Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God

Today the liturgy of the Church give us a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the person and the life of our blessed Mother the Virgin Mary. She was a young girl, probably a teenager of high school age, who was told that she was chosen to be the mother of the Lord. Now that all sounded wonderful and beautiful, but then the angel Gabriel left her and her life changed suddenly[1].

First she had to convince her parents that she did nothing wrong, even though she was pregnant. Then she had deal with Joseph. He was the one who was particularly devastated. He had made plans to send her away. It took divine intervention to stop him[2]. Mary probably had to put up with the wagging tongues of her neighbors who did the math and knew she was pregnant before she was living with Joseph. [So] Mary’s life was not exactly plenty of fun.

Crisis after crisis hit her. How did she react? Was she a victim, devastated by the latest negativity? Not at all. Scripture is quite clear that Mary took control of her life. Once pregnant, she had only one goal: to care for that child and to present to the world, her son, and our Savior.

Mary’s life is an example to us to take control of our lives. Many people give up on themselves. “This is too hard. I just can’t do it. I’m not smart enough.” But there are others who take an aggressive approach to life. “I will get this. I will get smarter. I will use my talents and develop new ones”. That’s the attitude!

Mary took control of her life. Why? Well because she needed to present the Lord to the world. And that is why you and I have to take control of our lives. We also need to present the Lord to the world. We have a mission in life. That mission is to make Jesus a reality to the world.

Mary is the only person in scripture to be present in every aspect of Jesus’ life from his birth to his death. She is always there, saying to us: Look here is your Savior, my Son. She was never a passive victim, but an active participant in God’s plan. She took control.

In view of today’s celebration of the way that Mary grasped being the Mother of God, it is good for each of us to do some examination of conscience: “Where is it that I give up? When it is that the negative forces of the world take control of me? Am I easily devastated? Or do I assert the strength, the power of God that I have been given at my baptism? Do I master the life that God gave me?

We have to say: I can change. I will change. Even though I am a sinner I will present the Lord to the world. I can do it. There is no crisis, no situation in life that will prevent me from caring for the Divine Presence I have been gifted with. I have the power. I have the strength. And of course I have the support of my mother, the Church!

May Mary, the Beautiful Mother of God, give us the courage to hold her Son ■

[1] Cfr Lk 1: 26-38.
[2] Cfr Mt 1: 20-22.