417 part ii: meditations for more solemn feasts FOR THE FEAST OF THE BIRTH OF THE MOST BLESSED VIRGIN Before Holy Communion 1. “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ” (Mt 1:1). O eternal Son of God! Upon what kind of work are You embarking? What admirable venture are You taking upon Yourself? Behold, out of love for men You intend to be a man and to clothe Your Divine Majesty in human baseness. I am uncertain whether it is for concealing it or to make it more clearly visible? Today that perfect Ark already appeared under the sun, in which You are going to remain for nine months. Today the Sanctuary, which your presence will sanctify more, was erected in the middle of the Church. Today, the work of the right hand of the Most High, the most excellent work of all, filled with admiration and joy the heavens, limbo, and the people waiting for the Messiah. O my soul! I do not know where you shall direct your joy: whether to the future Mother of God born today? Or to the future Savior still awaited? Choose the former; and, joining the angels and the newborn Virgin in the cradle, compose a grateful song for her on the day of her birth and say: Hail, Morning Star, most bright forerunner of the eternal day! Hail, most brilliant Moon, which illuminates the long night. Hail Mary, the greatest adornment of the heavens and the earth, you shall bear the true Savior! In addition to other titles, I greet you with the title of the Refuge of sinners. O what a great number of sinners await you, the city of refuge, you who are to preserve them from eternal death! Among them I, the first of all, fly to you. 2. “Abraham begot Isaac” (Mt 1:2). Both Jesus and Mary were descendants of two ancestries: royal and priestly. She is the Daughter, He is the Son of Abraham and Isaac; they are the most obedient from among the most obedient. He always followed the will of the Father; she never followed her own, but did only the will of God. And she gave evidence of this, even to the very messenger of the Savior’s Incarnation, saying: “Be it done to me according to [Y]our word” (Lk 1:38). Undoubtedly
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