december blossom...

holds out the hope of spring at winter tide

it is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and we had the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception last week-so I’m feeling like there must be some reason we are getting these little arrows from the Liturgical calendar pointing to the Blessed Mother.  

So, here’s what I’m thinking: It is the time given us to prepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth, right? Right.  And it is the time we are reminded that we are still waiting; that we still live in an imperfect world; that we are still desiring perfect happiness that certainly cannot be found in this imperfect world we live in.  the Light of the World has already come.  but, we still live outside of that Light Inaccessible.  we still cannot enter into that Light.

And i think of some 2,000 years ago.  When the Light was hidden in the dark and cozy womb of little Mary.  When she held the Light and kept Him warm and safe.  No earthly eyes had yet beheld that Face of Love.  But she had felt the rush of joy that comes from tiny feet and hands and limbs brushing and kicking against her belly.  Before anyone knew what the Hope looked like, she knew what He felt like.  We could not go to Him, so He came to the darkness as the most vulnerable of creatures.  And she held Him inside of herself.  And she traveled to Bethlehem on a donkey as pregnant as they come.  

She took flight with Joseph and her newborn Son so that He would be safe from harm.  She taught Him how to speak.  She heard His baby laughter and watched Him breathe in and out while He slept in her arms.  She clapped for Him when He began to crawl.  She held His Hands to show Him how to walk.  It was all so human, I believe.  It was all so natural and like what I have seen my sister and my aunts and my friends and cousins do for their babies.  

Then, she watched Him prepare for His death.  She walked near Him all the way to Calvary.  She stayed at the Foot of the Cross and received all of humanity as her children at His word: “Woman, behold your son”.  She watched Him, the Light of her life, go back into darkness.  She cradled Him again in her arms, like any mother would long to do for her child.

The analogy of Jesus as the Sun and Mary as the moon rings so true just now after the unanticipated reflection above.  

He is the Light of the world, and she was always there with Him, reflecting the Light.  In the beginning, when He was within her, she was the like the new moon.  And the new moon grew fuller and fuller until the night of our dear Savior’s birth.  Then we could see the Sun begin to rise.  The moon remained, but she was like the moon when it is out during the afternoon (that’s been happening a lot lately--is it a winter thing?).  you can see it, and it is beautiful, but the Sun is so bright, we don’t altogether notice the moon.  

She is quite lovely to gaze upon, though.  

When Jesus went into the tomb, the Sunlight seemed to vanish.  But He was not gone-and we know that because the moon still shone. 

 Mary still did not despair, in the world’s darkest hour, when she saw her Son go into the dark tomb-she still remained hopeful-she still glowed with the Light of Jesus.  

When Jesus rose again, the Sun was brighter than ever, and the moon danced and shone with joy.

Never did she shine more brightly, but the Sun was center stage again.

 the Sun is always center stage, but humanity is in the dark night again.  Not anywhere near like the darkness we were in before Jesus came.  We have countless stars now, piercing the darkness.  we have the Sun still brilliantly shining upon us and guiding our footsteps.  and we have the moon, to do as she did the moment the Angel Gabriel came to her and she pronounced her Fiat: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:25).  She reflects the Light of Christ and reminds us of the faithfulness of the Lord, especially in the darkness.  

My dear friend, Sarah, said something that struck me.  She was talking about someone she knew who went through an extremely painful suffering.  Reflecting back on it, this girl said that the only thing that kept her together during that time was the Eucharist-and she said that the way she sees it now is that the Light of Christ surrounded her so completely, and was so utterly bright, that her eyes could not handle it.  What she perceived as darkness at the time of her suffering was just the beginning of dwelling in the Light of Christ.  Her eyes, she said, slowly adjusted, and she could see that His Light was surrounding her.  always.  

if the Sun is too bright for our eyes to handle, we can first look at the moon.  The Light is the same, just a little easier for our human eyes to take.  

The Heavenly Father used Mary to bring the Light into the world.  She is our Blessed Mother, our intercessor, and a reminder that the Light is still with us.  Especially in the darkness.  

I am so grateful for Our Lady. She has helped me feel close to Jesus in the darkness when I feel like His Light is so far. She has shown me what kind of woman I desire to be. She has shown us all what love for Christ means. It means denying ourselves, taking up our crosses, and following Him wherever He leads.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

The stars that wreathe your head sing frosted praise;
The moon lays down her silver at your feet...

Beneath your folded hands you bear the Sun