Magnificat, mission and YES

Today we celebrate the birth of a little girl who would be called to become the Mother of her Creator, the Mother of God. Yet, she is born simply as a little girl, like the daughters and granddaughters we hold in our arms. We bestow upon her the most exalted and noble titles, such as Our Lady and Queen, but God’s way was and remains simpler and quieter, yet no less powerful and transformative. It is the way of Jesus Himself. ~ Pope Leo (on X)

This morning, as I reflected on today's feast of the birth of Mary, it occurred to me that we are celebrating an event, momentous in itself, which happened maybe only 15 or 16 years before something even more momentous and truly world-changing... The Incarnation; the human presence in our world of Jesus, God's eternal Word and everlasting Love made flesh, come to dwell here, with and among us. And all this resulting from an obscure young girl's YES!

But this was no pale, wishy-washy acquiescence, just as Mary was no pale, wishy-washy girl! There was strength in her surrender: and I thought of how that YES was soon followed by the Magnificat, Mary's timeless, powerful prayer, in which the hungry are filled with good things, and the lowly are lifted up. How are we being called, in our blessed and broken world, to live this prayer, in our different communities, missions and contexts? Who are the hungry we are called to fill with good things? - not only those who lack food, but those who hunger for affection and kindness, dignity, tenderness and love... And who are we called to raise up? Who longs to be boosted and filled with self-esteem and confidence, and treated with respect?

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, for many religious women and men, this feast marks milestones and new beginnings. The birth of a girl whose whole-hearted YES has resounded throughout the centuries is a favourite day for entrances to communities, and making vows; for embarking, at different times, on the simple and quiet, yet powerful and transformative way of Jesus. It is a good day for remembering how even the smallest and quietest YES can truly change, if not the whole world, at least our small corner of it. 

Happy feast to you all, and a buon onomastico to every Mary, Maria, Miriam, Marie or variant thereof out there! And like Mary, may we too bring Jesus into a world which is so wounded and yearning for his love, and his light.