{"id":209,"date":"2018-03-12T04:00:40","date_gmt":"2018-03-12T08:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/?p=209"},"modified":"2018-03-11T16:47:21","modified_gmt":"2018-03-11T20:47:21","slug":"emptying-ourselves-day-6-the-sign-of-a-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-practices\/marian-consecration\/emptying-ourselves-day-6-the-sign-of-a-child\/","title":{"rendered":"Emptying ourselves Day 6 – The sign of a child"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 6 – The sign of a child<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s Midnight Mass Homily 2006:<\/p>\n

We have just heard in the Gospel the message given by the angels to the shepherds during that Holy Night, a message which the Church now proclaims to us: “To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk<\/em> 2:11-12). Nothing miraculous, nothing extraordinary, nothing magnificent is given to the shepherds as a sign. All they will see is a child wrapped in swaddling clothes, one who, like all children, needs a mother\u2019s care; a child born in a stable, who therefore lies not in a cradle but in a manger. God\u2019s sign is the baby in need of help and in poverty. Only in their hearts will the shepherds be able to see that this baby fulfils the promise of the prophet Isaiah, which we heard in the first reading: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder” (Is<\/em> 9:5). Exactly the same sign has been given to us. We too are invited by the angel of God, through the message of the Gospel, to set out in our hearts to see the child lying in the manger.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s sign is simplicity. God\u2019s sign is the baby. God\u2019s sign is that he makes himself small for us. This is how he reigns. He does not come with power and outward splendour. He comes as a baby \u2013 defenceless and in need of our help. He does not want to overwhelm us with his strength. He takes away our fear of his greatness. He asks for our love: so he makes himself a child. He wants nothing from us other than our love, through which we spontaneously learn to enter into his feelings, his thoughts and his will \u2013 we learn to live with him and to practise with him that humility of renunciation that belongs to the very essence of love. God made himself small so that we could understand him, welcome him, and love him.<\/p>\n

Reflection:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Let us meditate on the little God who comes to us and welcome him into our arms and our hearts and love him.<\/p>\n

We learn to see Him better as we become more like Him. When we choose to become little and we accept our weakness we draw closer to the Baby Jesus in the womb of Mary. As we love Him, we enter into his feelings, his thoughts and his will and we enter into the heart and into the womb of Mary, to whom He first entrusted His life. We find ourselves pressed up against Him like two twins in the womb, experiencing His paradise in that place of perfect love.<\/p>\n

Prayers:<\/a><\/p>\n

Veni Sancte Spiritus<\/p>\n

Ave Maris Stella or Sub Tuum Praesidium<\/p>\n

Litany of Penance or Radiating Christ<\/p>\n

Prayer of Entrustment to the Womb of Mary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 6 – The sign of a child Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s Midnight Mass Homily 2006: We have just heard in the Gospel the message given by the angels to the shepherds during that Holy Night, a message which the Church now proclaims to us: “To you is born this day in the city of David […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":298,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[49],"tags":[51,12,38,40],"class_list":["post-209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marian-consecration","tag-littleness","tag-mary","tag-pope-benedict-xvi","tag-prayer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Shepherd_adoration.jpg?fit=1200%2C974&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7bfMR-3n","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7285,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/pope-benedict-xvi\/christmas-is-near\/","url_meta":{"origin":209,"position":0},"title":"Christmas is near","author":"monks4christ","date":"December 21, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Cathedral Choir .\u00a0VID Tomorrow Shall be my Dancing Day Tomorrow shall be my dancing day;I would my true love did so chanceTo see the legend of my play,To call my true love to my dance; Sing, oh! my love,Oh! my love, my love, my love,This have I done for my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Evangelization"","block_context":{"text":"New Evangelization","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/new-evangelization\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Dec19.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Dec19.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Dec19.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8999,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/pope-benedict-xvi\/is-there-room-at-the-inn\/","url_meta":{"origin":209,"position":1},"title":"Is there room at the Inn ?","author":"monks4christ","date":"December 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Cathedral Choir .\u00a0VID Tomorrow Shall be my Dancing Day Tomorrow shall be my dancing day;I would my true love did so chanceTo see the legend of my play,To call my true love to my dance; Sing, oh! my love,Oh! my love, my love, my love,This have I done for my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Evangelization"","block_context":{"text":"New Evangelization","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/new-evangelization\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/dec1aa.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8740,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/pope-benedict-xvi\/st-teresa-of-avila\/","url_meta":{"origin":209,"position":2},"title":"St Teresa of Avila","author":"monks4christ","date":"October 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Let nothing Disturb you, Let nothing frighten you,All things are passing. 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May you be content knowing you are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pope Benedict XVI"","block_context":{"text":"Pope Benedict XVI","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/pope-benedict-xvi\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/oct14.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/oct14.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/oct14.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9186,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/pope-benedict-xvi\/the-presentation-of-the-lord-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":209,"position":3},"title":"the Presentation of the Lord","author":"monks4christ","date":"February 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Presentation of the Lord Luke 2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 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