examination of the heart 460 the book of His sons, as He Himself was reckoned today as a son of Joseph, and Joseph was listed among the sons of David. Finally, ask the Prince of Peace for peace; not the peace that is wholly without any adversity, but such as attained by tireless struggle; because He Himself, still in the cradle, experienced the snares of enemies, the winter colds and the rudeness, or rather the greatest wickedness, of people. He was laid down in the manger because there was no place for Him in the inn. 2. “every mountain and hill be made low” (Is 40:4). May He impart this grace to you, the One Who is still laid in His cradle yet Who already entreats: “Learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29): that He may grind, make low, and carry off all your pride, which lies heavily upon your soul like a hill or rather some very heavy mountain, like a gigantic Etna!226 Truly, who among people would dare to be haughty, seeing the Lord of Heaven and earth being thus humiliated; for his sake, lowering Himself from the throne of His heavenly Kingdom to the corner of a stable, from the angels to the sheep; and that He, being always immortal, wanted to be clothed in mortal flesh? Does not His unheard of humility penetrate you; does it not persuade you to love and imitate Him? [f.148r] 3. “Let us go over to Bethlehem,” etc. (Lk 2:15). Behold the great prudence with which those holy shepherds were endowed. Having heard the voice of an angel by which they were prompted to see the newborn Messiah, they did not at all neglect or postpone this matter; instead, they mutually exhorted each other, saying: “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us” (Lk 2:15). Oh, if only you would use such great prudence in following good impulses or inspirations; if only you would have such great 226 According to the Greek mythology, the giant Typhoeus, the youngest son of Tartarus and Gaea, tried to force Jupiter (Zeus) from heaven. But Zeus, after a violent encounter, succeeded in destroying him with a thunderbolt. Then this giant was buried beneath Etna, a volcano in Sicily. Cf. FLL, vol 4, Typis Seminarii, Patavii 1887 (s.v. Typhoeus).
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