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Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Numbers 6:22-27
Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
Galatians 4:4-7
Like 2:16-21
Reflection
In these days I become more aware of mystery and destiny. To reflect on the
tapestry of a year past is to face mystery. Why should it be so? For the ages
we have wrestled with good and evil, good fortune and ill fortune, thinking it
to be a problem to be solved. Now to realize that it is not a problem but a
mystery. The unknowable which defies all logic and reason.
To look into a New Year is to belong to the
unforeseen. And know again that the jour-
ney of life must be governed by a destiny
beyond our grasp. And yet we plan as if to-
morrow is within our reach. In our liturgy
Mary, the Mother of God, is our example.
Embraced in divine mystery “she kept all
these things, reflecting on them in her
heart”. Peace of soul is the harvest of re-
flective prayer, the grace to be secure in the
care of our loving God. This is the great act
of faith which allows us to celebrate today
with no care for the tomorrow. Thus did
Mary show us that she was perfectly human.
The Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron, in her
book Comfortable with Uncertainty is in-
sightful and instructive. She confirms that
the anxiety of a disturbed spirit comes not
from not knowing the future but from the
unfounded presumption that we should
know the future.