Day 7: 22nd December - Novena of Christmas by Saint Alphonsus de Liguori

‘The Eternal Word from being Happy made Himself Afflicted.’

Behold the three sinful loves which held dominion over man after the sin of Adam, the love of pleasures, the love of riches and the love of honors, which generate human pride. The divine Word, to teach us by his example, the mortification of the senses, by which the love of pleasures is subdued, from being happy became afflicted; to teach us detachment from the goods of this earth, from rich he became poor; and finally, to teach us humility, which overcomes the love of honors, from being exalted he became humble. We will speak on these three points during the last three days of the Novena. Today, let us speak of the first.

God, in creating man at the beginning, did not place him on earth to suffer, but put him into the paradise of pleasure. He put him in a place of delight, in order that he might pass thence to heaven, where he should enjoy for all eternity the glory of the blessed. But by sin, unhappy man made himself unworthy of the earthly, and closed the gates of the heavenly paradise, willfully condemning himself to death and to everlasting misery.

But the Son of God, in order to rescue man from such a state of ruin, what did he do? From blessed and most happy as he was, he chose to become afflicted and tormented. Our Redeemer could indeed have rescued us from the hands of our enemies without suffering. He could have come on earth and continued in his happiness, leading here below a pleasant life, receiving the honor justly due to him as King and Lord of all. But no: ‘For the sake of the joy which lay ahead of him, he endured the cross.’ (Heb: 12:2).

‘My Father, Thou hast rejected the sacrifices of men, because they were not able to satisfy Thy divine justice for the offenses committed against Thee; Thou hast given me a body, as I requested of Thee; because by enduring in this body all the pains which will accompany me through my life, and shall finally cause my death upon the cross, I purpose to propitiate Thee towards the human race, and thus to gain for myself the love of mankind.’

This was indeed the chief desire of his whole life, that the time of his Passion should arrive, that the redemption of mankind might be completed; for this reason he said on the night preceding his death: ‘I have ardently longed to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.’ (Luke 22:15). And before this time arrived, he seemed to console himself by saying, ‘There is a baptism I must still receive, and what constraint I am under until it is completed.’ (Luke 12:50).

We, by our sins contributed to make the whole life of our Savior embittered and afflicted. But let us thank his goodness in giving us time to remedy the evil which has been done. How, then, are we to remedy it? By bearing patiently all the crosses which he sends us for our good. And he himself tells us how we can bear these troubles with patience: ‘Put me as a seal upon thy heart.’ (Sg: 8:6). Put upon thy heart the image of me crucified; which means to say, consider my example and the pains which I have suffered for thee, and so shalt thou bear all crosses in peace. It is a virtue peculiar to a Christian to give thanks when in adversity. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Let us go to Jesus Christ, and he will console us, as he has promised to all: ‘Come to me, all you that labor and are burdened and I will refresh you.’ (Mat 11:28). When we have recourse to our Lord, he will either deliver us from our affliction, or he will give us the strength to bear it patiently.

O my dear Redeemer! What would have become of me, what hope could I have of pardon and salvation, if Thou, my Savior, hadst not come down from heaven to save me? I praise Thee, I thank Thee, I love Thee. If these acts of love are cold, because coming from a frozen heart, inflame this poor heart of mine; a heart that has offended Thee, but is now penitent. I consecrate myself entirely to Thee. O most holy Mary! Obtain for me the grace of living always bound to thy Son.


(Edited excerpts from St Alphonsus de Liguori, Novena for Christmas in: The Complete Works of St Alphonsus de Liguori. Rev. Eugene Grimm (Ed.)