In spite of everything that has marked the past few pandemic-dominated years, we can still enter this new year of 2023 with a sense of wonder and trust. Somehow we can share in the spirit of Saint Peter at the Transfiguration of Christ when he said, “Lord, it is wonderful for us to be here.”
Such wonder and reverence were typical of Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother in the faith. She was the first “disciple,” the first believer in our great Christian family. But she was also a flesh-and-blood woman of her times, a hard-working young woman from Nazareth, cheerfully willing to be of service to others. It would be a shame to imagine her only as a “Christmas-card Madonna,” set serenely against a golden background with hovering angels. Such a figure is simply not true to her life-story as told in the Gospels. The real Mary from Nazareth knew no riches or privilege in her lifetime. Nobody has ever lived, suffered, and died in greater simplicity, marked by a strong and simple faith. As she saw herself, Mary was the handmaid of the Lord, trusting in God’s providential care and sustained by His goodness.
As we prepare to celebrate the Mass on the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God, let us be prepared to watch and listen carefully: seeing Mary marveling at what has happened (to her and her world), treasuring the events of Christmas in her memory, and pondering them in her heart. Are we ready to imitate her watchfulness and careful attention to the wonders the Lord has done?
