cxl. 2.) Present to Him, also, the obedience of your will, as a precious perfume in His holy sight, by submission to your superiors, governors, and directors, as the vicegerents of God. There is no sacrifice more pleasing to Him than when the will is offered by obedience; "for, obedience is better than sacrifices." (1 Kings xv. 22.)
III. They offer myrrh, as adapted to His human nature. On your part, you must offer Him the myrrh of mortification, by chastising your body, with St. Paul, and bringing it under obedience to the Spirit. Offer Him, also, in a particular manner, the myrrh of chastity; for as myrrh preserves dead bodies from corruption, so does chastity preserve the bodies and minds of the living from being defiled. In fine, consecrate your whole self to God: and offer Him whatever you are in possession of; for everything that you have is derived from Him.
Return of the Wise Men.[1]
I. The Wise Men, having performed their homage and adoration, were ready to return, filled with spiritual joy and exultation at the Incarnation. They wished to bring others to the knowledge of Christ, and amongst the rest even Herod himself; but they were admonished in their sleep not to return the same way that they came. Hence you may learn that God takes special care of those who are His own: and that He can easily frustrate the most subtle machinations of the wicked. Learn, also, that in the way of virtue every motion that
- ↑ If the Octave of Epiphany fall on Sunday, this meditation, which is intended for that day, should be made on Saturday, and the next one, page 119, on Sunday.
