December is a month very rich liturgically. In a particular way because of the Advent Season which culminates with Christmas. But in addition, there are two very important Feasts of the Virgin Mary: the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the United States, celebrated on Dec. 8, and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12, which we hold in a very special place in our hearts. For this reason, today I would like to reflect about our Holy Mother Mary.
There are very few passages in the Gospels that describe aspects of the life and of the psychological and spiritual profile of the Virgin Mary.
The French Catholic convert Charles Péguy said that, regarding Mary, the Gospels kept a “painful silence,” referring to the natural desire of every Christian to understand better the spiritual life of our Mother, as we can know Jesus Christ’s.
However, Péguy himself said that the Gospels’ discretion regarding Mary was not God’s “mistake,” but rather a subtle teaching about who Mary was: the attentive and faithful disciple — as we see in the Wedding Feast of Cana — and always present at the decisive moments of the ministry of the Lord Jesus — at the foot of the Cross, at the Resurrection and at Pentecost.
Nevertheless, it should surprise us that of the few passages of the Gospels that refer to Mary, two of them describe exactly the same attitude: first in Luke 2:16-21, we see the Virgin’s revealing reaction to the praise received from the shepherds who visited the newborn Jesus in Bethlehem: “And Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
A bit later, in the episode where Her Son gets lost in the temple of Jerusalem, after the young boy seems to rebuke his parents, St. Luke again describes the same attitude in Mary: “And his mother kept all these things in her heart.” (Lk 2:51)
Mary listens and meditates in the face of praise as well as of what seems to be a harsh correction.
During the Advent season, while Christmas is approaching, these two passages in Luke are small windows that allow us to glimpse into the depth of Mary’s soul: A soul that does not rush to react, that listens to the Word of God — either transmitted by the shepherds, or by her own Son — and she meditates on it, she lets it penetrate her soul, gain meaning, and finally guide her daily decisions in life.
The weeks that precede Christmas, as we can see, come with everything — lights, songs, sales and mass advertising; everything except silence.
Silence, however, is an essential attitude for Catholics. We shouldn’t understand silence simply as the absence of sound. It is an inner attitude that cannot be influenced by superficiality, but treasures what is important, and gives time to prayer so that faith can be solidly lived.
During his first visit to Mexico in 1979, Pope John Paul II explained how important it is to imitate Mary’s silent response to God’s presence in our lives. In the words of the Holy Father, “This is the crucial moment of faithfulness, the moment in which man perceives that he will never completely understand the “how;” that there are in God’s plan more areas of mystery than of clarity; that, however he may try, he will never succeed in understanding it completely. It is then that man accepts the mystery, gives it a place in his heart, just as “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19; cf. Lk 3:15). It is the moment when man abandons himself to the mystery, not with the resignation of one who capitulates before an enigma or an absurdity, but rather with the availability of one who opens up to be inhabited by something — by Someone! — greater than his own heart. This acceptance takes place, in short, through faith, which is the adherence of the whole being to the mystery that is revealed.”
Christmas is not the celebration of just one more holiday. It celebrates an incredible mystery that should make us tremble in wonder and joy: the mystery of God himself who became a man.
But in the midst of the noise and rush in which we live, sometimes it’s hard to adequately prepare for this mystery. But, as the beloved John Paul II says, through silence and Mary’s acceptance, we will be able to welcome this mystery into our own lives and worthily celebrate Christmas, not only as a holiday that is a “point of arrival,” but especially as a point of departure to renew our faith and live it practically in daily life.
In fact, in that same beautiful speech, the pope said, “It is easy to be consistent for a day or two. It is difficult and important to be consistent for one’s whole life. It is easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm, it is difficult to be so in the hour of tribulation, and only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole of life can be called faithfulness.”
Let us ask the Lord, together with Mary, that at this time of Advent, we may open our hearts to his great mysteries, so that we will learn to live fully, always and in everything as real Christians, and become worthy of the words of the Lord, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful... Come, share your master’s joy.” (Mt 25:21)