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Martyrology - December 9th
Upon the 9th of December, were born into the better life:
At Toledo, in Spain, the holy Virgin and martyr Leocadia. In the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian the suffered a terrible imprisonment under Dacian, Prefect of Spain, and when she heard of the grievous torments of blessed Eulalia and the other martyrs, she knelt down in prayer and gave up her unstained spirit to Christ, (in the year 303.)
At Carthage, the holy martyr Restitutus, Bishop (of that see,) concerning whom on whose solemn feastday holy Augustine preached a discourse to the people.
Likewise in Africa, the holy martyrs Peter, Successus, Bassian, Primitivus, and twenty others.
At Limoges, in France, (in the year 46,) the holy Virgin and martyr Valeria.
At Verona, holy Proculus, Bishop (of that see, in the fourth century.) In the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian he was buffeted and cudgelled and thrust out of the city, but was at length restored to his awn church and fell asleep in peace.
At Pavia, holy Syrus, the first Bishop of that city, who was eminent for the signs and powers of an apostle.
At Apamea, in Syria, blessed Julian, Bishop, who shone with holiness in the time of the Emperor Severus.
At Perigueux, in France, (about the year 586,) the holy Abbot Cyprian, a man of great holiness. (He lived as a hermit in the latter part of his life near Dordogne, at a place now called after him.)
At Nazianzus, (about the year 371,) holy Gorgonia, sister of blessed Gregory the theologian, who hath written of her graces and miracles.
At Grai, in Burgundy, (in the year 1636,) holy Peter Fourier, Canon Regular of Our Saviour, founder of the Canonesses Regular of Our Lady for the education of girls whom, illustrious for his virtues and miracles, Leo XIII added him to the roll of the Saints.
And elsewhere many other Holy Martyrs, Confessors and Holy virgins.
R. Thanks be to God
Meditations - Friday in the Second Week of Advent: The Glory of Man through the Incarnation
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation
We will meditate tomorrow on the glory which accrues to man from the incarnation of the Word, and we shall see: first, that it raises man in Jesus Christ to the highest degree of greatness; second, that it places him in several respects in a better position than he was before his fall. We will then make the resolution: first, to respect our body and keep it always pure, seeing that the Incarnate Word has so greatly honoured it; second, to grow every day in love to Our Lord, who has loved us so much, and to multiply acts of love day and night. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of the Church, “O happy fault which procured for us such a Redeemer” (Exsultet).
Meditation for the Morning
Let us adore, love, and bless the infinite goodness of God, who is pleased to do good to men even after they have offended Him. Man had degraded himself by his sin, the Incarnate Word raises his fallen nature to the highest degree of greatness; man had despoiled himself of the gifts of grace and had debased himself below the devils, God raised him and placed him in a better state than in certain respects his primitive state had been. Let us pour out in His presence all our sentiments of gratitude and love.
First point
God has Raised Human Nature to the Highest Degree of Honour in Jesus Christ.
Here a prodigy offers itself to our meditations which will be the eternal admiration of Paradise. The Word of God uniting Himself with human nature in unity of person, has thereby raised it, not only above all angels, but to an equality with God Himself; for in virtue of the hypostatic union it will be everlastingly true to say that in Jesus Christ, man is God, and that this Man-God has a right to the same homage as God Himself. From His first entrance into the world the angels are commanded to adore Him (heb i:6). In the desert angels come and serve Him (mat iv:11). On the day of the ascension, God the Father makes Him sit at His right hand as His equal (psa cix:1 ; heb viii:1). It will be everlastingly true to say, when speaking of Jesus Christ: the soul of this Man is the soul of a God; His hands are the hands of a God; His body is the body of a God; His heart is the heart of a God; and this body will be adored by all the earth and in the heavens; this heart will be the object of the worship of all creatures in time arid throughout eternity. What an ineffable transformation of our poor nature from such a depth to be raised to such a height! But if God has so greatly honoured human nature in His Word, let us learn to honour it in ourselves by always preserving it pure and holy, always guarded from everything that sullies and degrades, always adorned and embellished with all that is good, edifying, amiable, and honourable (php iv:8).
Second point
God, by the Incarnation, has Placed us in Several Respects in a Better State than our State before the Fall.
God, in fact, through Jesus Christ, was not contented with withdrawing us from the eternal abyss to which we were condemned, to redeem us from the slavery of the demon, and to obtain for us the pardon of our faults (col i:14), but He restores us to His favour and to our heavenly rights, not only once, but every time that we lose them by our sins, however enormous, however multiplied they may be, on the sole condition of confessing them and repenting of them; so that, thanks to the Incarnation, everyone who desires it may be saved: those only damn themselves who desire to be damned. This is not all. The Incarnation, through the assistance of the sacraments, makes us children of God, brothers of a God, members of Jesus Christ, and one and the same body with Him; it makes us share with Him the kingdom of heaven and His own throne (rev iii:21; eph ii:6); it transforms us into temples of the Holy Ghost, who dwells in us (1co vi:19); into living sanctuaries of the divine Eucharist, by which Jesus Christ incorporates Himself in our body and makes of our heart a Paradise upon earth; lastly, it makes us the brothers and co-heirs of the saints, with whom we are destined to reign throughout eternity in glory. O my God! how true it is to say that Thy holy Incarnation has placed us in a better state than the state before the fall; and how great reason Thy Church has to exclaim, when speaking of the fall of Adam: “Happy fault which procured for us such a Redeemer”. But how do we appreciate so great a grace? Do we bless God for it every day? do we love Him for it ever more and more? do we love Him with more zeal?
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.
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