25th August 2014 - Our Incarnate God in our crosses
Just before I leave this part of the Angelus - the Word becoming flesh - I just want to reflect on how our Incarnate God is with us in our crosses, both big and small.

The probelm of evil and suffering is always before us and with us. "How can a good God allow suffering and sickness and even terrible hardship among innocent people?"

So many people ask this question and puzzle over it in way or another. Recently in one of our Primary Schools the children asked me the same question.

Whichever way we turn and talk about it, it still remains a mystery - something we cannot fully understand or about which have all the answers.

What we do know though, and are certain of, is the fact that our God in Jesus and especially on the cross, embraced terrible suffering -  and he was totally good and innocent.

In so doing, this same Jesus has connected to all innocent people in all they go through. He is much more than an example or an inspiring role model in the way he bore suffering. Through the Incarnation he is now part and parcel of all who suffer, embracing everyone's suffering, carrying with them their cross and being to all who turn to him, their strength.


18th August 2014 - Our Incarnate God - Everywhere
After the big Incarnation of the Son of God in Bethlehem - and because of it - our God continues to become 'incarnate' in so many other ways:-

• In us. Now through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus truly lives in us.
• In others. In his human nature Jesus identified with everyone, especially the poor. "Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do to me". (Mt25:40)
• In the Word. It is truly Jesus who speaks to us here.
• In the Eucharist. The same Jesus is here too. Coming to us in another and most humbling of ways - under the simple form of bread.
• In creation. Created by God, all creation reflects its creator. Through the Incarnation however God, embracing our human nature, has embraced in this way all of creation.

Wherever we go then, we touch out Incarnate God - and our Incarnate God touches us.

11th August - St Catherine of Siena on the Incarnation.
On Sunday I was reading an excerpt from St Catherine of Siena (1347 - 1380) - a great Mystic and advisor to the Pope

Her words are a dialogue with God on Divine Providence. I want to quote a cople of paragraphs referring to the Incarnation.

"Moved by love and wishing to reconcile the human race to yourself, you gave us your only begotten Son. He became our mediator and our justice by taking on all our injustice and sin out of obedience to your will, Eternal Father, just as you willed he take on our human nature. What an immeasurably profound love! Your Son went down from the heights of his Divinity to the depths of our humanity. Can anyone's heart remain closed and hardened after this?"

She goes on to write "We image your Divinity, but you image our humanity in that union of the two which you have worked in a man. You have veiled the Godhead in a cloud, in the clay of our humanity. Only your love could so dignify the flesh of Adam....

4th August 2014 - What's the value of Christ's humanity?
In Canada one Christmas Eve a family went off to Midnight Mass leaving home their non-Catholic father. He said that he would wait up for them and celebrate together when they returned.

As the man read a book quietly by the fireside he heard a thump, and then another, then another. Getting up to check what had happened he saw a number of geese floundering around in front of the house in the snow. They must have been caught in a snow storm and lost their direction. Obviously they saw the house lit up and flew towards the light from the windows.

The man quickly opened the garage to offer them shelter and warmth. Try as he may, he could not usher the geese into the open garage.

He thought to himself, 'If only I could become one of them, they would trust me and I could help them'.

this illustrates in a simple and beautiful way the plan and the mystery of the Son of God becoming man.

He became one of us so that we could trust him and he could help us.