REFLECTIONS TODAY

At the beginning of the new year, the Church places us under the protection of Mary, Mother of God. In and through Mary, human participation in the divine plan of salvation is most tangible. Every mother, in a special way, participates in the birth, growth, and development of a child. Mary does this in the case of Jesus, born through the power of the Holy Spirit. 
In the Gospel, the shepherds share the message told them about the Child lying in the manger. “All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds” (v 18). At that moment how many people would comprise this “all”? Most probably, one can count them by one’s fingers. But Luke has in mind people who would be hearing the story as it is told from one generation to the next. We, too, are amazed every time we hear the story of Jesus’ birth. 

“And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (v 19). Mary does not say a word. But she listens attentively to every word she hears, keeping the words and pondering on them. She, too, wonders and marvels at the events that lead to the birth of her firstborn Child—beginning from the annunciation of the angel and her “yes” to his message. She does not have a full grasp of what the events mean for her. And so, here and later when Jesus is lost and found in the Temple in Jerusalem, Mary keeps “all these things in her heart” (Lk 2:51). 

“What, then, will this child be?” (Lk 1:66) was the people’s question upon hearing the wonders that accompanied the birth of John, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. For surely the hand of the Lord was with the child (Lk 1:66). The same question can be asked with more urgency about Mary’s Child, and this is given voice by a Christmas carol What Child Is This: “What Child is this who laid to rest on Mary’s lap is sleeping whom angels greet with anthems sweet while shepherds’ watch are keeping?” 

This beloved Christmas carol is given a more modern bent by Mary, Did You Know?, a song addressing Mary. The words and music are by Mark Lowry and Buddy Green. In her ponderings, did Mary realize the full dignity of her Child? And so, she is asked: 

“Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations? Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb? That sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am.” 

In his homily on the solemnity of the Mother of God (2022), Pope Francis reflects: “The Gospel speaks of Mary ‘bringing together,’ comparing, her different experiences and finding the hidden threads that connect them. In her heart, in her prayer, she does exactly that: she binds together the beautiful things and the unpleasant things. She does not keep them apart, but brings them together. It is for this reason that Mary is said to be the Mother of Catholicity. In this regard, we can dare to say that it is because of this that Mary is said to be Catholic, for she unites, she does not divide. And in this way she discerns their greater meaning, from God’s perspective. In her mother’s heart, Mary comes to realize that the glory of the Most High appears in humility; she welcomes the plan of salvation whereby God must lie in a manger. She sees the divine Child frail and shivering, and she accepts the wondrous divine interplay between grandeur and littleness. Mary keeps and ponders.”

Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2023,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.