During the final days approaching the great feast of Christmas – of God’s dwelling among us as one of us – our time and attention often become distracted and fragmented at best. The multiple aspects of holiday preparation can descend upon us as an intimidating army of chores to be accomplished, duties to be fulfilled. We can so easily lose focus on the true meaning behind all the gift-wrapping and cookie-baking.
Monthly Archives: December 2019
My soul doth magnify the Lord
December 17
He might be born, and see the stars through eyes
That were her eyes in Him! And might she trace
Her features in the molding of His brow?
Here her voice in His, and know the need
He had of her, and uttered in a cry?
And she…and…she might sing for Him at dusk!
Might sing, but no, she could not dare this dream…
But yet, it was a mother’s need to sing…
And then a song the world has never heard,
Rising in the faintest strains of distance
Loveliness had moved along the silver
Shining of her dreams, like light returned
Within a purer light, until it came
To her unfrightened. Caroling of angels’
Praise, and love that lifts to lullaby
Became as one, and blended for a fragile
Music that was hers and only hers…
My soul doth magnify the Lord:…Because he that is
mighty has done great things to me: and holy is his name.
For Reflection
Every mother dreams of the child she will birth. And as her time drew near, Mary’s thoughts of Jesus were marked by the quintessential ponderings of the pregnant woman. But hers were marked by something more as well. Her Son was the Holy One of Israel! In A Woman Wrapped in Silence, John W. Lynch speaks of this reality in poetic strain. Where do you see every mother in Mary’s musings, and where do you see that which marks her as the Mother of God? Of her thoughts, which echo your own longings?
(Excerpts from A Woman Wrapped in Silent by John W. Lynch, reprinted by permission of Paulist Press.)
Karate and the Martial Arts
Charles writes: “I have a question about Karate, is it considered New Age? Many people send their children to Karate for discipline, confidence, and self-esteem and they say it helps them so much! What are your thoughts on this?”
Surrender
December 16
“Thanks to her vow of surrender, everything is divinely disposed for this direct hold of God’s word over her.”
-Father Marie-Dominique Philippe, O. P.
For Reflection
Though Mary received a singular grace from God never to be repeated for all eternity, could it be that my surrender, seeking to mirror her own as closely as possible, could divinely dispose me to a greater hold of God’s word over me? How would I most like to experience that hold? In what one way today can I cooperate with grace to make my surrender more like Our Lady’s?
New Age Therapists
GM writes: “My mother’s therapist recommended Women’s Reality by Anne Wilson Schaef and another by Melody Beattie. What I found on Anne Schaef and what I read in the foreword troubled me and I told her this, but she thinks that she’s strong enough in her faith that she can take what she like’s and leave the rest; however, what I found about Beattie was hard for me to decipher one way or the other. What should I tell her?”
A complete and total Yes
December 15
“God wants to transform us by His grace and to sanctify us, but before He does so, He waits for our assent. When this yes is complete and total, as Mary’s was, God will accomplish His work in us.”
-Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, OCD
For Reflection
What is God’s hope for us? Upon what is it dependent? Why do you think this is so? How do the last five GraceLines point to Mary’s complete and total “fiat?” In what one way can you give your assent more completely and more totally? What was the work God accomplished in Mary? What work do you believe He wants to accomplish in you?
God waiting for us
December 14
“… the spirituality of waiting is not simply our waiting for God. It is also participating in God’s waiting for us …”
-Henri J. M. Nouwen
For Reflection
Ponder this quote. What does it mean to you? In what way(s) did God wait for Mary? How do I think He has been waiting for me? (Hint: One answer is found in tomorrow’s GraceLine) What is my response?
The seed has been planted
December 13
“The secret of waiting is that the seed has been planted, that something
has begun.”
-Henri J. M. Nouwen
For Reflection
Why do you think knowledge of the planted seed holds the “secret” to waiting? Consider this quote in light of the quote of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. What seed was planted in Mary? What seeds exemplified her period of waiting (consider what you learned through other quotes)? Identify some of the seeds that have been planted in you during this
time of spiritual waiting?
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Mother
Today we celebrate the beautiful Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It’s a special day for Women of Grace® because we are entrusted to her patronage and protection. Read the rest…
Can Christians Trust Alexa?
Someone recently wrote to us expressing concerns about the use of smart-speaker devices such as Amazon’s Echo or Google Home in a Christian home. Is it true that these devices are pre-programmed with a non-Christian worldview that can describe Buddha but not Jesus Christ?
