Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God

Imagine the most important and perfect person, other than the Son of Man. Imagine that person having access to ultimate power. Imagine a pure, pious, and humble person, never speaking of their preeminence above all else on the face of the earth.

Impossible if it were not for Mary.

This is why we love Our Lady so dearly. While Jesus guides us to the life we should live, Mary exemplifies that life perfectly through her love and obedience to God. We should emulate Mary’s acceptance and excitement to carry our Lord within her body and her deep commitment to remain physically close to Jesus.

The good news is that we, too, can have a unique and deeply personal relationship with Jesus through his Real Presence in the Eucharist. We can accept him into our bodies and remain physically close to him. We can invite him into our souls and let Him guide us to the Father. In Adoration, we can spend time with Jesus as he speaks to us in the quiet of the chapel, just as Saint Peter Julian Eymard did. The story is told that one day, the Apostle of the Eucharist was seen pressing his ear against the tabernacle, explaining, “I am close to Jesus and listening to Him.”

We, too, must listen and reflect on what is revealed to us about our Savior, just as Mary did. In today’s Gospel, we read about the shepherds finding Mary and Joseph in the manger at Jesus’ side, and “they made known the message that had been told them about this child… and Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”

So, today, we can reach beyond our mere mortal lives to do the almost unthinkable. We can join the most perfect person ever born in receiving and adoring the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Imagine that.

Let us Pray:

In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son.