On the eighth day alter the birth of a Jewish
boy the ceremony of circumcision took place,
according to God's covenant with Abraham. Was
this cleansing rite to be performed in the case of
the Son of God? Yes, He had come to suffer and
to shed His Blood for us, and on the very octave
of His Birth Mary and Joseph had to recognize
that God laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
It was St. Joseph who had to be the minister
of the sacred rite. He had to be the reluctant and
sorrowful cause of those tears of the Infant Jesus.
What was St. Joseph thinking of? We may at
least conjecture that he was lamenting over the
evil of sin; that lie was recognizing in the pain
that he was inflicting one of the most terrible
consequences of sin; that he was praying to his Son
and his God to forgive those sinners for whom He
was shedding His Precious Blood.
Hard by, Mary was bathed in tears of anguish.
Now for the first time Jesus was enduring the cruel
smart which all His life long was to be His lot at
the hands of His own creatures. If only she could
bear the pain for Him! How the sight of His
tears pierced her heart! All this St. Joseph witnessed,
and his sorrow at the bitter sufferings of
Jesus was intensified by his sorrow at Mary's bitter
grief. If Joseph thus sorrowed, how much more
should I, who have so constantly by my sins added
to the pangs suffered by the Son of God.