of God, rose glorious and immortal three days after He died upon the cross. We know that it was of His own power proving to us that just as He had told us that He would rise and did, so shall we also, if we but remain true even to death to Him.” Then after forty days in which He brought consolation to His devour followers, the Incarnate Word ascends by His own power into His first home, heaven. There has been a perfect cycle since He left it and now returns. It has been from heaven to heaven. From the Heart of the Almighty unto his Heart again. If only we could imagine the joy of the Trinity at this reunion of the Word with the Father and the Holy Spirit, but we can only look...and learn. So far, we have seen the work of the Incarnate Word in the creation and the Redemption...now we will learn more of the Sanctification. Ten days after the Ascension, the Holy Spirit “comes with the sound as if of a mighty wind and filling the place where the eager ones were gathered together.” The final gift to us, His timorous children who now no longer should fear because of the strength given by the Holy Spirit. The grand curtain is therefore drawn aside and all the world may feast upon the work of the Incarnate Word and His gifts of love. What a friend is this Incarnate Word, the Friend of all, rich or poor, saint and sinner! All may come to Him for His invitation is universal, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden for I will refresh you.” “I will give you peace, and strength, and courage, and love with My words of wisdom. Just as I am the Eternal Bread which comes down from heaven filling the hungry, so I am the eternal wisdom, bringing light into the darkness.” St. John writes, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." He then goes on to tell us of the accomplishments of this Word. "And He Came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him He gave them power to be made the children of God, to those who believe in His name." What now can we do to prove our love, devotion, and loyalty to Him ... to the Incarnate Word of God, that we may also see "His glory, the glory of the only Begotten Son of the Father," and share alike this glory with Him? We can love Him with the best love in our hearts and give up every other love for Him. We can foster devotion to that Word-made Flesh by receiving often and worthily His Body and Blood in the Sacrament of Love. We can be loyal to Him by giving up everything rather than deny Him ... So, after our life's battle has been won: when the setting sun goes down for the last time, and the sign appears in the heavens that the Word Incarnate has come to pronounce the last words before we enter the Heavenly Jerusalem singing our beautiful anthem, may each have written on his soul, the saving word of salvation, the name of this Word Incarnate, Jesus, our Good, our Beautiful, and everlasting God, and thus go into the realms of eternal rejoicing and feasting with Him, exclaiming, "Praised be the Incarnate Word!" And if we feel that He is calling us to a higher state of life we can generously leave all to follow Him. So... help us in our daily strife, 0 Word of Wisdom and of Light, And Holiness and Purity: So bid us come unto Thee.

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