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And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her
heart. Luke 2:19
Today, January 1, we complete our octave celebration of Christmas
Day. It’s an often overlooked liturgical fact that we celebrate
Christmas Day for eight straight days. We do this also with Easter
Day, which concludes with the great celebration of Divine Mercy
Sunday.
On this, the eighth day of the Octave of Christmas, we turn our
focus to the unique and beautiful fact that God chose to enter our
world through a human mother. Mary is called the “Mother of God”
for the simple fact that her Son is God. She was not the mother of
her Son’s flesh alone, nor the mother only of His human nature.
This is because the Person of Jesus, the Son of God, is one Person.
And that one Person took on flesh within the womb of the Blessed
Virgin Mary.
Though becoming the Mother of God was a pure gift from Heaven and
not something that Mother Mary merited on her own, there was one
particular quality that she had that made her uniquely qualified to
fulfill this role. That quality was her immaculate nature.
First, Mother Mary was preserved from all sin when she was
conceived within the womb of her mother, Saint Anne. This special
grace was a grace that was imparted to her from the future life,
death and resurrection of her Son. It was the grace of salvation,
but God chose to take that gift of grace and transcend time to
impart it to her at the moment of her conception, thus making her
the perfect and pure instrument necessary to bring forth God into
the world.
Second, Mother Mary remained faithful to this gift of grace
throughout her life, never choosing to sin, never wavering, never
turning from God. She remained immaculate throughout her life.
Interestingly, it is this choice of hers, to forever remain
obedient to the will of God in every way, that makes her more fully
the Mother of God than the simple act of bearing Him within her
womb. Her act of perfect unity with the will of God throughout her
life makes her, also, the perfect mother of divine grace and mercy
and perpetually the spiritual Mother of God, continually and
perfectly bringing Him into our world.
Reflect, today, upon these most solemn mysteries of our faith. This
eighth day of the Octave of Christmas is a solemn celebration, a
celebration worthy of our pondering. The Scripture above reveals
not only how our blessed Mother approached this mystery but also
how we are to approach it. She “kept all these things, reflecting
on them in her heart.” Ponder these mysteries, also, in your own
heart and allow the grace of this holy celebration to fill you with
joy and gratitude.
Dearest Mother Mary, you were graced with a grace beyond any
other. You were preserved from all sin and remained perfectly
obedient to the will of God throughout your life. As a result, you
became the perfect instrument of the Savior of the World by
becoming His mother, the Mother of God. Pray for me that I may
ponder this great mystery of our faith this day and ever more
deeply rejoice in the incomprehensible beauty of your motherly
soul. Mother Mary, the Mother of God, pray for us. Jesus, I
trust in You.
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Featured image above: Madonna with child By
William-Adolphe Bouguereau, via Wikimedia Commons
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