There was a gush of realizations on today's midnight Mass on the Solemnity of the birth of our Lord. I could feel God's words swelling up like it was still 33 AD. Truly, when the Word of God is remembered, the past and the present seem to converge. The Word is alive!
a. Even before the Angel Gabriel came to her, Mary was already beginning her 'fiat' when she was betrothed to Joseph. It was this very first act of submission to God's plan that proceeded to her eventual 'fiat' to becoming Christ's mother. Mary's life, in its entirety, is an act of submission to God's will.
b. Mary asking "How will this be so, since I have no relations with a man?" (Lk. 1:34) shows faith seeking understanding. There is nothing wrong to ask God about his will for us; it is certain that our human understanding will find its limits. We might find answers that are vague and beyond our understanding, but God's ways are always the wisest.
c. When Mary came to visit Elizabeth, I could imagine how awestruck the latter is. "And why is it granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Lk. 1:43) This is the true Sense of the Sacred: a thumping heart and awe-filled soul when face-to-face with the Living Sacrament. Mary's mere presence fills the soul with the Holy Spirit. This is possible not by Mary's own merits, but by the Child who was in her womb!
d. When exulted by Elizabeth, Mary responded by giving back the glory to Christ: "My soul magnifies the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior" (Lk. 1:47). It has always been Mary's role in the history of Christianity: to magnify the Lord. When she is exulted, she humbles herself and exults Christ instead. And with this, her beauty radiates even more.
e. When the time for Mary to give birth came, Joseph frantically, but well-composedly tried to find an inn for them. I can see how the Lord planned this perfectly: that St. Joseph be father to Christ, because he will do everything for Mary and Jesus, even if it meant knocking on endless doors and begging to be taken in. I wish that every girl find a man like this to be her own husband: a man after Joseph's own heart.
In our times, we tend to be like the innkeepers, who kept the door shut for Christ. We tend to be too busy that we may not have any room for Christ in our heart. But the only way to experience the divine is to accept his simplicity and let him in; like how the owner of the barn took the Holy Family.
f. As if coming to the world as a mere human is not enough, the Lord decided to do something even more humbling -- be born in a manger. The King of Kings was born on a manger. THE KING OF KINGS WAS BORN ON A MANGER! Even I was born on a hospital bed, complete with medical supplies and safety kits. But the Lord of heaven and earth chose to be born on a manger? This is the first of the numerous instances where Christ would humble himself to be living example. This, truly, is the Lord of humility.
In order to find the Lord, one need not look far and wide; one need not search the most royal of palaces. Because the Lord is found in the simplest place in the world -- the manger. In simplicity, the true riches are hidden. In simplicity, the divine is found.
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All these reflections and more in the best season of the year. May we experience and share to others the true meaning of Christmas as we meditate in the life of Christ. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Gloria in excelsis Deo!
O sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy
before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth. (Ps. 96: 1-3, 11-13)
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