The Infant Jesus
by Fr.Gus Carter
12/25/05

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius have been a special grace in the prayer life of the Catholic Church. In these exercises we are taught what is called Ignatian contemplation. He teaches us to imagine Jesus in various aspects of Jesus' life on earth. He encourages us to create vivid pictures of Jesus in our minds. Then we react to what we have seen with our minds eye. We are introduced to this type of prayer through various scenes surrounding Jesus' birth, particularly by making mental representations of the Infant Jesus lying in the manger near Bethlehem. I find it interesting that St. Francis of Assisi is given credit for fashioning representations of Jesus in the crib surrounded by Mary and Joseph. These began being displayed in Franciscan churches. I think that remembering infants we have seen can aid us in making more vivid images of the newly born Jesus.

I recall a woman in a class I was teaching telling about bringing her first child home from the hospital. She and her husband sat up practically all night, just gazing in wonder at the new born. I have read several times that the most common place for people to experience God is in infants. A football coach I worked with told me one time, "When I saw my first child, I knew there was a God!" At Christmas time to make more real for ourselves the birth of Christ, we might remember some special experience we have had from looking upon a child. I recall the first time I looked closely at an infant's hands. What struck me were the tiny fingernails. They were so small and yet perfectly formed. I told my sister who has children of her own how happy my mother seemed to me when she was bathing my younger brothers and sisters. Her reply was, "How could you not love infants, be joyful in making them happy and content." I do have a sense of the joy babies can bring, the potential for good and hopefulness expressed in the life of a baby. I think I can imagine to some degree the powerful feelings a mother must have for her own child. .

What I suggest: it is not just for today, but throughout the Church's Christmas season, that we spend some time remembering our experiences with babies. Ask ourselves, "How has God influenced me, spoken to me, through infants in my own life?" Then imagine Jesus as a new born child. Spend some time shaping the Christ child in your mind. Then respond from your heart what that child stirs up in you.
I recall as a youngster conversations in our home about criminals whose crimes would make you hate them. My mother's response to each one would be, with compassion, "He is someone's little child." I believe that my mother's remembrance of her own children became a key for her to respect even seemingly evil persons. We believe that we humans are images of Jesus Christ, destined to share divine love. Even when individuals do not respect themselves, we can hope that some recognition by us of who they are will help them to see some aspect of their inner beauty. People lives have been transformed by unexpected kindness.

The almighty and glorious God has come among us as in infant. Thinking of God's infinite power can make us afraid. Yet our God appears among us in the weakest possible guise, as a totally non-threatening, needy infant. What a lesson about the humility of God! He is born in obscurity. Aside from his family, only lowly shepherds welcome him into the world.

Through Jesus we get some sense of how the mightiest deeds of God are hidden from our eyes. Love for us is the reason the Creator's Son appeared on earth as a relatively obscure human. Responding to this love by loving our neighbor is the ultimate meaning of life. Jesus is our peace . because he has gained for us the power to love, the power to forgive, the power to heal. "Make me an instrument of your peace," St. Francis prayed. Through friendship with Jesus in our lifetime, we aid others to enter into eternal life. We are called to express divine love. As dispensers of divine love, we seek to make others infinitely happy by bringing Jesus Jove into their lives.