Villa la Paz Newsletter December 2012

Incarnation: Christian Theol. effectuation of the hypostatic union through the conception of the second person of the Trinity in the womb of the Virgin Mary
Hypostasis: Christian Theol. the union of the wholly divine nature and of a wholly human nature in the one person of Jesus Christ (in full hypostatic union)
Kenosis: Christian Theol. the voluntary abasement of the second person of the Trinity in becoming man
Webster’s New World Dictionary
Third College Edition

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came to be through Him and without Him nothing came to be. What came to be
4 through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race,
5 the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son full of grace and truth.
John 1:1-5, 14

It all happened in a moment, in a most remarkable moment. As moments go, that one appeared no different than any other…… But in reality that particular moment was like none other. For through that segment of time a spectacular thing occurred. God became a man. While the creatures of earth walked unaware, Divinity arrived. Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious one in a human womb. The omnipotent, in one instant, made Himself breakable. He who had been spirit became pierceable. He who was larger than the universe became an embryo. And He who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl. God as fetus. Holiness sleeping in a womb. The Creator of life being created.
from God Came Near
by Max Lucrado
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006

Small was the cave. Small and graceful the young mother. Small, against the cave, people, and animals, was the Baby. Yet immensity, eternity, and all the power and glory were contained in His smallness!
Catherine de Hueck Doherty

The Incarnation, the enfleshing of God, is the ultimate expression of the infinite, unconditional love of the Father for His children. Do we understand the wonder of it, do its implications amaze us, astound us, fill us with inexpressible joy? What greater manifestation of the humility of God to go from omnipotence to total dependence on a young poor woman and an equally poor carpenter, to leave heavenly glory and enter the world in a dirty, smelly stable, to present Himself first to lowing animals and simple shepherds. He who wills and maintains the universe owes his livelihood to those He created. Why do we not focus on the Incarnation during Christmas instead of engaging in a frenzy of shopping and consumerism? It is another sign of God’s humility that He allows Himself to be displaced by the delirium of buying, parties and other activities that truly do not reflect the profound meaning of Christmas. Our gratitude should be focused on a God who emptied Himself completely so as to fill us with divine life, a God who wished to become one of us to encourage us during the sorrows and pains we will encounter in this life. Instead our gratitude is focused on those who gift us with money and objects which have only temporal and transitory values rather than eternal ones. How did we arrive at such a sad state? By focusing on the season itself rather than the reason for the season. We have become jaded and indifferent to the wonder of the Incarnation. We must shift our focus to the Love that desired to become one of us, to the sanctification of the universe wrought through the union of His divine nature with a human one, and to the infinite grace that the Incarnation has brought to each one of us.

O Lord Jesus Christ, make me worthy to understand the profound mystery of your holy Incarnation, which you have worked for our sake and for our salvation. Truly there is nothing so great and wonderful as this, that you, my God, should become a creature so that we could become like God. You have humbled yourself and made yourself small that we might be made mighty. Blessed are you, O Lord, who came to earth as one of us.
Blessed Angela of Foligno

We’ve become too polite. We don’t laugh and cry with God. We’ve forgotten the excitement of the Good News. What greater sign of the extraordinary, lavish, marvelous love of God than the Incarnation! God so loved the world and all of us in it that God Himself came to live with us as one of us! Is it so good that we are afraid to believe it?
Madeleine L’Engle

The mystery of the Incarnation reminds us that God is intimately involved with the world. God wants to be in this messy, murky, beautiful mysterious and grace-filled adventure with us.
from Finding My Voice
A Young Woman’s Perspective
by Beth M. Knobbe

Our children and the children of the world reflect the true significance of the Incarnation. They come into the world to sanctify us by eliciting our love and nurturing and to enable us to serve Him through them. In their helplessness and dependence they reflect the God who, over 2,000 years ago, chose to become one with His creation. We thank you for enabling us to care of them. From all of us at the Villa La Paz Foundation and Hogar San Francisco de Asís (Home of Saint Francis of Assisi) we wish you a blessed and holy celebration of the Incarnation and a peaceful, prosperous and faith-filled New Year.