Villa La Paz Newsletter December 2025
Incarnation: Christian Theol.
Effectuation of the hypostatic union through the conception of the Second Person of the Trinity in the womb of the Virgin Mary
Hypostasis: Christian Theol.
the union of the wholly divine nature and of a wholly human nature in the one person of Jesus Christ (in full hypostatic union)
Kenosis: Christian Theol.
the voluntary abasement of the Second Person of the Trinity in becoming man
Webster’s New World Dictionary
Third College edition
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came to be through Him and without Him nothing came to be. What came to be
4 through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race,
5 the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory of the Father’s only son full of grace and truth.
John 1:1-5, 14
What we are in fact celebrating is the awe-inspiring humility of God, and no amount of familiarity with the trappings of Christmas should ever blind us to its quiet but explosive significance. For Christians believe that so great is God’s love and concern for humanity that He Himself became a man. Amid the sparkle and the color and music of the day’s celebration we do well to rememberthat God’s insertion of Himself into human history was achieved with an almost frightening quietness and humility. There was no advertisement, no publicity, no special privelege; in fact the entry of God into His own world was almost heartbreakingly humble. In sober fact there is little romance or beautry in the thought of a young woman looking desperately for a place where she could give birth to her baby. I do not think for a moment that Mary complained, but it is a bitter commentary upon the world that no one would give up a bed for the pregnant woman – and that the Son of God must be born in a stable.
J.B. Phillips
From the Book: Watch for the Light:
Reflections for Advent and Christmas
If God loves us where we are and comes to be with us humbly in the flesh, then we must admit that the humility of God is intertwined with the Incarnation. Incarnation we might say is God bending low to embrace the world in love. This makes the entire creation- all peoples, all mountains and valleys, all creatures big and small, everything that exists-holy because God embraces it.
Ilia Delio, OSF
From the book The Humility of God: A Franciscan Perspective
I think that we have hardly thought through the immense implications of the Incarnation. Where is God? God is where we are weak, vulnerable, small and dependent. God is where the poor are, the hungry, the handicapped, the mentally ill, the elderly, the powerless. How can we come to know God when our focus is elsewhere, on success, influence and power?
Henri J.M. Nouwen
The humility of God would seem to be glaringly paradoxical. We are told that God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. We imagine Him surrounded by myriads of angels, praising Him incessantly. He radiates authority since all creation depends on His will for its existence. How then do we reconcile His kenosis, His self-abasement in taking on vulnerable human flesh in the womb of a poor woman in a backwater country under the imperial yoke of one of the world’s greatest empires. In a word, we cannot. The attributes we tend to confer on God actually mirror our perceptions of what and who we want to be. We aspire to power, success, influence and so we assume that God would have these same desires and attributes. But in His dealings with man and creation His true attributes of humility and love are truly evident. We know Him indirectly through creation, but that we may know Him directly He took on human nature with all its limitations and sufferings and He did so not because of man’s sin but out of love to be one with us. His total obeisance to His human parents, His total dependence of the generosity of others, the fact that He had no place to lay His head speak to a humility that most would find impossible to emulate. I think that one of the greatest signs of His humility is His gift of free will, letting us choose or not to love Him. I once read that if love was forced and heaven was forced, heaven would not be heaven but a prison. Hence the gift of free will to love Him or reject Him, to choose heaven or not.
There is so much suffering in the world and many use this as an excuse to deny the existence of a loving God but we know that He shared in our suffering, that He suffered greviously, both physically and emotionally. We know that administering to one who suffers is administering to Him since He said what you do to the least of these my little ones you do to me, again becoming one with us. We must see the Divine Spark in each of us as the only way to reconcile the anger, rencor, and, indeed, the hatred of men towards other men. We must become like children as Our Lord enjoins us. We must return to the innocence of the unconditional love of children. It is the only way to promote peace among men. I see this among our children and try to emulate their love for one another in my dealings with others.
The year 2025 is coming to an end. Needless to say it has been a difficult and trying one with two wars, ethnic and religious persecution in many parts of the world and the ever present poverty and hunger suffered by too many. We could all use a ittle encouragement and perhaps the following quotes will reinkindle the hope that many of us need and seek.
In the end we are one world and that which injures any of us injures all of us.
Eleanor Roosevelt
The richer we become materially, the poorer we become morally and spiritually. We have learned to fly in the air like birds and swim in the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Remember that when you leave this earth you can take with you nothing that you have received – only what you have given: a full heart, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.
Saint Francis od Assisi
Never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.
Pope St. John Paul II
Our prayer is that the coming year will see an end to the conflicts raging in the world, that poverty and inequality will be vanquished, and that, indeed, the Light of Christ will shine and illuminate us to continue the work of Christmas.
God’s blessings and peace to you and yours during the celebration of His birth and in the New Year. Please remember us in your prayers.
