I have many reasons to be thankful for this feast, that of the Immaculate Conception. The first is that Christ was able to find someone who would give Him “an eager welcome”, who in no way would reject Him because of a sinful nature, who was pure love because He first loved us [her], because she received His love without hindrance. And secondly, we can have great hope because in her we can see the promise God has for each of us. Someday, through all the purifications and trials of this life, through our faltering yeses to Him, we shall become like her: “shining, whole, and Godward-turned.” Someday, He will see His image clearly in us as well. And someday we will never refuse His love for us. O, sweet Mother, intercede for us. We do thank Him for you.
December Eighth
Beloved, Mother of us all,
Today we remember
That, of all earth’s millions,
You, Mary, in the womb,
Were shining, whole,
And Godward-turned.
You only, O Morning Star,
Lighted the clouds of sin and waiting.
You only, Immaculate Ark,
Glided above the depths of the primal curse;
For you were to bear safely over those waters
Emmanuel, your little Son, from whose baby hand
Streams the rainbow up which we climb to God.
You only, little white moon, are the crystal
Reflection of our Sun.
But for your whiteness, O Gate of Heaven,
We had never entered, nor seen our God.
But for your loveliness, O Mystic Rose,
We had never breathed the Rose of Sharon.
White Tower of David, Ivory Tower,
Princess whose beauty lured Love’s kiss when life began,
Mother, who died a thousand deaths for us,
We thank Him for you.
To-day, when He smiles to see His image in you, clear,
Remember us.
~Sr. St. Francis S.S.J.
(Robert, Cyril. Mary Immaculate: God’s Mother and Mine. New York: Marist Press, 1946.)
The Christmas icon of the Eastern Orthodox Church developed its essential form as early as the fourth century and in it has captured the complete mystery of Christmas. It represents the intimate connection between Christmas and Easter, between crib and Cross, the harmony between the Old and the New Testaments, the unity of heaven and earth in the song of the angels and the devotion of the shepherds. Each figure in it has a profound underlying significance. Remarkable in all this is the function reserved for St. Joseph. He is sitting to the side, lost in deep reflection. In front of him stands the Tempter, disguised as a shepherd, who addresses him, according to the text of the liturgy, in this way: “Just as your root cannot produce leaves, just as an old man cannot become a father anymore, so also the virgin cannot give birth.” The liturgy then adds: In his heart there raged a storm of contradictory thoughts; he was confused; but enlightened by the Holy Spirit he sings Alleluia. Through the figure of Saint Joseph the icon presents a drama that recurs time and again–the drama of ourselves. It is always the same. Time and again the Tempter tells us: There is nothing but the visible world, there is no Incarnation of God, and there is no birth of the Virgin. This is the denial that God knows us, that he loves us, that he has the power to be active in the world. And thus it is, in its core, the refusal to give God the honor. It is the temptation of our time, which presents itself with so many clever and seemingly brand-new reasons as to appear utterly convincing. Yet it is still the same old temptation. We ought to pray to Almighty God that he may send into our hearts also the light of the Holy Spirit. We ought to pray that he may grant to us also the grace to leave the stubbornness of our own reasoning behind, to gaze at his light with joy and to sing out, “Alleluia”–Christ is truly born, God has become man. We ought to pray that in us also the words of the Easter liturgy may become reality: “We present to you a Virgin and Mother. We present to you ourselves as well, more valuable than any gift of money: the wealth of true faith–to you, our God, and Savior of our souls.” Amen. (Pope Benedict XVI, Lob der Weihnacht, p. 45)
Witnesses to Hope 