Vol. XV
No. 11
December 2003
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If you happen to live in the Philippines, you will certainly have noticed that the so-called Christmas atmosphere has already been with us for several months, with the bright sight of decorations and the sound of carols on every side. Such Christmas excitement has, indeed, made its way into many Christian and non-Christian countries alike. Yet commonly the whole thing is focussed on an overweight old man with a long, white beard, or an overloaded pine tree.
Most obviously, the cradle at the center of all this festivity seems to be planted in the shopping malls and upmarket areas of our cities. Perhaps it would be better to stop saying “Happy Christmas” altogether, and just go for a more innocuous “Season’s Greetings”. Which is another way of saying that it is not difficult, even for Christians, to live through the celebration of the powerful event of Jesus’ birth unaware of its implications and potential for their lives.
Yet there is a key time of four weeks in the Church’s liturgy leading up to Christmas that has little to do with acquiring the latest gadget or finding the perfect wrapping. It is a time of “waiting in hope”, a time that speaks of the perennial expectations of every human being. It is, too, a time that draws attention to how the birth of Jesus was prepared – and who prepared it, especially a poor young girl from Nazareth.
This girl – Mary - embodies truly emancipated and fulfilled womanhood as she prepares to give birth to Jesus. My soul magnifies the Lord, she says (Luke 1:26). Her soul did not compete with God - or man! -, but was like a crystal through which the power and love of God grew, because not obscured by the film of self-importance, self-centeredness or vanity.
Christmas is a special time for women - admirably represented by Mary. As Pope John Paul has often affirmed: “Mary's maternal heart, open to all human misfortune, reminds women that the development of the feminine personality calls for a commitment to charity… More sensitive to the values of the heart, women shows a high capacity for personal self-giving… In virtue of their special bond with Mary, women have often in the course of history represented God's closeness to the expectations of goodness and tenderness of a humanity wounded by hatred and sin, by sowing in the world seeds of a civilization that can respond to violence with love.”
Looking at Mary at this special time, we will all be encouraged to live out in our own lives her mercy and solidarity for situations of human distress, and, impelled by a missionary spirit, to alleviate the pain of those who suffer: the poor, the sick and all in need of help.
©2003World Mission Magazine
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Fr Corrado De Robertis
Comboni Mission Center
7885 Segundo Mendoza St.
Sucat,
1715 Parañaque City, MM
Philippines.