WE are now into the season of Advent. And among the first
big events
of this season is the celebration of the Solemnity of the Immaculate
Conception of Mary. There is actually a beautiful link between Advent
and Mary.
And that is the art of expecting. It’s an art that we should try to
acquire too. For sure, it is not just a matter of talent, though it
helps a lot. Yes, it is a matter of grace, but that grace is always
presumed to be given, and quite abundantly, if we don’t put any
obstacle. That’s simply because it’s God’s will.
It’s an art that we have to learn and cultivate, quite actively and
deliberately. We should not just depend on chance or luck for it to
come to us. We have to outgrow that mentality. We have to work on it,
imbuing the art with the appropriate skill.
We need to aggressively develop it because many are now the elements
that deaden whatever tendency or sense we have toward this need. As
the gospel of the First Sunday of Advent warns us, "Beware that your
hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the
anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a
trap.” (Lk 21,25)
Mary can help us greatly here. She, who by a most special grace given
to her in anticipation of the merits to be gained by his Son for all
of us with his passion, death and resurrection, was conceived free
from original sin and was full of grace throughout her earthly life.
This privilege, of course, did not deprive her of her freedom. She
could have said no to God, but instead she said yes—“Fiat mihi
secundum verbum tuum” (Be it done to me according to your)—not only
once but always. Her difficulty in fathoming God’s plan all the time
only made her closer to God through her earnest prayer and obedience.
If only for that alone, she already deserves to be emulated. But
there’s more that we can learn from her. Since she was the mother of
the Son of God, she was the closest person to deal with the
God-made-man, our Redeemer and human perfecter.
She was always observing our Lord and pondered things in her heart.
Then she would act in accordance to what she saw, heard and learned
through her pondering and reflections.
In other words, her attitude toward Christ was always marked by faith
and charity. It was not just a human and natural thing of observing
and thinking and not relating things to God’s plan and to her
vocation. She was a contemplative in the midst of the most ordinary
events of life.
We should look at her more closely and consistently amid the ebb and
flow of our life, because of all people she is the one who knew
exactly how to deal with Christ in a day-to-day basis, something that
we also need to learn.
Our problem is that we are not consistent in our faith and love for
God and, as a consequence, our love for the others. We are good at the
beginning, but we often don’t last. We can be good in big events, but
we easily dry up when faced with our daily routine of small things.
More significantly, we can be good in the material and social aspects
in our relationship with Christ, but we can be quite ignorant or
bumbling in the spiritual and moral aspects. We can be quite showy in
our piety, but we may not know how to nourish it internally to make it
burning and fruitful all the time.
Mary had a keen sense of her tremendous vocation. She never wavered
in that, even when extraordinary sacrifices were to be made. She
learned how to relate time to eternity, and the very small things of
daily life to the biggest goal we all have to pursue—our
sanctification.
This is something we have to learn. Thus, it’s good that we always
look at Mary. Her humble and hidden example will always move us to
really grasp what is essential in our relation with Christ. It’s in
always pumping our faith, hope and charity into intense action, never
allowing them to slow down.
For us, this means we need to continually renew ourselves, go through
continuing conversions, because we all know that in spite of our best
intentions and efforts, we always fail.
Mary, our Mother, can show us the way to sustain our relation with
Christ all day everyday.
of this season is the celebration of the Solemnity of the Immaculate
Conception of Mary. There is actually a beautiful link between Advent
and Mary.
And that is the art of expecting. It’s an art that we should try to
acquire too. For sure, it is not just a matter of talent, though it
helps a lot. Yes, it is a matter of grace, but that grace is always
presumed to be given, and quite abundantly, if we don’t put any
obstacle. That’s simply because it’s God’s will.
It’s an art that we have to learn and cultivate, quite actively and
deliberately. We should not just depend on chance or luck for it to
come to us. We have to outgrow that mentality. We have to work on it,
imbuing the art with the appropriate skill.
We need to aggressively develop it because many are now the elements
that deaden whatever tendency or sense we have toward this need. As
the gospel of the First Sunday of Advent warns us, "Beware that your
hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the
anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a
trap.” (Lk 21,25)
Mary can help us greatly here. She, who by a most special grace given
to her in anticipation of the merits to be gained by his Son for all
of us with his passion, death and resurrection, was conceived free
from original sin and was full of grace throughout her earthly life.
This privilege, of course, did not deprive her of her freedom. She
could have said no to God, but instead she said yes—“Fiat mihi
secundum verbum tuum” (Be it done to me according to your)—not only
once but always. Her difficulty in fathoming God’s plan all the time
only made her closer to God through her earnest prayer and obedience.
If only for that alone, she already deserves to be emulated. But
there’s more that we can learn from her. Since she was the mother of
the Son of God, she was the closest person to deal with the
God-made-man, our Redeemer and human perfecter.
She was always observing our Lord and pondered things in her heart.
Then she would act in accordance to what she saw, heard and learned
through her pondering and reflections.
In other words, her attitude toward Christ was always marked by faith
and charity. It was not just a human and natural thing of observing
and thinking and not relating things to God’s plan and to her
vocation. She was a contemplative in the midst of the most ordinary
events of life.
We should look at her more closely and consistently amid the ebb and
flow of our life, because of all people she is the one who knew
exactly how to deal with Christ in a day-to-day basis, something that
we also need to learn.
Our problem is that we are not consistent in our faith and love for
God and, as a consequence, our love for the others. We are good at the
beginning, but we often don’t last. We can be good in big events, but
we easily dry up when faced with our daily routine of small things.
More significantly, we can be good in the material and social aspects
in our relationship with Christ, but we can be quite ignorant or
bumbling in the spiritual and moral aspects. We can be quite showy in
our piety, but we may not know how to nourish it internally to make it
burning and fruitful all the time.
Mary had a keen sense of her tremendous vocation. She never wavered
in that, even when extraordinary sacrifices were to be made. She
learned how to relate time to eternity, and the very small things of
daily life to the biggest goal we all have to pursue—our
sanctification.
This is something we have to learn. Thus, it’s good that we always
look at Mary. Her humble and hidden example will always move us to
really grasp what is essential in our relation with Christ. It’s in
always pumping our faith, hope and charity into intense action, never
allowing them to slow down.
For us, this means we need to continually renew ourselves, go through
continuing conversions, because we all know that in spite of our best
intentions and efforts, we always fail.
Mary, our Mother, can show us the way to sustain our relation with
Christ all day everyday.
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