MONTH 5<\/p>\n
BIOLOGICAL REFLECTION<\/span> – Month Five: Just four months away from birth, the tiny Jesus would by now be very developed, weighing about a pound and practicing an equal sleep-wake pattern similar to when He is born. His tiny Sacred Heart grows particularly strong this month, and His little legs are growing into proportion with the rest of his body, which is covered with a fine hair called \u201clanugo\u201d and a white skin substance called \u201cvernix caseosa\u201d for protection from the amniotic fluid in which He lives.\u00a0 Mother Mary might feel little Jesus kick, jab, and flip, and she and Joseph and grandparents Joachim and Anne might even get to see her belly move!\u00a0 Interesting note: a child born at this age has a chance to survive, although life in the mother\u2019s womb to full term is usually best.\u00a0 The intimacy between mother and child is quite significant and continues to shape and influence their life together.<\/p>\n THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION<\/span> \u2013 Month Five:\u00a0 In the moment of the Incarnation, the Divine God took on the human nature of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 From the moment the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, God became man and dwelt among us, hidden for nine months. Of this amazing truth the Catechism of the Catholic Church (par. 483) states, \u201cThe Incarnation is therefore the mystery of the wonderful union of the divine and human natures in the one person of the Word.\u201d\u00a0 In the papal encyclical <\/span>Haurietis Aquas<\/span> (par. 5) Pope Pius XII notes, \u201cDivine Love first takes its origin from the Holy Spirit, Who is the Love in Person of the Father and the Son in the bosom of the most Holy Trinity.\u201d Mary, the chosen Virgin full of grace, embraced with her heart the Divine Love of God.\u00a0 As the Holy Spirit overshadowed her, she embraced His Word with her holy womb, the first tabernacle of the Most Blessed Sacrament, where Jesus – the very author and creator of grace – lived and waited until that first Christmas Day. And from the 21<\/span>st<\/span> day after His conception, His tiny Sacred Heart beat in rhythm and song with Mary\u2019s, as both waited to see what was unseen. Today, science shines a light on the unseen life in the womb, much like unconditional love can shine a light on the \u201clittle one\u201d often hidden in dementia disease. We must look with our eyes and see with our heart!\u00a0 As the Church approaches the Year of Faith, may we heed the words of Pope Benedict XVI in his Apostolic Letter, <\/span>Motu Proprio Data<\/span> (par. 3): \u201cWe cannot accept that salt should become tasteless or the light be kept hidden\u2026We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God, faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life, offered as sustenance for his disciples\u2026\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Could it be that today, the Light of Christ from inside the womb of Mary is calling us to renewal in the Love of His tiny Sacred Heart? On devotion to the Sacred Heart, Pope Pius XVII states, \u201cThe Church has always valued, and still does, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus so highly that she provides for the spread of it among Christian peoples everywhere and by every means.\u201d (<\/span>Haurietas Aquas,<\/span> par. 8) In that spirit of devotion, and Pope Benedict\u2019s call to renewal, may every heart seek in Light and embrace in Love the Word incarnate, the very origin of our faith; the Sacred Heart of God, hidden in the womb and revealed to those who have eyes to see. O\u2019 Virgin Mary, Mother of the Life Within, pray for us! O\u2019 Lamb of God, in the Virgin\u2019s Womb, have mercy on us! May the Heart of God in the Virgin\u2019s Womb Be praised, adored, and loved With grateful affection, By every heart, Always and everywhere, For the glory of God the Father, In the power of the Holy Spirit, With Mother Mary.\u00a0 Amen!<\/span><\/p>\n 2012 Ellen Marie Edmonds.\u00a0 For reprint permission, contact ellen@EmbracingDementia.com<\/a><\/p>\n
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