Fertility is one meaning of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is recognized in the sash tied across Mary’s waist indicating she is pregnant. Mary’s feast fits well as a celebration during the Advent season when we are all awaiting new life. The feast celebrates the pregnant Mary’s fruitful appearance to a poor man. He is Juan Diego of Mexico. Mary’s appearance guides Juan to a bush in mid-winter blooming with roses.
The world would be a different place if we had such visions, such guides, and such pursuits. We would share the vision of those who are poor, be they Mary of Nazareth or de Guadalupe, be they Juan Diego or a destitute sister or brother. We would see an abundant world, a world in which we care for everyone. We would be guided by the vulnerability of pregnant women and the little ones they bear. We would pursue a new life-affirming world. It would be a world beyond this grief stricken one made colder and colder by weapons and the graves they hollow out. Graves hollowed out for 20 little ones at Sandy Hook and hundreds more in the year since, and so many more in the year ahead, and how many more in all the years to come? How many more visions of children living into the future will be replaced by nightmares? How many more gentle guides will be replaced by armed ones? How many more fruitful pursuits will be replaced by deadly ones? We who live in the U.S. live in Empire and it is replete with nightmares, and armaments, and death. We who live here as disciples, live with a mission of fertility. We have a vision for life. We seek out guides who can help us live more fruitfully. Life is our pursuit no matter how foolish it may seem. We affirm life and nurture it and share it. We do so amidst those who construct a world mired in guns and death. We will not survive as a human race, nor will we bloom or thrive, if we do not give ourselves to such life giving visions, guides, and pursuits.
We await the birth of a baby this season who, as all babies, gives us the vision of a kinder world, guides us on a loving way, and has us pursuing a fruitful life.
Prayer: Spirit of Life, I pray my heart be turned toward miraculous ways.
Question: What is the world for which I long?
December 15, 2013 Gospel Mt 11:2-11 Third Sunday of Advent