The Incarnation, Birth, and Infancy of Jesus Christ

The Incarnation stands at the center of human history. We judge time based on this event. There is the time before Christ and after Christ. In The Incarnation, Birth, and Infancy of Jesus Christ, Saint Alphonsus Liguori takes the mind and heart on a grace-filled journey through these three divine mysteries. Through discourses and meditations, he gives the reader rich theology to feed the mind and simple, powerful wisdom to lead the soul to a child-like faith in the God who became a child for our salvation.

His discourses will guide you through the humility of God and how the Eternal Word being great became little, being Lord became a servant, being innocent became as it were guilty, being strong became weak, and much more. The incarnation, birth, and infancy of Jesus Christ are inexhaustible mysteries that deserve our meditation and prayerful attention. Our Lord becomes vulnerable to a ruthless world and is placed in the care of the Holy Family. In a similar manner, Our Lord becomes vulnerable in the Eucharist and places Himself into our care to either be loved or rejected.

Saint Alphonsus takes the reader deeper into the divine mystery of who Jesus Christ is and provides meditations for everyday during Advent, the Novena of Christmas, the Octave of Christmas, Epiphany, and the Octave of Epiphany, as well. His meditations are filled with illustrative wisdom about the smallest details of Our Lord's early life. He writes of the poverty of Our Lord, the goodness and love of God expressed in the Incarnation, the restoration of life through the sending of the Son, Christ as the fountain of grace, physician of souls, and so much more. These meditations are the perfect material for a fruitful Advent Season, and his insights can be visited again throughout the year for your spiritual benefit.

Author Bio: St. Alphonsus Liguori was born in 1696 to Neapolitan nobility at Marianella, Italy. He became a recognizable lawyer after going through law school at the age of sixteen, but later decided to leave law in favor of giving his salvation more attention. Alphonsus joined the Oratory of St. Philip Neri as a seminarian and was ordained in 1726, when he was thirty. The homilies he gave had the special ability of converting those who had fallen away from the faith. He also founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, and authored such works as The Glories of Mary, The True Spouse of Jesus Christ, Attaining Salvation, The Blessed Virgin Mary, Preparation for Death Abridged, What Will Hell Be Like?, The Twelve Steps to Holiness and Salvation, and The Way of the Cross.

After being a bishop for over a decade, St. Alphonsus Liguori died on the first of August, 1787. He was canonized by Pope Gregory XVI in 1839, and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1871. His feast is celebrated on August 1.