The Nativity, Giotto (1320)

THE LATE Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira wrote of the psychological experience of giving birth to Christ in this essay posted at Tradition in Action. He posed a very simple and obvious question: What were her thoughts? He wrote:

Before the Incarnation, Our Lady had a great union of soul with God and, therefore, a union with the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. But after the Incarnation, she began to have a different kind of union – the union of the God-Man with His Mother. Knowing this, we cannot think that Our Lady had no knowledge whatsoever of her Son until His birth and only entered into contact with Him then for the first time. She already had a very intimate and ardent union of soul with Him.

So, what did Christmas represent for Our Lady?

It is obvious that the moment when Our Lord left the maternal cloister – without damaging her virginity in any way – must have been a very elevated one. That moment when Our Lady brought Christ forth into the world must have been one of an extraordinary manifestation of her jubilance and love for Him, as well as an extraordinary union of soul with Him.

Simultaneously, the act of His birth – which included the participation of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity – was commemorated by all the Angels in Heaven with canticles of joy. The Birth of Our Lord is surely one of the greatest feasts in Heaven and one of the most glorious moments in all History. Thus, we can see how momentous and important this act was for her.

I believe, however, that there was something more that Our Lady would have experienced. She had not yet seen the face of Our Lord. The physical reality is a symbol and expression of the spiritual reality. In the features of the Holy Face of Our Lord, one would be able to perfectly distinguish His flawless soul. His body would be the expression of His soul, united with the Second Person of the Trinity.

Thus contemplating His gaze, His Holy Face and His body, Our Lady acquired a new knowledge of Her Son that increased her understanding of His mentality. She could love Him and be united with Him in this new way, which certainly inspired the adoration she offered Him on Christmas Night.

The human gaze is the most expressive sign of a person’s mentality, but it is not the only one. The mentality is also expressed by the neck, shoulders, hands, feet – above all, by the ensemble. If we consider this, then we can imagine Our Lady contemplating those psychological and supernatural manifestations of Him and, in view of this, profoundly adoring Him.

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