It can be easy to look at Mary and struggle to connect with her. She was immaculately conceived, born without original sin, and lived her life in total obedience to God. What must that be like? I often find myself frustrated, stumbling over the same sins again and again. Wouldn’t it be so much easier to live without these struggles and temptations? If I’m not careful, I can spiral into thoughts of unfairness and unnecessary envy.
We all have a choice to make as we meditate on the life of Mary and her mysteries. Do we allow jealousy to take root, feeling upset that we weren’t born as she was or given her gifts? Or do we honor and rejoice in the gift she is to all of us—our spiritual mother, given to us by God? While the answer may seem obvious, it’s not always easy to transfer this understanding from our heads to our hearts.
If we invite Mary into our hearts, we can learn so much from her example and virtues. For you see, being without original sin did not exempt Mary from profound suffering, like watching her innocent Son be crucified, or anxieties, like losing Jesus for three days in Jerusalem. She knows how you feel in your suffering and weeps with you. Yet, she also shows you how you should respond: with total, complete surrender and confidence in our Father’s love.
Just as the shepherds in today’s Gospel glorified and praised God “for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them,” Mary did too. Even though her life was filled with hardships, she saw all that the Lord had done for his lowly servant and praised him. She lived a life of trust and unwavering faith, choosing to honor and serve the Lord despite the suffering that awaited her at the foot of the cross. We are called to lean on Mary for her support and ask her to show us the way to her Son.
Mary is not only the Mother of God (although that is a pretty big deal), but she is also our mother. Take time in prayer to invite her into your heart. Ask her to guide you in responding to life’s struggles with trust and obedience to God’s will. May she wrap her mantle of protection around you and your loved ones this New Year and every day of your life.
I leave you with a blessing from today’s first reading to share with those you love: The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!