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.
Tag Archives: Christmas
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.)
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?
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?
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
December 12
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
“The Word of God is present in [Mary], dwells within her, and takes hold of all the capabilities of her intelligence, her heart, her sensibility. Her entire being is mobilized by God and for God.”
-Father Marie-Dominique Philippe, O.P.
For Reflection
Reread the above GraceLine. Enter into the mystery these words express. Let them move you interiorly. Through the use of your imagination “be” with Mary as the Word of God grows within her. What thoughts, inspirations, and insights come to you? In what way does this aspect of Mary’s “waiting” prove the truth of yesterday’s GraceLine? What do you make of the last sentence, especially the word “mobilized,” in light of the time of Mary’s maternity? Our Lady of Guadalupe appears to Juan Diego pregnant with Jesus. How do you think she images this quote through her apparitions?
Waiting patiently
December 11
“Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life.”
-Simone Weil
For Reflection
Why do you think this is so? How is the spiritual life demonstrated in the excerpt from A Woman Wrapped in Silence.” Note the phrase from today’s quote, “waiting patiently in expectation.” How does Mary demonstrate this in the excerpt? To what extent has my current Advent been marked by “patient expectation?” In addition to the coming of the Christ Child, is there something else for which I have been waiting? What is it? How can this “advent” be a time of spiritual growth for me as I wait?
Onward to Bethlehem
December 10
“And when the hour had come that was to move
The long days onward to Bethlehem…
a moment paused,
Above a quiet place, and found, just this,
A woman wrapped in silence, and the seed
Of silence was her heart that tried to give
All that it held to give, and ever more.”
-John W. Lynch, Excerpt from A Woman Wrapped in Silence
For Reflection
These beautiful words poetically describe Our Lady as she waited for and anticipated the birth of her Son. What thoughts and insights come to you through the description “a woman wrapped in silence?” What interior attitude marked Mary’s silence? What does the poetry suggest? What about Luke 2:19, 51? Consider these lines in light of the quotes of Father Marie-Dominique Philippe and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. How can I imitate Our Lady and also become “a woman wrapped in silence?”
Father of mercies
December 9
“The Father of mercies willed that the Incarnation should be preceded by assent on the part of the predestined mother, so that just as a woman had a share in the coming of death so also should a woman contribute
to the coming of life.’
-Lumen Gentium #56
For Reflection
After careful reflection, list the truths this paragraph contains in light of Genesis 3:15, the Immaculate Conception, and the Annunciation. How do they point to God’s reality as the “Father of mercies?” Given this paragraph, why do you think Mary is the perfect one to teach us about our feminine call and mission? Consider the time of Mary’s pregnancy. Based on Scripture and your own insights, how do you think this, Our Lady’s “advent,” reflected a continued attitude of surrender? Journal your thoughts. We will consider this time in Our Lady’s life through the next few GraceLines.
