We answer the common objection - "Why do Catholics worship the baby Jesus? Don't you know that he isn't in the manger any more?! He is full grown, and in heaven!" Some common pious responses are poorly formulated, but there is solid theological reasoning to justify worshipping Jesus as an infant - even though he is now full grown and in heavenly glory, the mystery of his Nativity is preserved in his sacred humanity and remains a cause of grace for us today.
We also discuss two wonderful devotions to the Infant Jesus: The stations of the infancy of Christ by St Alphonsus, and the Divine Infant of Prague.
Listen online [here]!
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St
Alphonsus, Way of Bethlehem or Stations of the Infant Jesus
Antiphon:
“O
Jesus, born of Virgin Bright, / Immortal glory be to Thee, / Praise to the
Father, infinite, / And Holy Spirit eternally.”
Announce
the Station and meditate on the mystery.
Antiphon:
“And
ever loving still; / From this dear crib / sweet drops of love / into my heart
distill.”
1. The Son of God becomes an
infant, consider Jesus newly conceived in
the womb of Mary.
2. Jesus is born an infant, consider the miraculous birth of Jesus on
Christmas.
3. Jesus takes milk from His
Mother, consider that he who is the Bread
of Life receives his nourishment from the breasts of Mary.
4. Jesus is wrapped in swaddling
clothes, consider that Jesus allows
himself to be bound in the swaddling clothes.
5. Jesus is circumcised, consider that Jesus was circumcised on the
eighth day and given his name.
6. Jesus is adored by the Magi, consider that the Magi arrived from the East
on the thirteenth day (January 6th) and worshipped the Lord
presenting him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
7. Jesus is presented in the
Temple, consider that Jesus was presented
in the Temple after forty days (February 2nd).
8. Jesus flees to Egypt, consider that Joseph escapes the wrath of
Herod by taking his wife Mary and the child Jesus to Egypt shortly.
9. Jesus hands are freed from the
swaddling clothes, consider that the
Infant Jesus blesses the world with is holy infant hands.
10. Jesus begins to walk, consider that the child Jesus plans out the
many journeys he will make in his public ministry.
11. Jesus sleeps, consider that Jesus often slept on the
ground because of the poverty of the Holy Family.
12. Jesus is the form of a fisher,
consider that the child Jesus held the
fishing rod and thought how he would call Apostles to imitate him as fishers of
men.
Infant
Jesus of Prague
A wax-coated wooden 19-inch
statue of the child Jesus holding an orb and cross (representing the world under
the reign of the Cross), located in the Discalced Carmelite Church of Our Lady
Victorious in Prague, Czech Republic.
Legend claims that this statue
was given by St Teresa of Avila to a Spanish noble woman (Dona Isabella). This
woman’s daughter, Maria Maximiliana Manriquez de Lara y Mendoza brought the
statue to Bohemia upon her marriage to a Czech nobleman (Vratislav of Pernstyn)
in 1556. Maria’s daughter, Princes
Polyxena von Lobkowicz donated the statue to the Discalced Carmelites –
“Venerable Fathers, I bring you my dearest possession. Honor this image and you shall never want.”
Over the years, the statue was
lost and damaged, but was rediscovered and restored in 1637 (note: the hands
had been broken off and needed to be replaced). The child Jesus said to the
priest, “Have pity on me, and I will have pity on you. Give me my hands, and I
will give you peace. The more you honor me, the more I will bless you.”
The vestments of the Child are
changed according to the liturgical season.
The principal feast is the feast
of the Holy Name of Jesus (traditionally, the Sunday after January 1st;
after Vatican II, January 3rd).
Saints
with special devotion to the Infant Jesus
St Athanasius, St Jerome
(translated the Bible in the cave of the Nativity), St Bernard of Clairvaux, St
Francis of Assisi (invented the Nativity Scene), St Anthony of Padua (vision
holding the Child Jesus as he studied), St Teresa of Avila (Infant of Prague),
St Therese of Lisieux (aka Teresa of the Child Jesus, she placed the Infant of
Prague in the novice house of her convent), St Alphonsus Liguori (Way of
Bethlehem), St Rose of Lima (the Child Jesus taught her how to read and write).
