Mystery of the Incarnation - Berulle

Monastic Lectionary

CHRISTMAS SEASON  THURSDAY  Year I

Night Office

First Reading  Colossians 4:2-18

Portrait of Cardinal Pierre de Berulle (1575-1629) - Philippe de

Second Reading

From a meditation by Cardinal Pierre de Berulle (Discours de l'Estat et des Grandeurs de Jesus, 1-4)

The mystery of the incarnation

The divine Word, the splendor, power, and glory of the eternal Father, having been sent into the world, desired to establish there a school of holiness, an order of grace, a holy congregation, guided and animated by his Spirit, to speak to the earth in the language of heaven, to teach human beings the way to salvation, and to raise them to a lofty, and sublime knowledge of God, making them aware of the grandeur of his nature, the plurality of his persons, the profundity of his purposes, and the uniqueness of his works, which, by itself, the human mind could never have discovered.

Now one of the first and most important lessons we are taught in this school of wisdom and salvation concerns the sacred mystery of the incarnation. It is a mystery so sublime that it surpasses the loftiest thoughts of humans and of angels; a mystery so excellent that it contains and embraces within itself both God and the world; a mystery so deep that it was hidden from all eternity in the most secret thoughts of the Ancient of Days, in the bosom of the eternal Father, in a way so high and unspeakable that in several places the apostle, with good reason, calls it the mystery hidden from all eternity in God, who created all things. And yet this mystery, so high and surpassing, so deep and hidden, was in the fullness of time accomplished upon earth so publicly as to be in full view of both earth and heaven; and it was accomplished so as' to be the object of the faith of the nations, the anchor of their hope, the cause of their salvation, and the achievement of the glory of God in the universe.

For it was through this mystery that heaven was opened and the earth sanctified. Through it God is adored with a new ado­ration, an unspeakable adoration, an adoration previously unknown on earth or even in heaven, for heaven indeed had spirits who worshipped and God who was worshiped, but it did not yet possess a God who worshiped. It is through this mystery that God is on earth, abasing his grandeur; and covered with our frailty, clothed in our mortality, he himself is bringing about among us as one of us the salvation of the world. It is through this mystery that earth is a heaven, a new heaven, where God dwells in a higher and more venerable way, a holier and more divine way, than hitherto in the highest heaven. It is by our faith in, love for, and homage to this sacred mystery that God established on earth, through no ministering angels but by himself, a religion never to be altered or annulled, and which he reserved for the last days because it is also the last word concerning his power, his love, and his eternal wisdom 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH

Berulle, Pierre de (1575-1629), born in the province of Champagne, became a priest and in his early years devoted himself to the conversion of the Hugenots. He became chaplain to the court of Henry IV, and in that capacity had a considerable influence in the affairs of Church and State. Among his friends were Cardinal du Perron, Saint Francis of Sales, and Saint Vincent de Paul. With Mme. Acarie (Blessed Marie of the Incarnation) he introduced the Carmelite nuns of the Reform into France. In 1611 he founded the French Oratory, modeled on that of Saint Philip Neri in Rome It is however his work as a theologian and great spiritual teacher that gives him an outstanding place in the history of French Catholicism. In 1627 Urban VIII made him a cardinal for his service to both Church and State.