Villa la Paz Newsletter December 2014
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
The Word became flesh. The Word became a tiny child to break down those barriers, the dividing wall that prevents us shaking hands with those who are different. Behind those walls each group considers itself the best, the most important and the most loved by God. The Word became flesh to bring these barriers down so that all of us can discover that we are all precious to God and made for love.
Jean Vanier
The world is not as just, not as loving, not as whole as we know it can and should be. But the coming of Christ and His presence among us, as one of us, gives us reason to live in hope: that light will shatter the darkness, that we can be liberated from our fears and prejudices, that we are never alone or abandoned.
Reflection in Connections
The Lord made the world and made humanity in order the He Himself might descend into the world, that He Himself might become human. For in becoming human, God became not only Jesus Christ but also potentially every man and woman that ever existed. In Christ, God became not only this man, but also, in a broader and more mystical sense, yet no less truly, every man.
Thomas Merton
The Incarnation is the greatest single event in the history of creation and God’s greatest gift to us. It embodies His self-emptying love, His self-abasement but most of all His humility. Think of that for a moment. The omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent Divinity wished to become one of us, not because we had sinned and needed redemption, but because of His love for us. Many prominent theologians believe that the Incarnation would have occurred even if man had not fallen, that God wanted to experience our limitations, our sorrows, our sufferings, to be one with us since one who loves desires to be with the one loved. And so He who cannot be contained in the universe became an embryo in the womb of a poor teenager and was born in the direst of circumstances, in a smelly stable amid animal excrement and sweat. His first bed was a feeding trough for animals. What was His purpose in entering time and space in such a manner? To teach us that wealth, power, prestige, titles are not to be our priorities, that they are not the necessary components of a successful life. It was a lesson on how to truly live without being weighed down by the material aspects of the world. Because of His poverty and low social circumstances He could freely give of Himself. We all know that what we own in reality owns us. Cars and homes require maintenance, insurance, tax payments. These demand money which requires us to work harder. Owning a business imposes obligations that can spiral out of control and consume one. God, because of the simple life that He chose, experienced none of these obligations and was free to serve where He was needed.
Christ therefore chose poor people for His parents, people nevertheless perfect in virtue, so that none of us should glory in the mere rank or wealth of our parents. He led the life of a poor man, to teach us to set no store by wealth. He lived the life of an ordinary man, without any rank, to wean men from an undue desire for honors. Toil, thirst, hunger, the aches of the body, all these He endured, to encourage men, whom pleasures and delights attract, not to be deterred from virtue by the austerity a good life entails.
St. Thomas Aquinas
This year has been challenging for us. We have admitted many children who have recovered or on the way to recovery, which gladdens the heart. However, we lost two children to leukemia who, even though they are no longer physically with us, repose in our hearts and memories. Our children and the poor of the world are gifts to us. They enable us to become eucharist, to give of ourselves in gratitude and thanksgiving. They are portals to heaven and enable us to enter into the mystery of the Incarnation.
Almighty God, who poured upon us the new light of your Incarnate Word, grant that the same light enkindled in our hearts may shine forth in our lives, Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Christmas mass at dawn
Anglo-Saxon Sarum Rite
We wish all of you a most Blessed Christmas and God’s best during the New Year. We love you and wish you peace.