[Meditationes seu Contemplationes devotissimae]

After eight days were completed so that He might be circumcised, the Evangelist says: "His name was called Jesus." A name indeed glorious, to be adored by all, a name most worthy, which is above every name, which the mouth of the Lord named, a name other than which there is no other under heaven in which it behooves us to be saved. O sweet name, delectable name, name comforting the sinner! Truly, this name gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute, life to the dead, and drove away the power of the devil from possessed bodies by the virtue of such a name. Worthily, clearly, in the circumcision, this name was imposed upon you, Lord Jesus, because from that hour you were already indicating your work as Jesus, already shedding your precious blood for the work of our redemption, for our salvation, tasting the first-fruits of bitter passion. Attend, therefore, O faithful one: He is to be honored by all as worthy, the Lord Jesus Christ, as much as He undertook things unworthy for all, and with how much love He is to be loved by you, who redeemed you with His precious blood.

The seventh, concerning the offerings of the three Kings

Recognize, O faithful soul, that when the faith of the nativity of Jesus Christ our Lord was to look toward the salvation of all men, it was most convenient that the temporal nativity of Christ itself should be declared to the entire world. For although He had chosen the Israelite nation and one family of that same nation from which to assume human nature, He did not wish to lie hidden within the straits of a maternal habitation, but soon wished to be recognized by all, He who deigned to be born for all. Therefore, to the three Magi in the region of the Orient, the star of new clarity first appeared, which, more illustrious than the others and brighter than the stars, would easily turn the eyes and minds of those seeing it toward itself, so that they might immediately wonder that it was not idle, because it seemed so unusual. Therefore, He gave understanding to those looking, He who provided the sign, and what He made to be understood, He made to be sought, and He offered Himself to be found by those seeking. They consume their desire, therefore, and with the same star leading the way, they arrive to the child, the Lord Jesus Christ. They adore in the flesh the Word, in infancy the wisdom, in infirmity the virtue, and in the truth of man, the God of majesty. O stupendous thing! He is enclosed in the embrace of the Mother, He who embraces heaven and earth. He lies in the bosom of the Mother, He who exceeds the kingdom of the Father. Through a simple office, the spiritual secret is relieved; humanity is seen, and divinity is adored. They offered gold, frankincense, and myrrh, offering more in mysteries than in gifts. In the gift of gold, royal dignity; in the vapor of frankincense, divine majesty; in the species of myrrh, the humanity of one who is to be buried is demonstrated. By their example, you, O faithful one, offer to the Lord the gold of faith, the aromatics of piety, the holocausts of chastity, and also have spiritual myrrh, which may condition you so that you are kept unharmed from all corruption of sins.