Today is the Solemnity of Mary the Holy Mother of God. The gospel starts out by saying that: “The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” (Lk 2: 16-19)
Who can gaze upon the scene of the nativity and not feel the miracle of Christ’s birth? Every single birth of a newborn baby is a miracle, you can ask anyone who has been present in the delivery room to see a baby take its’ first breath and come to life in our world. Even seasoned doctors marvel at each and every new life they help bring into the world. It is such an honor and a privilege to witness the birth of a new human being. Just to see them for the first time is a miracle that will never be repeated.
However, the birth of baby Jesus was the holiest event ever recorded in human history. The whole universe seemed to dance with joy, at least the angels did. What could God the Father have thought when He witnessed the miracle of His son’s birth? An event that would never be repeated for all time and eternity? He and all of heaven must have celebrated and that may be why, in His joy, He sent the angels to tell someone about Christ’s birth. Perhaps He just couldn’t keep His joy to Himself and His joy spilled out into the whole world, with love for not only His new son, but for all of mankind as well.
The reason this miraculous event occurred though, is because Mary said “yes” to God. She came out of her comfort zone, set aside all her plans, and did what God asked of her. This is why she is the greatest saint the world has ever known. She risked her entire life for what God wanted and salvation was brought to the whole human race because of it. We do not know if Mary was physically beautiful on the outside or not, but she sure was beautiful on the inside. What a perfect creature she was, that God chose her to bear his child. How imperfect we are in comparison with her.
If our imperfections seem to stand out a little too much against the holiness of this most perfect of all mothers, then we need only look to the shepherds to know that God loves us just as we are. In fact, He announced the birth of his son to the lowliest, uneducated and least perfect people who lived in that area. It is a beautiful thing, that Christ was born for people such as us, with all our imperfections, flaws or weaknesses. God could have sent the angels to the homes of the most religious people in town, but he didn’t. The angels sang and announced the birth of his son to the lowliest of all people when Christ was born.
Mary was also just a human being herself, however perfect she may be. Perhaps God did not reveal absolutely everything to her at once, although He know how things would turn out, because the gospel says that, “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” She simply lived in the moment and we should learn to learn to do that as well. The Spirit of God leads us to where we should be, and what we should be doing, at any given moment in our lives, and God’s will is not necessarily defined by what other people expect of us.
There is a great deal of peace in living in the present moment and giving the past, the present and the future to God’s capable hands. We can let go of the stress and the need to control things, or the need to seek perfection in our lives because God does not expect this of us. Mary didn’t worry about the past, or the present and most especially about the future. She simply gave it to God and listened in the current moment for His will for her life and her family’s lives as well. This would be a most excellent thing to keep in mind in the New Year and not let this thought evaporate, but to write it down and “reflect on it” in our prayers this year.
The last verse of the first reading for mass has a perfect blessing for every person who reads this today:
“The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!” (Nm 6: 24-26)
