Christ Unborn—48 Meditations on Our Lord in the Womb
Having set out the basis for a devotion to the unborn Christ, Father Coleridge provides a series of meditations to assist us in practising it.
Having set out the basis for a devotion to the unborn Christ, Father Coleridge provides a series of meditations to assist us in practising it.
Editor’s Notes
In the preface to his work The Nine Months, Fr Henry James Coleridge SJ wrote:
In order to help somewhat to the increase of devotion to our Lord while yet unborn, I have added as an Appendix a number of very short heads of meditation on His Life in the Womb, which may perhaps serve for the use of persons who are in the habit of developing for themselves subjects set before them in this concise way.
I would gladly have made these longer and more complete, but I was anxious that this volume should be in the hands of the public before the beginning of the nine weeks before Christmas, which are often devoted to these considerations by way of preparation for the better celebration of the great Feast.
This article reproduces those heads of meditation.
It should also be obvious that an affirmation on the humanity and dignity of Christ in Our Lady’s blessed womb is an important witness against the evils of our day.
For more on Fr Coleridge’s explanation of devotion to Christ Unborn, see below:
See also:
Heads of Meditation on Christ Unborn
From
The Nine Months: The Life of Our Lord in the Womb
Fr Henry James Coleridge, 1885, Preface, pp ix-xix
1. Formation of the Body of our Lord.
Mary's desire to minister her substance for Its formation.
It is formed by the operation of the Holy Ghost.
Her immense increase in grace and sanctification.
2. Qualities of the Sacred Body.
Its littleness, to be like ours.
Great beauty and delicacy of temperament.
Its right to immediate glorification foregone for our sakes.
3. Creation of the Soul of our Lord.
It was a soul like ours.
Its immense dowry of graces.
It was the object of the immense complacency of God.
4. Union of Soul and Body to the Person of the Word.
It was instantaneous on the formation of both.
It was the greatest of all God's works.
In what way the Father and Holy Ghost also are united to the Sacred Humanity.
5. Excellence and perfection of the Sacred Humanity.
It was raised by the Union above all creatures, past, present, future, and possible.
The Divine perfections communicated to it.
Its great beauty and attractiveness, for the work it was to do.
6. Holiness of the Sacred Humanity.
Fulness of sanctity, admitting no possibility of increase.
Substantial and essential sanctity of the Person of the Word.
Sanctity by virtue of the Union with the Divinity.
7. Impeccability of the Sacred Humanity.
The Soul always guided by the Divine Person.
Free from all sin, because conceived by the Holy Ghost.
It was the Source of all purity to all mankind.
8. Fulness of grace.
It [The Sacred Humanity] received grace without measure.
It was full of grace for others also.
Great joy of our Lord on this account.
9. It was adorned by all virtues.
Virtues given to correspond to the greatness and excellence of our Lord.
Virtues never sterile but fruitful in others.
Fragrance of our Lord's virtues delighting Heaven.
10. Fulness of knowledge.
It knew all things past, present, and future.
It knew the thoughts, desires, and affections of all Angels and all men.
All its knowledge directed to the glory of God.
11. Gifts of the Holy Ghost.
Wisdom, in the loving comprehension of all Divine mysteries.
Understanding, of all that related to His own office and work.
Counsel, as to all that He had to do and suffer.
Fortitude, for the embracing all and executing all perfectly.
12. Gifts of the Holy Ghost (2).
Knowledge, of all created things and of God's purpose concerning them.
Piety, a dutiful love to God, His Mother, and all creatures.
Fear, a most reverential and loving respect to God.
13. The joy of the Eternal Father.
For the revelation of His love in the gift to us of His Son.
For the elevation of Mary as Mother.
For the glory and graces imparted freely to all.
14. Joy of the Eternal Word.
For the satisfaction of His everlasting desire to become Man.
That the Sacred Humanity was to be for ever the recipient of all His perfections.
For the accomplishment of the Will of His Father.
15. Delight of the Holy Ghost.
For the accomplishment of the decree of the Most Holy Trinity by His operation.
For the creation of the Sacred Humanity, on which He was to pour out all His graces and gifts, for Itself and all.
For His own future Mission, as an issue of the Incarnation.
16. Beginning of the Life in the Womb.
A Life most precious and most perfect, a Divine life, ordered to the glory of God.
Meritorious enough to save a thousand worlds.
A Life led not for Himself but for us.
17. Joy of the Sacred Humanity.
At seeing Itself infinitely enriched and united forever to the Person of the Eternal Word.
At seeing the great graces and favours to Mary by communication from Itself.
At the gifts It was to communicate to all other creatures.
18. Beginning of our Lord's activity.
He began at once and in every way to work for God.
With the greatest possible fervour.
With the greatest perseverance.
19. Purity of intention.
Our Lord worked for the end of the glory ot God.
That all the fruit might be for our benefit.
For the highest and noblest end of each particular action.
20. Soul of our Lord seeing God.
The immediate vision of God imparted to the Soul of our Lord.
It saw God before anything else, and never ceased to enjoy the vision of Him.
More perfectly than all the Angels and Saints.
21. Beatitude of the Soul of our Lord.
It was flooded with an immensity of joy at the possession of the Beatific Vision.
All our Beatitude depends on and flows from that of the Soul of our Lord.
Our Lady's Womb became as Heaven, by the beatitude of the Soul of her Son.
22. Adoration of God.
The adoration of God by our Lord followed immediately on the Vision of God.
It was founded on the most perfect intelligence of the excellencies and beauties of God.
And also on the most perfect knowledge of His own nothingness as a creature.
23. Love of God.
Love of God, generated by knowledge of His in- finite goodness.
Our Lord loved all creatures in God, as depending on Him and belonging to Him.
He loved also all men as His brethren committed to Him by God.
24. Gratitude to God.
The knowledge of Its own elevation producing gratitude in the Sacred Humanity.
It embraced at once every gift, past, present, and future, and all the circumstances, of the greatness of the Giver, the excellence of the gift, the love with which it is given, the lowliness of human nature to which it is given.
It included also all gifts to creatures as given to Itself.
25. Blessing God.
With a most perfect and universal benediction.
Not of affection only, but with the service of a most holy life.
Exciting also His Blessed Mother to bless and magnify God, as in the Magnificat.
26. Looking on Mary.
As a Lily of wonderful perfection and purity, free from all sin and capable of serving God perfectly.
With special joy in her sanctity.
With joy that He was the Source of all her gifts.
27. Looking on other creatures.
He compassionated their miseries through sin and their loss of heaven.
Their sins as offences against God, with desire to repair them.
Also the immense number of their actual sins, their ingratitude, their loathsomeness and their mischievousness.
28. Offering Himself to the Father.
An oblation founded on His knowledge of all that He had received from God.
A perfect oblation, because the offering of what was most pleasing to God, and with an affection of conformity to the will of God which was of infinite value, embracing all His designs and decrees.
Animated by a desire of the pure glory of God.
29. Renunciation of Beatitude of His Body.
The decrees of redemption and of satisfaction for sin made a life of glory in the Body incongruous, and our Lord renounced it.
He also accepted willingly all the sufferings and humiliations of His Life.
And all other decrees of God concerning His Life and Death.
30. Merit of our Lord's actions.
As God and Man, all of infinite merit.
He merited the glory of His Body and the exaltation of His Name, although these were due to Him from the first.
He applied the merit of His works to all His elect.
31. Occupations of our Lord in the Womb of His Mother.
Considering His dependence on God for everything.
The gifts natural and supernatural which He had received, and the weakness of the Human Nature which had received them.
Arranging the course of His Life, the economy of the Church, the manner of the Redemption of the world, and His particular Providence over each soul.
32. Our Lord's obedience in the Womb.
His Conception flowed immediately on the obedience of His Mother to the message of the Angel.
He remained during the Nine Months out of obedience.
He obeyed His Mother and others, for the sake of God.
33. Humility of our Lord in the Womb.
In entering the Womb of the Blessed Virgin—non horruisti Virginis Uterum.
Humbling Himself at the sight of His own exaltation.
Resolving on all the subsequent humiliations of His Life.
34. Meekness of our Lord in the Womb.
He begins the practice of meekness which He was to continue to the end.
Thereby to appease the wrath of God to men.
Resolving on all the meekness of His conversation with men.
35. Love of poverty in our Lord in the Womb.
An entire renunciation of all things, though He was possessed of infinite riches.
Dependence on His Mother for His Flesh and Blood and sustenance.
The exercise of poverty to be continued through His whole Life.
36. Patience of our Lord in the Womb.
Accepting the circumstances of His dwelling in the Womb with perfect intelligence.
With the prevision of all the sufferings of His Life and Passion.
And of all that He was to suffer in His Blessed Mother and all the martyrs and saints.
37. Sufferings of our Lord in the Womb.
Far more than those of other infants, on account of His full consciousness.
From His haying the full use of His senses.
Our Lady suffering with Him on this account, causing also fresh suffering to Him.
38. Exercise of prayer in the Womb.
Contemplation of the mysteries of God.
Without any pause or distraction.
Also of our miseries and faults.
39. Silence taught by our Lord in the Womb.
He chose midnight for His Conception to show the preciousness of silence for union with God.
He kept silence for the Nine Months to glorify God and make satisfaction for faults of speech.
His silence was the origin of the silence of the cloister.
40. Religious retirement in the Womb.
He chose to remain shut up in the Womb of His Mother for the love of retirement.
Our Lady herself was most retiring.
This retirement the origin of that of the cloister.
41. Our Lord in the Womb, King of Kings.
He was King of heaven and of earth, by nature, by the appointment of the Father, by purchase, and other titles.
He is the particular King of each one of us.
He exercises His royal power at once, choosing His servants and preparing for them the graces by which they may serve Him faithfully, and to their own good.
42. Our Lord in the Womb, The Head of men.
We are all His members.
We must look to Him for all graces and benefits.
He governs us also by means of those whom He sets over us in His place.
43. Our Lord in the Womb, the Divine Lawgiver.
All authority to command and legislate now given to Him.
He not only gives laws and precepts, but also power to observe them.
The rules and laws under which we live come from Him.
44. Our Lord in the Womb as Priest, Mediator, and Redeemer.
He was anointed with the Divinity Itself.
He began at once to negotiate the affair of our reconciliation.
He resolved then to redeem us at the price of His own Blood.
45. Our Lord in the Womb, the Sanctifier of men.
He began His office at once, first with the soul of Mary.
He went on to sanctify St. John and others by means of her.
He looked forward to the many conversions and sanctifications He was to bring about in His Life among men.
46. Our Lord in the Womb, the Light of the world.
Darkness of the world when our Lord became Incarnate to enlighten it.
His enlightenment of His Blessed Mother, which was never hindered by any ingratitude.
All the light concerning God and the manner of serving Him which is now in the world, comes from Him.
47. Our Lord in the Womb, the Prince of Peace.
He offered Himself entirely for the making of peace with the Father.
The peace which He brings implies war with ourselves.
The law of charity taught, as the great means of peace among men.
48. Our Lord in the Womb, our Spouse, Pastor, and Example.
Our Lord espoused not only the Sacred Humanity, but also His Mother, the Church, and all devout souls.
His commission to be the Shepherd, Guide, and Guardian of our souls.
To be our great Example.
From Fr Henry James Coleridge, The Nine Months.
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