according to His personality and was willing to unite Himself to it.
So that every man, good or bad, may say, Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, is my brother. Secondly, He chose for mother a poor virgin, and
not a king's daughter, so that this poor virgin became the mother of
God, who is the only Lord of heaven and earth and all creatures. In
consequence, of all the works of humility which Christ ever
accomplished, one may say that God accomplished them. Now let us
take the humility which was in Jesus Christ according to His
humanity and by grace and divine gifts; according to His humility
His soul inclined with all its power in respect and veneration
before the power of the Father. For an inclined heart is a humble
heart. This is why He did all His works to the praise and glory of
the Father, and sought in nothing His own glory according to His
humanity. He was humble, and submitted to the old law, and to the
commandments, and often to the customs. He was circumcised, and
carried to the Temple, and redeemed according to usages, and He paid
taxes to Caesar like other Jews. And He submitted Himself humbly to
His mother and to Joseph, and served them with a sincere deference
according to their needs. He chose for friends--for apostles--the poor
and the despised, in order to convert the world. In his intercourse
with them and all others He was humble and modest. This is why He
was at the disposal of all men, in whatever distress they were,
within or without; He was, as it were, the servant of the whole
world. This is what we find first in Jesus Christ, our Bridegroom.

ON THE LOVE OF CHRIST, ADORNED WITH ALL VIRTUES

NEXT comes charity, the beginning and source of all virtues. This
charity maintained the supreme forces of His soul in tranquillity,
and in the enjoyment of the same blessedness which He enjoys at