Protected: Our Christmas Morning Traditions
December 30, 2008 at 12:18 am (Christmas, Family Traditions)
She Said Yes
December 29, 2008 at 12:16 am (Mary)
I was up before Ella this morning and had time to read in peace and quiet (a rare occurrence). Some of the readings and prayers in my Magnificat led me to think about Mary’s fiat (that is, her yes to God). There’s so much to learn from her love for God and her willingness to bear His son and subsequently watch him die on the cross. She’s a model of…
- Obedient faith
- Long waiting/long suffering
- Unhesitant love
Obedient Faith: Faith without obedience is meaningless. What good would it have done for Mary to believe but not obey? What if she’d said, “Lord, I believe but I just can’t go through with this pregnancy. I can’t face Joseph. I just can’t be humliated like that. I believe in you but hey, I can’t do this?” What kind of faith would that have been? It was obedient faith that brought Jesus into the world. It was faith followed by action. Mary’s obedient faith was like that of Abraham, her forefather (see Hebrews 11). Like Mary and her forefather I am called to something more than “faith alone” (James 2:20-24). I am called to an obedience that comes from faith (Romans 1:5).
Long waiting/long suffering: Mary’s life was far from easy. Of all people in the world you’d think that the Mother of our God incarnate would have been given a break. But instead Mary’s faith journey was one of difficulty (she was a refugee) and heartache (she watched her son be crucified – as a mom I can’t think of anything more painful than that). Mary said yes to a life that would require faithful waiting and long suffering. Mary’s yes is a pattern or example to follow for those of us who desire to know and love Jesus. Think about it, besides God the Father, who in this world would have loved Jesus more than his mother? I can only imagine how she would have gladly died in His place (I’d die for my children in a heartbeat). But instead, Mary accepted God’s plan for her son and for herself. Her long-suffering challenges me to accept the will of God in my life, even when it’s painful.
Unhesitant love: Mary’s yes did not have a plan behind it. She didn’t have all the answers as to what would happen and what her life would like like. A short dialogue with the Angel Gabriel, one small question about how this could be possible and then she responded: “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be done to me according to your word.” She loved God more than herself and more than her own plans. Therefore she could say “yes” without hesitation. O how I need to love God like that.
O my Jesus, I want to be like your Blessed Mother, Mary. I want to live by obedient faith. I want to love without hesitation; accepting your will for my life even if it means there is long waiting and suffering. Amen.
Note to my Protestant friends:I know some who read this might struggle with understanding the love the Catholic faith has for Mary. I once struggled with this too. But after studying what the Catholic Church actually teaches about Mary I realized that my struggle was rooted in a great deal of misunderstanding over what the Church really believes.
Contrary to popular opinion we Catholics do not worship Mary. Worship is reserved for God and God alone. We do however, give honor where honor is due. And so, we honor Mary, the Mother of God in the flesh. We are called to imitate Jesus and it’s safe to say that being perfect in love Jesus always honors his mother (afterall, it is one of God’s big 10 
. So, the honor we show Mary is one way we imitate Jesus. If you have more questions you can check out this link.
Merry Christmas!
December 27, 2008 at 12:31 am (Advent, Christmas)
I haven’t posted in while. December was busy but it was a good kind of busy. Our Advent season was really nice this year. For the most part the girls and I slowed down our schedules on the weekdays. Sure there were play practices, gymnastics, RCIA, music rehearsals and schooling. But, somehow we managed to keep things in perspective and even made some choices about what we wouldn’t do each week so that we could go to mass or make it to church for adoration. Making those choices was good because by the time the week of Christmas arrived it was easy to cross the non-essentials off of my “to do” list so we could focus on what mattered most instead.
One of the blessings of this Advent season has been being a part of the music at church. Music and writing are two of the cheapest forms of therapy for me. Thanks to Bruno, our church music director (and fearless children’s play director), I’ve received a lot of therapy this Advent. You’ll have to ask Scott if it’s working. I think it must have some benefit because he makes every effort to ensure I have time for music in my life. Hmmmm…I wonder if Scott’s paying Bruno under the table to let me sing with him. If that’s the case then Bruno may not know what he’s gotten himself into.
One of the more challenging aspects of this Advent for me involved the words “empty” and “poverty.” Much of Advent focuses on emptying oneself of, among many things, oneself, in order to prepare for the coming of Jesus. And poverty is the very thing into which Christ was born (a lowly manger). I felt challenged this Advent to really examine what it meant for me to be empty and what spiritual poverty looks like in my life (for the poor in spirit will see God).
Should have known better than to ask God to reveal those things to me. Somehow I think God and I got our wires crossed because I didn’t mean for Him to bring new examples of emptiness and poverty into my life. But He has. Let’s just say, God has His work cut out when it comes to me. Could be why I need so much therapy.
When all is said and done, this Advent season was really blessed. As we celebrate the Christmas season I’m still pondering the things God has shown me. Still praying that I will decrease so that His love will increase in me and flow through me to others.
I hope you’re having a peaceful Christmas season and you have a blessed new year. For those who check in periodically keep dropping by. It’s always my goal to write and post more often. We’ll see if that happens in 2009.
Reminded
December 2, 2008 at 1:38 pm (Grace)
This week I must begin dealing with a situation that has the potential to lead to a difficult season in life. This is the type of circumstance that reminds you of just how imperfect life is and how often it falls short of the ideal. I’m re-posting something I wrote a while ago. I need to be reminded that there’s grace to be found in an imperfect life.
THE GRACE OF AN IMPERFECT LIFE:
When we think of God’s grace we often think of the grace of forgiveness and mercy; the grace of salvation. You know… “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like meeeeeee.”
But over the years I’ve learned and still am learning something. While I desperately need His grace when I sin and fall short of living the ideal of a life fully surrendered and directed by the Holy Spirit, I also need His grace when life falls short of my ideals, hopes and expectations.
We all have ideals for our life. Many of these ideals we seek are “good.” These hopes we have for our lives, our families and our friends are often born out of virtue and the very nature of our created being and our vocations in life.
The man who desires to provide for and protect his family.
The missionary who wants nothing more than to care for the poor and feed the hungry in her midst.
The woman who longs to carry a child in her womb.
We hold onto our ideals. We dare to hope for what is good. All the while knowing that we live in an imperfect, fallen world; a world where often the distance between our hopes and reality is marked by disappointment.
This disappointment of the man or woman who never dreamed they’d end up divorced.
The disappointment of the parent of a prodigal child still living a wayward life.
The disappointment of the one who gives up their personal dreams to serve and take care of a sick relative.
The disappointment of the widower who loses his beloved and must live the rest of his days without her.
When our disappointments are rooted in an unfullfilled desire for something that is essentially good it can be especially difficult. It’s at times like these, when life is less than our ideal, less than perfect, that we need God’s grace.
We need grace to live with disappointments and still hold out hope for what is good and virtuous. We need grace to offer up our disappointments as a sacrifice and see them as part of living in this fallen world and sharing in the fellowship of His sufferings.
We also need grace to see that sometimes our loss or disappointment can be a gift of grace itself. It may well be the grace we need in order to allow the Holy Spirit to align our ideals, hopes, and dreams with his will and ways. Or, our loss or disappointment may be the grace we need to see a sin that we didn’t even realize we’d latched onto.
Big or small, our disappointments, our losses and sufferings make up the landscape of grace in our lives. Sometimes it’s hard to see the beauty of this landscape. We’re so focused on a specific disappointment or loss that we can’t see the forest for the trees. But if we are patient and we keep our gaze on him, we will eventually see the big picture and appreciate the grace of an imperfect life.
