The simplicity of the Sacred Heart and of His first adorers
Meditation by Fr. Dehon on the mystery of Christmas from the first volume of “The Love of the Sacred Heart.”
This simplicity is that of the Sacred Heart in His first mysteries. Like the poor and the little ones He is simple. Simplicity is characteristic of a child. How lovable is the divine Child in His simplicity! He put aside all exterior grandeur and all glory to clothe Himself with this simplicity. “Great is the Lord and exceedingly worthy of praise, now become a child and exceedingly lovely,” cries St. Bernard. The all-adorable God in heaven made Himself small and lovable. How amiable is this little Child in His simplicity. He seems to ask to be taken up, to be warmed, to be comforted.
He is simple in His parents and friends. Consider the simplicity of Mary and Joseph.
How simple they are in their faith, in their gentle piety, and even in their exterior behavior. Was it not their simplicity that provoked the scorn of Bethlehem?
The princes that the Sacred Heart chose for His first adorers were also very simple. They showed their simplicity by their belief in the supernatural sign that they received; by the journey undertaken upon receiving this sign, in spite of so many difficulties; by their faith in the words of the priests who sent them to Bethlehem, and by the homage they unhesitatingly rendered to the poor Babe of Bethlehem.
How great is the simplicity of the shepherds, the first to visit the Child God! Simple as children, they merit the visit of the angels. They believe with simplicity. They show themselves simple by their haste and by their offerings.
L. Dehon, The love of the Sacred Heart, 43-44
