My Lord and My God. From all eternity Thou has thought of creating Man and how, after his fall, Thou would redeem him. Thou has emptied Thyself and desired that Thou should take upon Thyself our flesh which, of itself, would seem to pay the debt of our redemption. But Thou would not stop there.
Thou was born in a trough (symbolic of the Eucharist where we come and eat Thy flesh), in a lowly and humble state, devoid of external glory, for love of us. Such great humiliation would seem to pay the debt of our redemption. But Thou would not stop there.
Thou was born to parents, thus, sanctifying the state of family life. Born of the working class, with no siblings, in a stable of an obscure village, living the apparent ordinary life of a child to show us the importance of family and our state in life. This would seem to pay the debt of our redemption. But Thou would not stop there.
Thou has spent ten times the amount of time with Thy Blessed Mother as compared to the time that Thou would spent in public life. Thou was to be rejected repeatedly by Thy choosen people, who ultimately would seek Thy life. The humiliation suffered by the indigination of Thy nation Israel would seem to pay the debt of our redemption. But, in Thy great mercy, Thou would not stop there.
Thou, having suffered the horrible price of taking upon Thyself our sins, the sins of the world, in the Garden of Gethsemane, would seem to far outweight the scales of Justice for our redemption. But, in the depths of Thy infathomable mercy, Thou would not stop there.
Being abandoned by Thy apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane, having no one, save Thy Blessed Mother and the holy women with her, that would "go with Thee to the Cross". The humiliation suffered from this rejection -- of Thy friends and followers -- must be enough to cover the debt of our redemption. But, inconceivably, Thou would not stop there.
It is the Cross and Thy Passion which Thou has, from all eternity, desired to be the price of our redemption. This price is what you paid for me. Yet how often have I stopped there, at the foot of the cross, to contemplate Thy love for me.
It is Christmas, the Mass of Christ, which Thou has given us to draw us closer to Thee. May I, by corresponding to Thy grace, submit myself to Thy Most Holy Will -- not my, but Thy will be done.