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Dear Friends in Christ,

Today we are visiting this beautiful church of Our Lady of Victory, which houses one of the most well-known and well-loved sacramentals of our Church, the beautiful statue of the Infant Jesus, called the Infant of Prague.

This is an image of Christ that we have grown up with. Not every church, but certainly very many, somewhere in their interiors, reserve a place of special honor for a facsimile of this original statue we see today. And through the centuries, thousands have honored our Lord, by providing precious garments and precious jewels to adorn these statues, which arouse, by their beauty, and by their depiction of the innocence of our Lord, the natural affections of even the most wizened and experienced of men and women.

But what is particularly amazing about this original statue of the Infant that we are seeing today, is how it has survived the violence of mankind over the centuries. With a life span of possible seven hundred years, this statue has, it is thought, made its way through Europe, from Spain eastward, to find its final home here in Prague. It was finally placed in the care of the Carmelites, here in this church, but after invasions by both the Swedes and the Saxons, the sisters finally had to flee their convent, and the statue disappeared under the rubble left by those who desecrated this holy place. It was found and restored around 1638, and very quickly became the object of veneration we recognize today. Even so, it still has survived numerous invasions and wars with in the borders of the Czech Republic, as ell as the devastation of two World Wars, and later the evil empire of the Communist tyranny. But it has survived, it has triumphed, and today, we are blessed to be able to gaze upon and venerate this holy image of our Savior, in the age of His infancy, but crowned in splendor and glory, as befitting the King that He already was, even from the time of His life in the womb of Mary.

This pure, childlike, yet intensely strong nature that belonged to our Lord is also expressed by the story of today's Gospel. Just as this statue has survived the turmoil of human warfare and destruction, so too, our Lord, when the storm rose on the lake, and all in the boat were terrified - so too, did our Lord, in all innocence and peace sleep the sleep of the pure of heart. And when the disciples woke Him up from His sleep, His comment was one of utter faith - "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" And He seems to say to them and to us, "How can you be fearful of anything, since I am with you?"

Dear friends, we need to remember, as we move through life, and as we encounter all those unexpected challenges that life presents - from the easiest to the worst - that our Lord did not come to us, in order to leave us. He came to us, in order to remain with us. We see this truth reflected in the great and universal devotion to this child-like image of Jesus Christ, the Infant of Prague. And what is even more wonderful, we experience this truth, every time we participate in the Sacrifice of the Mass, and every time we receive the body and Blood of our Lord, arrayed in the severe simplicity of the image of bread and wine, yet present really, in all His glory, and all His wondrous might.

May the prayers of those who come to this shrine, and may our prayers, be directed to those in the world who are fearful, as we ask God to send His protecting Spirit upon us and them, to teach us to believe that no matter what terrors the world may hold, no matter what evil the devil may bring against us, we are still protected, and will evermore be protected, by the innocence of a Holy Child, by the strength of a the Perfect Man He became, and by the Pure Love He offers us, now, this day, and forevermore.

And when we learn, and feel, just what a wonderful Protector we have been given, perhaps then we might echo, with sincere awe, the words of our Lord's disciples: "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?"

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