The Holy Blastula: Meditation on the Annunciation

The Annunciation and Incarnation are a scandal. Pictured above is a blastula of a human being. In this very fragile and nacent stage of human development, all that is needed to become you or I exists. A potential president, lawyer, teacher, historian, or garbage man therein.

Man has always pondered the size of the universe. Not until we understood how far our sun was from us did we begin to understand the vastness of the universe. In fact, astronomers can only say that the universe is infinitely large simply because we do not have the tools to measure it. And yet, God holds this in the palm of his hand. 

During the Nicene Creed at Mass, we bow at the words of the Incarnation: "came down from heaven...". Similarly, the vast universe beyond our comprehension in size and beauty worshiped and adored this small morula which was truly God: its creator had finally "come down" to dwell among creation. I like to think the universe "bowed" to the womb of the Virgin, or we might say at the moment of the Incarnation the entire universe was ordered to the Virgin's womb. Even more, it was at this moment that the universe acknowledged her as Queen because it was at this moment that the King of the Universe came to dwell in her. Somehow these few cells could, in the hypostatic union, possess the dignity, individuality, personhood and potency to create all of creation; and so creation cried out in praise at His arrival. 

This is why the greatest sin against The Incarnation is abortion because it is a denial of the miracle of God's hand in conception and ultimately a denial of the dignity of Christ in the first moments of His Incarnation. 

They Aren't Drunk As You Suppose

I just started reading this excellent book by Father Raniero Cantalamessa. He's charismatic. He's a learned theologian. He's a preacher. He's Catholic.

Love it. I call that the quadfecta.

St. Ambrose, St. Cyril, and St. Augustine all made allusions to the idea of the Holy Spirit soberly intoxicating us. This instruction was given to new converts who were preparing for baptism and reception into the Church. Before they partook of the Eucharist for the first time, each Church Father listed above prepared communicants with this vital insight.

Have you ever seen someone drunk? There are typically two effects. First, they normally lose control of themselves. The other effect can vary person to person. Some may withdraw, while others become more outgoing. Either way, typically someone acts different than they normally would act.

Father Cantalamessa points out that the Holy Spirit grounds us more deeply into the truth of our personhood or in other words, we become sober. The word sober denotes seriousness, temperance, and clear headedness. It is the opposite of being inebriated. So, how does the Spirit wrought this paradox of both being inebriated and sober?

I think the rub is in understanding the nature of the first effect. We lose control when we are inebriated. In the Eucharist, Christ makes us more human, more Christian, more thoughtful--sober--but this is not by our own effort. Normally speaking, we must put down the drink to get sober. In this case we must pick it up, and it is by the drink of the Blood of Christ that God renews and restores the original image of God in us that has been damaged by sin. Not by our own efforts but by his grace in the Eucharist, Christ offers the gift of sobriety of thought and serenity of the soul through the action of the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. In this way, every Mass is Pentecost.