Tag: Advent

Advent Reflections – December 5, 2015

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Open to Life: Mary in Scripture

Mary is the perfect example of what it means to be open to life. She was a young girl, recently engaged, when she is visited by the angel Gabriel. We say that so casually – “she was visited by an angel” – like it was a normal occurrence. “She was visited by a friend, her father, her sister, etc.” To say that the experience would have been shocking is an understatement. Mary was not only visited by a being that lives on an entirely different plane of existence from us, she also interacted with it, talked with it, questioned it. The angel’s opening greeting (if you can call this admonishment a greeting) is “Don’t be afraid.” You don’t say something like that unless there is reason for fear. You don’t tell someone “don’t be afraid” when presenting them an ice cream cone or asking if they would like to sit with you at lunch (at least I hope you don’t have to). No, Mary would have startled at best, perhaps panicked, certainly stopped in her tracks.

Mary’s willing submission to the angel’s proposal is the culmination, rather than the start, of her openness to life. Mary already had a relationship with God, she was a prayerful person, she, who was immaculately conceived, had perfectly aligned her will with God’s throughout her whole life. Mary’s “yes”, her fiat, to carry Jesus within her demonstrates what it means to welcome life wherever and whomever it comes from.

How am I inspired by Mary’s “yes” in my own life? How can I say my yes to God today?

Happy Birthday to my brother Michael!

Advent Reflections – December 4, 2015

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Open to Life: The Reality of Motherhood

The reality of motherhood is very simple. A woman is a mother in the physical sense when she conceives and bears a child. If we were to leave our definition of motherhood at this fact, our understanding would be very narrow indeed. Just because someone bears a child does not necessarily give them the monopoly on the title “mother.” A grandmother or grandfather who takes care of their grandchildren because the mother is absent. An aunt or uncle who adopt their niece or nephew because their mother has passed away. A friend who cares for her friend’s children while she is deployed. The two best friends that raise their families next door to one another, sharing their parenthood across their backyards. The older couple at church that quietly and gently mentors young couples in their relationships with each other and with God.

Motherhood is more than physically bearing a child. It is recognizing that a life outside of our own requires our time, attention, compassion and nurturing. When we are open and welcoming to the life that is around us, especially the life that is in need, we participate in our own motherhood, whatever that may look like.

Think of one person who you have been like a mother too (if you are a mother, try to think of someone who is not your physical child). How were you open to welcoming their life into your own?

Advent Reflections – December 3, 2015

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Characteristics of a Mother

Each of us has a unique experience of motherhood. All of our mothers were different. Some of us are mothers. Some will never become mothers. Regardless of our experiences and situations, we all have some basic notion of motherhood. Our human history has attributed certain characteristics to what I would call an “ideal mother.” Based on my own reckoning, and in no particular order, here are a few such characteristics that I believe sum up the basics of an “ideal mother”:

  1. Open to life
  2. Able to love without needing, requiring or expecting love in return
  3. Willing to sacrifice or suffer on behalf of others, especially her children
  4. Capable of forgiveness
  5. Desires to live in harmony with others

Mary fulfills all of these characteristics. Indeed, she even exceeds the expectations of history by perfectly living each of these qualities to their fullest.

When we imitate Mary, we are striving to ingrain these qualities into the very fiber of our being. By living these characteristics, we not only will draw closer to Mary, we are walking in her footsteps which always lead us directly to her Son.

Which of the 5 qualities listed resonates the most with you at this particular stage of your life? Which, at first glance, do you think would be the hardest to adopt?