a portion of the Spirit that animates him. Zechariah has a part of the plenitude of the Holy Spirit and therefore is overwhelmed and in his prophecy about his son, he prophesies about Jesus Christ. He says, Blessed be the Lord whose goodness is infinite, for he has looked favorably and redeemed in his time his people. The visitation precedes John and will be done by John but Jesus Christ accomplishes the redemption for them. As soon as repentance appears we rejoice, because it is the sign of the approaching salvation, and soon Jesus Christ will follow. All depends on repentance and conversion; as soon as the time is perfect, Jesus Christ does not fail to come. To be perfect the change must not only be from sin to grace, but from exterior to interior, as it has been said many times. It is not from our own strength that we truly experience the Savior and our salvation.
“He has raised up a mighty Savior for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old.” (Luke 1:69–70)
O God! You have given us a mighty Savior, given to us in your Son, you have communicated to us an abundant and infinite salvation. This is why the scripture reads, he has raised up a horn of salvation. He communicates to us a superabundance of salvation, an extremely high one, full of wonderful grace. This salvation is in the house of his servant David. O God! It seems that scripture says that the simplicity and abandon of David has attracted this salvation to his house and this salvation spreads with strength through souls. He has promised this in the holy prophets from of old and it is accomplished in this century. I will say, O Love! It seems that all the centuries past have done nothing but to predict what will happen in this century. They have spoken of interior states with shadows and valleys but you have lived this openly.
“That we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, That he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant.” (Luke 1:71–72)
God sends us a powerful Savior to deliver us from our powerful and strong enemies. Our Savior is an infinite and superabundant power, who surpasses the strength of our enemies. If our enemies are powerful and we are infinitely weak, as is true, how are we defended from our powerful enemies? It is impossible by ourselves. Therefore we have a powerful Savior who saves and delivers us from their hands. It is God who gives us Jesus Christ. But to enjoy the privilege and advantage of the Savior, we must let him act to fight and destroy our enemies. If we prevent him, he can do nothing and our salvation will not be useful, because we place obstacles before him by our revolt. This is most criminal. We also fight against him by our own will. Therefore let us abandon ourselves to him without reservation. He will defeat all our enemies without being wounded. God remembers the mercy he promised to our ancestors in the ancient law and accomplishes his promises through the merit and operations of Jesus Christ. All the holiness could not open the door into heaven without Jesus Christ. But the true covenant is for Christians and abandoned souls who participate in union with him. All others may participate in the mercy of salvation, but abandoned souls participate in the mercy of the covenant and union with salvation.
“The oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” (Luke 1:73–75)
Scripture assures again of the promise sworn to Abraham, man of faith, that God would give grace to all who follow the way of faith and abandon. God promised we being delivered through his sovereign power from the hands of our enemies, that we might serve him and follow his will without fear and without concern for ourselves in holiness, that is the holiness that he has merited and communicates to us. The person does not make the holiness or destroy the enemies, but this is operated by God alone in his righteousness. He gives grace with his continual presence, in which the soul is confirmed before him all our days in holiness and righteousness without fear but in faith. Nothing is more clear than this. Nothing can be better expressed than the truth of the interior state with its firmness and stillness when there is only God.
“To give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.” (Luke 1:77)
In the spiritual state of being like children, we are given the knowledge of salvation, different from everything we can imagine. Oh, the knowledge and experience of being as a child is like no other and more than all doctors of theology can imagine! And it is in this state of childhood that we receive the forgiveness of our sins. Children seem not familiar with their soul, yet in their powerlessness, they receive the happy state of salvation.
“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us.” (Luke 1:78)
My God! How wonderfully this is expressed! The tender mercy of our God, that we alone consult for what God in his goodness and grace wants us to do. Without looking at our merits or demerits, God signals us that he sends his divine Sun to rise and dissipate the darkness of our ignorance and our sins, like the Sun of nature little by little dissipates the darkness of night. It is in this state of being that Jesus Christ rises upon us to communicate his life and light through grace, which can only come through the mercy of a Father full of goodness.
“To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:79)
The divine Sun rises in the interior to give light to those who sit with him and repose in a total abandon in the state of death and in the deepest darkness. The soul is not in peace in this sepulcher and wants to be in the will of God. So the divine Sun, Jesus Christ, rises in this soul as light and guides our feet in the way of peace, exempt from all disorder and fear, walking entirely in freedom.
The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel. (Luke 1:80)
This verse contains all that he did from the time of his spiritual childhood until he entered the apostolic state. His interior grew and became strong in spirit as he believed. In the spirit he was raised and in his nature he was diminished. It was necessary that this child remain in the wilderness and in solitude, without which his interior state would not have grown and become strong. The soul must remain hidden until the time that it pleases God to draw him out of there to appear publicly to Israel. God calls this chosen soul destined to be interior out of his solitude to help his neighbor.
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. (Luke 2:1–6)
It is not without mystery that God wills that this report contain all the circumstances that appear superfluous and that this history not be embellished. However, this simple narration contains two remarkable things. First, Jesus Christ at his birth and even before his birth practiced for himself and his parents what he taught, to render to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are God. There is no state where we are not subject to the ruling authorities. There are some people who appear pious but yet believe that they have the right to shake off the yoke and take others away from their obedience. They believe they have the right to judge their own conduct and see what is just and right. Jesus Christ does not do this but he lives under the rule of the authorities. We must do the same unless it is directly opposed to divine law. The circumstances here are remarkable that the Savior Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem to accomplish the prophecies; all this is done naturally and without anything extraordinary. What is more natural than that Mary comes to this place as it is ordained? This is the way God leads abandoned souls; he leads them in a manner all natural and without anything extraordinary, but it appears appropriate and admirable.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)
Mary gives birth in a stable and puts the holy infant Jesus in a manger because there was no place for him in the inn. This is a coup of the divine hand, predicted throughout eternity,