“And after eight days were accomplished, that the Child should be circumcised, His name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb” (Luke 2, 21).
First Prelude: Contemplate Jesus at His Circumcision, offering His Precious Blood for us to the heavenly Father.
Second Prelude: Inflame my heart with Thy love, my dear Jesus, that I may begin the new year with zeal and generosity.
FIRST POINT
THE LOVE OF JESUS IN THIS MYSTERY
Love constrained our Saviour even at the Circumcision to shed His Precious Blood for our salvation. “The souls of men were most precious in His sight,” says St. Charles Borromeo, in a sermon on this mystery, “hence, He wished to redeem them from the servitude of Satan and establish a security against such slavery. Filled with ardent love and tender solicitude, Christ begins, on the day of His Circumcision, that work of redemption which He wills to consummate on Calvary.” What love on the part of our Divine Saviour! Here He manifests Himself as the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. At the price of His Blood, the God-Man purchases for Him- self the sweet name, Jesus, and by sufferings, reveals to us the excess of His love.
If Jesus is so eager to shed His Precious Blood for us, can we hesitate to give Him our hearts? Let us return love for love, by offering ourselves to Him anew at the beginning of this year. The strength so necessary for this generous self-immolation Jesus wills to impart to us in the Sacrament of His Love, by means of that same Precious Blood which He begins to shed for us on this day. It will fortify us for that spiritual circumcision of the heart by which the faults and the inordinate inclinations are re- moved. Let us then daily unite the offering of ourselves with the oblation Christ made of Himself to His Eternal Father. In loving gratitude for His first sacrifice, let us offer Him, at least, all those sacrifices, which we are able to make with His grace. What is there in me that must still be removed by the knife of spiritual circumcision? Is it vanity, sensuality, pride, self-will, impatience, or sloth?
SECOND POINT
CHRIST’S HUMBLE SUBMISSION TO THE LAW OF CIRCUMCISION
At the very beginning of His earthly career, our Divine Saviour willed, by perfect obedience, to atone for the disobedience of Adam. He, the Supreme Lawgiver, although not bound by the law, fulfills even its minutest details, thus showing by His example that He had not come to dispense from the law, but to fulfill it. We will admire the humble obedience of Jesus and learn from Him, our sublime Model, to fulfill the Divine Will by perfect observance of our Holy Rule. Thus we shall become true religious. We will observe not only rules that are easy and agreeable, but also such as demand sacrifices. Knowing that human pride is the cause of all disobedience to the law of God, Jesus abases Himself in the mystery of the Circumcision, by submitting to a rite to which sinners alone are subject. Are we not confounded at the sight of such abasement? We who, being sinners, fear to be considered as such, and much more, to be treated accordingly? Is it not pride that renders the humble duties of our holy calling fatiguing and burden- some at times? Let us bear in mind that loving and persevering fidelity in the performance of ordinary duties constitutes true greatness. It is this fidelity that makes us pleasing to God and secures for us the fullness of graces and merits. In future, we will seek our joy and happiness in the prompt and perfect observance of our Holy Rule. Love, yes, ardent love for Him “Who also loved us and gave Himself for us” (Gal. 2, 20), shall ever animate us in our earnest endeavor.
Affections: O dear Jesus, to prove Thy infinite love for me Thou didst will to shed Thy Precious Blood. Should not the consideration of such love fill me with sincere gratitude, and cause me to exclaim: “Lord, I will give Thee love for love, sacrifice for sacrifice. Thou offerest for me today the first droplets of Thy Precious Blood, and I give Thee the first moments of the new year which, with the assistance of Thy grace, I resolve to spend in the earnest pursuit of genuine virtue and sanctity. Sup- port my good will, dear Jesus. May Thy holy name be my strength, my hope, my salvation, my consolation, and my life. In Thy name, I shall courageously undertake the battle against the enemies of my soul, and shall carry the yoke of Thy law with unflinching fidelity.”
Resolution: Animated with grateful love, I will begin a life of love and sacrifice.
Spiritual Bouquet: “I have said it: ‘Today I will begin.’”
Prayer: Take, O Lord . . .
