Advent with Mary

Advent is a rich liturgical season, in which there are many aspects worthy of contemplation. We are invited to consider the surpassing love of God who became man, the baby Jesus who came to redeem us, we are directed to look with hope to His glorious Second Coming. We rejoice in the truth that He comes to us even now, in our prayer and most perfectly in the Eucharist.

For me Advent has traditionally offered a lesson in how to wait with expectant hope. Often my personal prayer in this season has focused around joining with the Church in waiting, taking comfort in not waiting alone, but rather with the whole Body of Christ.

This Advent, however, the Lord has invited me to enter more deeply into the mystery of the Incarnation. This invitation has taken the form specifically of contemplating the life of the baby Jesus within the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I have heard pregnant mothers speak of journeying with Mary throughout their pregnancy, but since I have not had that experience myself, this aspect of the life of Jesus is not one I had considered before my most recent retreat.

I have of course meditated upon the Annunciation and upon Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, but after that I have always rushed forward to the Nativity of our Lord. This year, it was the well-known words of the Hail Mary that caught and held my attention, “Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.” Here, in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the redemption of the world, God’s tender compassion dwells, grows, is nourished. Jesus Christ, the living God, hidden away in the womb of Mary, already present, already our salvation, already the Dawn breaking upon a people long accustomed to darkness.

Wonder of wonders, our Lord and God has become so small, so fragile, so vulnerable in order to redeem us. We had gone so far astray, were wicked and in abject misery, without hope. He could have destroyed us; it would have been just to do so. He could have established His reign over us by force, subjecting us to His Lordship. Instead, in His great love, He chose to woo us and win us gently, tenderly, coming to us as an innocent child and inviting us back into the relationship we were made for from the beginning.

This Advent, as we prepare for Christmas, let us imitate Mary by allowing Jesus to grow within us. Let us feed our souls on those things that nourish the life of the Lord in us and avoid those things that stymie that life. May we be made ready, as Mary was, to offer the life of Jesus to the world.