Each year, as the cold breath of winter fills the air with a crisp chill, there is a warmth in our hearts as we rejoice in the Solemn Feast of Christmas, when the Eternal Word of the Father emptied Himself, was born a tiny Babe, and was laid in a poor manger, all for love of us. Yes, a Child is born for us, a Son is given us! With great gratitude and festivity, we joyfully celebrate and give gifts, for the Father has given us the greatest Gift possible : His only beloved Son.
The Child of Bethlehem was born to die for us, to make us children of God. He knew the frailty of infancy, as His mother, Mary, nursed Him and held Him in her arms. There is no stage of our lives that Jesus has not sanctified by living it Himself, but childhood holds a special place in His Heart, for when He taught His disciples, it was a child whom He took in His arms to hold up as a model; and He also said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
If you’ve never had a devotion to the Child Jesus, Christmas is the perfect time of year to begin! As you take time to kneel at the crib and gaze upon Him in His poverty and littleness, He will show you how to become more like Him, a true child of the Father. What an awesome privilege we have: to be able to call our all-powerful, ever-living God by the tender name of Father!
Devotion to Jesus as a child is not just venerating a statue or picture of the Child Jesus. It is learning from Him that self-emptying love. The Son of God emptied Himself and became a poor little baby! We see in Him both majesty and humility, power and weakness, which gives depth to the tenderness of our devotion to Christ in His Childhood, blending in our hearts a trusting and affectionate love with total adoration.
Throughout the centuries, many saints have had devotion to the Christ child. St. Teresa of Jesus (of Avila) always traveled with her statue of the Infant Jesus when she was establishing new convents. Her devotion grew after she met a beautiful young boy as she was coming down the convent steps. The Child spoke to her and said, "Who are you?" Teresa answered, "I am Teresa of Jesus and who are you?" The Child answered, "I am Jesus of Teresa!" and then He disappeared.
Then theJesusre is the great St. Anthony of Padua, who loved to meditate upon the great humility of Jesus in His Incarnation. One night, while St. Anthony was praying in a hermitage, Count Tiso passed by and saw a light shining from his room. He peeked in, and saw St. Anthony tenderly holding the Divine Child and speaking with Him. Closer to our own day, Saint Therese of the Child Jesus had a deep devotion to the Christ Child. A statue of the Infant was her special charge in Carmel. She wrote,
“Jesus has chosen to show me the only way which leads to the Divine Furnace of love; it is the way of childlike self-surrender, the way of a child who sleeps, afraid of nothing, in its father’s arms.”
St. Faustina wrote, "I suddenly saw the Infant Jesus standing by my kneeler and holding on to it with His two little hands. Although He was but a little Child, my soul was filled with awe and fear, for I see in Him my Judge, my Lord, and my Creator, before whose holiness the Angels tremble. At the same time, my soul was flooded with such unspeakable love that I thought I would die under its influence."
And then there is our beloved St. Pio, whom Jesus appeared to one day as a small child. St. Pio said to Him, “My Jesus, why are you so small today?” Another time as he was going down the stairs near the sacristy, St. Pio halted by the window. Suddenly, the child Jesus appeared in a halo of light and rested in St. Pio’s arms, and his face became radiant.
There are many in our world who have grown entirely independent of their Father, totally depending on themselves for everything. No wonder our culture suffers from so much depression and anxiety. The Child Jesus teaches us that God is truly our loving Father and that He desires us to be His children who trust Him with everything in our lives, having confidence in His tender love for each of us. A child does not worry about tomorrow, because he knows his father will take care of him. A child also wants to make his father happy. Jesus told his disciples, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments.” So, by doing all He asks of us, we show that we love Him in return, and we have confidence that he will take care of us.
Devotion to the Child Jesus is a way of giving honor to the virtues of Christ’s childhood, a way to strive for the virtues of simplicity, innocence, humility, obedience, and childlike trust. And a child is honest; his honesty and simplicity in dealing with others can help us to see what our relationship with God and our neighbor should be. If we believe that we are all children of the Heavenly Father, shouldn’t this help us to truly love one another as brothers and sisters? Wouldn’t it be a joy to walk hand-in-hand with the Child Jesus along the journey of our life?
Christmas seems to carry us back in time, when we recall that blessed and cold night in Bethlehem when a world unknowingly welcomed its Creator. We look back and rest in the stillness of that Heaven-touched cave which held the God of every heart. It is one thing to remember an event, but it is an altogether different thing to live it, to encounter it anew. Mother Church in her wisdom lays before us that blessed night when the Light came into the darkness of this world. Is it only a memory, a nostalgic look at the past? Was Jesus only born those many years ago for us to remember with estranged hearts?
No, He is here, now- not as a memory, but in the Flesh. He is present in the cave of every tabernacle, lit by the red flame of the sanctuary lamp as by that star which shone over Bethlehem. He is here, present in our midst, and longing for our love. He, that Holy Child of Bethlehem, can restore the joy of our youth, the innocence of our early days. Yes, He can fill our hearts to overflowing with the reality of His Presence. We do not need to long for past days when things seemed to be better, when worries were fewer, and we slept well at night. But we can bring all these things to our little yet mighty King this Christmas. Let us go to Him with honest, simple, and loving hearts. He will speak to us, maybe not with words, but by the tender look in His eyes which says, “I love you. Fear not.” May this Christmas bring us an encounter with Christ, the little King.
How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is given.
So God imparts to human hearts, the blessings of His Heaven.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin.
Where meek souls will receive Him, still,
The dear Christ enters in.
O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray
Cast out our sins and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels, The great glad tidings tell,
O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord, Emmanuel!
Written for Rosie Magazine, Embracing the Beauty of Motherhood, Winter 2023. If you are interested in this magazine, see the link below.
