Would you like to know who the Infant Jesus of Prague was? and how in reality the Origin of him, his History and the Legend of this Saint are fully developed, you should not worry in this article you will be able to find him without any problem, just keep reading and learn a little more about him.
The Infant Jesus of Prague
The beginning of the story of the Infant Jesus of Prague originates from the German Emperor Ferdinand the Second, who in his spare time was looking for a way to show his gratitude to God for a battle won on his land, so seeing himself as a winner and Saved by the Lord, he decided to found the first convent of Carmelite Fathers in the city of Prague in 1620.
However, despite the arrival of the religious to the convent, the city of Prague in Bohemia was going through very difficult times, since there were constant wars that affected all the towns of Prague and therefore they were prisoners inside the monastery, spending the worst crises to the point of not having how to survive inside the facilities due to lack of water and food.
At that same time in Prague, lived the princess named Polixena Lobkowitz, said princess was known for being a pious woman, which she, seeing how the convent was worsening every day in her economic situation, gave the Carmelite convent a small statue made of wax with a size of about eighteen centimeters.
This statue, which had an unusual size, represented the child God standing, with a relic of pure gold in his left hand and with his right hand raised giving the blessing. His beautiful face showed how kind and merciful God was and he was dressed in a robe made by the princess herself.
When giving him such an appreciated statue, the princess told the religious to take care of this figure, since in her hands she gave them the effigy with the greatest power that she possessed in her life and that if they honored the Child Jesus, he would always be protecting them. and they would never lack for anything. When the parents saw such an authentic statue, they received it with gratitude and placed it in the main hall of the convent so that the little Child Jesus could be venerated by all, Father Cirilo saying that the figure of the Child Jesus of Prague was very different from the other saints.
The religious of the convent, venerating the image of the child every day, could not believe how their requests were being carried out as the princess had told them, since the Divine Child began to show his powers of salvation to keep the convent safe and sound. from all the nearby troubles.
For the year 1631 another war began in Bohemia, at the same time the army of Saxony completely took the city of Prague, so the parents of the Carmelites had to flee to Munich so as not to be killed. While this horrible war was going on in Prague, the devotion to the Child Jesus was falling into oblivion.
As the parents were not inside the convent, the Saxony army broke into it to destroy the church, loot the monastery and enter the main room where the Child Jesus was to mock him and break his hands, thus throwing them behind the altar with great contempt. Some time after the enemy armies left, the parents returned to the convent to rebuild it again despite being in ruins.
Despite all this, the parents, when organizing everything again, forgot about that precious image of the Child Jesus, so misery fell on the convent and the population, needing food and resources to be able to improve their home completely and have peace
After spending seven years Father Cirilo returned to the city of Prague, by that time Bohemia was already in moments of sadness, since the people and the parents themselves were losing the little faith that existed in the place, so the Father Cirilo himself had to remind them about that statuette of the Child Jesus, who had to go to the main hall where he was behind the rubble.
Having it in his hands, Father Cirilo began to clean it while he cried for the bad treatment he had been given, he already cleaned the statue, kissed it and took it directly to the choir of the convent where they venerated it again, while each of the fathers They went down on their knees to ask his forgiveness for having forgotten about him, placing their trust in the Child Jesus to once again have his protection and shelter.
Over time, as faith and belief in the Infant Jesus of Prague returned, the enemies raised their troops to withdraw and leave the city of Prague so that the convent could rise from the ashes to possess the blessing of the Infant Jesus of Prague. One day Father Cirilo approached the statue to pray, but in a moment of great silence he was able to hear how the Child Jesus asked him to get his hands so that he could maintain peace in the temple and thus carry out any request that they will ask you.
Upon hearing the request, Father Cirilo ran to Father Superior to tell him what had happened and ask him to repair the statue. However, the father refused to repair the statue, since the convent was in terrible poverty. Therefore Cirilo, in order not to sit idly by, carried out various tasks to raise the money necessary to repair the statuette, but when speaking with the Father Superior, he did not agree to repair it but rather to buy a new one.
Father Superior having the new statue of the Child Jesus held a celebration to show the beautiful image, without caring that Father Cirilo did not agree, despite this that same day the small image was destroyed, since a candlestick fell on it above. Shortly after, Father Superior had to give up his position because he fell ill and could not continue as Superior of the religious.
Within days of the Superior handing over his position, the new one who would be in charge was chosen, so Cyril without thinking begged him to be able to repair the Infant Jesus of Prague, but he, like the first Superior father, refused. Desperate, Father Cirilo goes to the church to implore the Virgin Mary to help him. Just as he was finishing his prayer, a woman with a beautiful face handed him a bag containing a very large amount of money. thanks to the woman was no longer in the place.
The father ran to the convent to tell Father Superior and ask him to fix the statue with that money, but again he did not accept and only gave him twenty-five cents, which would not be enough to fix the figure, so everything stayed that way. After a few days the convent began to suffer new problems, since they could not get to pay the rent of a farm that they had leased, all the herds that provided them with food began to die and diseases claimed the lives of some parents.
The parents who were still alive went directly to the Infant Jesus of Prague to ask for his help, so they knelt down and promised to celebrate ten masses before the figure and popularize his cult, by venerating the child again, things in the convent improved again despite the fact that he did not yet possess his hands. That is why Father Cirilo asked again to restore the statue, and at that moment he heard a voice telling him to place the image at the door of the convent and he would find a person who would help him.
Cirilo without thinking took the statue and placed it at the door and in fact a man appeared who offered to help him place his hands on the Child Jesus despite having some problems with the other parents. However, with the completion of the Infant Jesus of Prague, the convent began to improve day after day and the devotees increased, since the miracles that the infant Jesus performed were heard in the city.
Over time the parents of the Carmelites got enough money to build a public chapel where the Infant Jesus of Prague would be placed so that all the devotees could venerate him, then by the year 1644 the same princess Lobkowitz who delivered the beautiful statue, requested his slaves to build a larger chapel so that people could comfortably enter and participate in the feast of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague each year.
Once the structure was inaugurated, people began to arrive from all over to entrust themselves to the infant Jesus. In 1655, the great Count and Marquis of Bohemia asked to make a completely gold crown with pearls and diamonds to place it on the Infant Jesus of Prague in a ceremony.
The Infant Jesus of Prague for performing so many miracles was named even in the most distant cities, so his cult was spreading significantly worldwide, in each of the nations the Infant Jesus was received in various places such as monasteries , schools, universities, parishes and in families that give you a great throne to pose on.
Story of the Infant Jesus of Prague
The image of the Infant Jesus of Prague is believed to have been carved in Spain in the sixteenth century, so it was only handed over from parents to male children who were from the family of the Dukes of Nájera and the Counts of Treviño, however said The statue had been given to Princess Polixena of Pernestán on her wedding day by her mother María Maximiliana Manrique de Lara y Briceño.
Over the years this figure has received various papal distinctions, such as in 1896 Pope Leo Thirteen made the consecration to the Infant Jesus of Prague, then in 1913 Pope Saint Pius Tenth held a congregation for the Infant Jesus of Prague, while for the In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI presented a large crown of pure gold to the statue while he was on an apostolic visit to the Czech Republic.
Already with the passage of time, the celebration of the Infant Jesus of Prague takes place on the first Sunday of June, in said celebration large altars are made to the figure to fill it with candles, fruits and flowers for its veneration and gratitude for each miracle granted.
Legend of the Infant Jesus of Prague
The Infant Jesus of Prague has various legends based on the miracles he has performed on different people, but the best known is when a monk named Fray José de la Santa Casa who had a noble heart could hear the Infant Jesus.
One day, when the monk was performing his duties inside the monastery, he began to hear the voice of a little boy who asked him to please recite the Hail Mary, so Friar without thinking placed the broom aside and began to pray, but upon reaching the verse of and blessed the fruit of your womb, the little boy stops him to tell him that this is him and just as he said it, he disappeared.
The monk immediately asked the boy to return but he did not appear again, day after day he called the little boy anywhere in the monastery, until one day he heard the voice again that said, I will return the day you have all the implements for you to make a wax figure of me and disappeared again.
Fray without thinking began to look for each of the instruments he would need to make the figure in wax, so he asked Father Prior to help him get a brush, a knife and wax to make a statue. Father Prior did not refuse and gave him what he requested, for which Fray was happy, since he knew that he would be able to model the child he had seen.
To pass the time, the monk Fray began molding one figure after another, but each one he made was more beautiful than the previous one. One day several angels came down with the Child Jesus who said to Fray, here I am so that you can see me how I am and you can make a figure of me made in wax, without thinking the monk began to mold the wax and make the child.
At the end, he realizes that he created a figure exactly the same as the divine Child Jesus, so between joy he kneels, lowers his head and dies in front of her. The same angels that guarded the little boy took the spirit of Fray and took him to paradise.
The parents took the body of the monk to bury him with dignity while that sculpture was placed on top of the monastery, one night Fray appears to the father prior to inform him that this small figure made in wax was not for them, since it had to be delivered to Doña Isabel Manríquez de Lara who in turn would give the little baby Jesus to her daughter as her wedding gift and she would give it to the Carmelite convent so that they would name him as the Baby Jesus of Prague.
Shortly after, the woman arrived at the place and Father Prior gave her the Child Jesus, telling her the story of what happened, the lady with great joy returned to her castle to do what the father had asked her.
Prayer to the Miraculous Child of Prague
When the Child Jesus of Prague was present, the religious made a small prayer to ask for those miracles, which the Child Jesus used to grant, therefore the following prayer is:
“O Little Jesus of Prague! We beg you to look at our infected hearts. Let your Heart of great compassion take pity on us and give us the grace that we beg you on our knees.
(ask for what you need)
Cleanse us of the pain and disappointment, of the sufferings and misfortunes that overwhelm us. Remember all the virtues of your most sacred childhood, and listen to our request. Give us your consolation and your grace so that we can perpetually venerate you together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Amen "
Powerful Nine-Hour Novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague
In addition to the prayer to the little child, a novena is also made that must be done for nine hours in a row without interruption, so that the Child Jesus can listen to the petitions that we request, the prayer that must be made is:
“Oh my Child Jesus, You who said request and you will receive, inquire and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you, by the Pure Heart of your Most Blessed Mother, I request you, I inquire and I knock on your doors, that my prayer be answered. (say the request)
Oh my Jesus, You who once said: everything you request from My Father in My Name will be given to you. For the Clean Heart of your Most Holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask the Father, in Your Name, to hear my prayer. (Say the Request)
Oh My Infant Jesus of Prague, You who said the heavens and the earth will transit but my words will not pass away. For the Perfect Heart of your Most Holy Mother, I require you confident that you hear my prayers. (Say the Request)
Thank you, Divine Child of Prague! Amen"
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