How secret
are the sleeping quarters of a king! Can you understand how without this Virgin’s
awareness he has produced the outlines of his sacred body in her venerable womb,
the whole of our nature; how he has taken on its every quality? Since
everything is possible with God, and it is impossible for you fully to
understand even the least of his works, do not inquire excessively into this Virgin’s conceiving, but believe it. Be reverently aware of the fact that
God wishes to be born. Grasp by faith that great mystery of the Lord’s birth,
because without faith you cannot comprehend even the least of God’s works.
Thus what
God commands, an angel relates. His Spirit fulfills it, and his power
brings it to perfection. The Virgin believes it, and nature takes it
up. The tale is told from the sky, and then proclaimed from all the
heavens. The stars show it forth, and the Magi tell it about. The
shepherds adore, and the beasts are aware. Do acknowledge him in company with
the beasts. Look, they give homage with their tails; they show their delight
with their ears, they lick with their tongues, and with whatever sign they can
they acknowledge that their Creator, in spite of his nature, has come into
yours.
Let us bow
down at the manger, worshiping Him who has come to be with us in all things. Mary gives us her Son, who longs to embrace us.