Posted by The WORD in other words (2019) by Fr Raymun Festin SVD – Rome
Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God – January 1
According to the evangelist Luke, after the shepherds recounted their encounter with the Angels in the fields, Mary kept all these things, reflecting them in her heart.
To keep something in one‘s heart means to keep it safe, guard it, treasure it, and cherish it. Mary as a Mother treasured the most significant events in the life of Jesus.
My mother tells me that as a child I was very sickly. Whenever I would cry, she would play Legata Ad Un Granello Di Sabbia (A Little Grain of Sand), and I would calm down. Mary also treasured many secrets and things about Jesus. She knew Jesus‘ favorite food and the number of times He got sick. She shared these things with Jesus‘ followers, including Luke the Evangelist.
To reflect in one‘s heart means to weigh things in order to understand, to compare things in their wholeness, to see how things hang together, to discern and interpret the meaning of things.
The Blessed Mother knew that Jesus was a very special and mysterious child. But she could not understand everything about Him. So she had to reflect, weigh things, pray so as to understand the meaning of things.
If the Blessed Mother knows a lot of things about Jesus, then she can also teach us many things about Jesus. If if we, like her, reflect on and pray over the word of God, then we, too, can find the meaning of things.
As we begin another year, let us ask the Blessed Mother, the Patroness of our country, to guide and protect us as a nation. May she bless our families and our home. And may we, in turn, become more like her in words and deeds.
Happy New Year!
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