Daily Reflection Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

Advent is truly a special time. A time where we hopefully slow down and ponder what is to come. For me a lot of the pondering revolves around our Blessed Mother. Mary was truly an amazing woman and by todays standard a child when she came face to face with the angel Gabriel. She endured so much starting at such an early age. This past Friday, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, my parish priest gave a beautiful homily about Mary. He asked us to image what it must have been like for a thirteen-year-old girl to try and explain to all those she loved what had just taken place. As someone who has a powerful imagination, I could not even come close. I grew up in a very traditional Irish Catholic home. Guilty until proven innocent was the norm. The teacher, priest, adult was always right and being the only Majella in my universe it was hard to hide from any mischief. So, let’s just say I might have gotten in a wee bit of trouble back in the day and I thank God everyday there was no Facebook, selfies, and Instagram. But enough about me, back to Mary. What lead me to all of that was just imagining going home and explaining to my parents that I was pregnant that the God was the father because the angel said so. Let’s just say I would have been grounded for life! I can’t image how scared Mary was thinking about what happened to a woman(girl) who was pregnant out of wedlock. I can’t imagine what I would say to the man I was supposed to marry. I can’t imagine….and on it goes. But Mary braved it all because she knew God would never abandon her. She braved it all because she knew she was carrying the breath of heaven. That is true faith!! 

Today’s feast emphasized all of this. If you are not familiar with the story of Our Lady of Fatima, I have placed a link below where you can learn about her appearance to St. Juan Diego. It is a beautiful story which led to the conversion of thousands and stopped the horrific practice of human sacrifices that was taking place at the time. The image of Mary on the tilma of Saint Jaun Diego shows Our Lady as a beautiful young pregnant woman. We know this because the black band in the image signifies maternity. There is so much more to the image, and I hope you find the time to read about it. This leads me to the image I use during Advent. It is the called Our Lady of the Millenium. I discovered this picture at Loyola thanks to Fr. Bill Rakowicz, SJ. It was a favorite of his and it quickly became my favorite image of Mary. In the image below you see a very humble setting with a woman kneeling and a glow emitting from her. Some days I see her in prayer pondering about the child she is carrying in her womb and at other times I see her holding the child that she carried so lovingly. Right there in that glow is the breath of heaven. I feel a deep sense of peace when I gaze at the image. I imagine her telling Him just how special he is and how much he is and will be loved. 

Take some time each day for the rest of the Advent season to gaze on this image and imagine how you would feel holding the breath of heaven and then realize that you hold the breath of heaven every time you receive the Eucharist. That you received the breath of heaven at baptism and that you are the breath of heaven to those around you. 

Click here for more information of Our Lady of Guadalupe