Our Lady and Christmas IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Sister Kathleen McDonagh, IWBS is a member of the order of the Incarnate Word of the Blessed Sacrament.

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Christmas! With the business world putting pressure on 21st century people to spend money buying gifts, the most important reason for the celebration of Christmas--the celebration of the human birth of Jesus--is apt to get lost in many lives.

Yet Christmas is first and foremost the celebration of Jesus' birthday. That, of course, brings us to consider, not only Jesus, but also his mother Mary, through whose consent he became a human being.

Mary was a young Jewish girl who had grown up in a humble home. She and her parents, Joachim and Ann, were simple, small town people, seemingly not recognized as being special in the society in which they lived. But, in her early teens, Mary had taken a vow of virginity--an almost unheard of action in her society; yet this did not seem to cause her to stand out in any way among the local people.

And then, one day, into her simple home at Nazareth came the angel Gabriel with the incredible announcement of Mary's becoming pregnant. In view of her vow of virginity, Mary did not understand how this could possibly be. The angel, however, explained that the pregnancy would take place through the action of the Holy Spirit on Mary, and the babe to be born would be the Son of God.

This explanation convinced her that this was God's plan for her, and Mary then accepted with the words, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word (Lk 1:38)."

Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, in the last section of his Apostolic Exhortation, "The Joy of the Gospel," develops many of the results of Mary's acceptance. In his discussion, he goes far beyond the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

Pope Francis entitles the two sections of his study, #287 and 288, "Star of the New Evangelization," and in these sections, he describes Mary as "the woman of faith who lives and advances in faith." He goes on to say "her exceptional pilgrimage of faith represents a constant point of reference for the Church."

The Holy Father does not, however, fail to point out that living in faith--as we are all called to do--even in relation to the human birth of Jesus, can cause difficulties. "Along this evangelization journey, we will have our moments of aridity, darkness and even fatigue. Mary herself experienced these things during the years of Jesus' childhood in Nazareth," the pope wrote.

The Holy Father then turns to the reason for Mary being so loved and accepted. "Whenever we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness," he said. He describes her as, "the handmaid of the father…the friend who is ever concerned that wine not be lacking in our lives…the woman…whose heart was pierced by a sword…a sign of hope for people suffering the birth pangs of justice…the missionary who…accompanies us through life…a true mother who…shares our struggles, and…constantly surrounds us with God's love."

And the Holy Father ends his work with the words, "Mother of the Living Gospel, wellspring of happiness for God's little ones, pray for us. Amen. Alleluia"
The Virgin, who in her teens became pregnant with Jesus, continues to assist us members of the Church in every age in our giving birth to him again. In doing this, she leads others and us ever closer and closer to him. May we, in our turn, do as she did--help to bring Jesus to others!