"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
1 John 2:15-17
Since celebrating her entry into the Temple I've been somewhat interested in the life of the Virgin Mary, realizing she lived during the time of Herod, the King of Judea, and just after the conquests of Rome over former territories of the Hellenic Empire. She was a contemporary of the Roman Senate that declared Julius Caesar a God, and declared Octavius, the Son of Julius Caesar, ironically labeling him as a Son of God. Her betrothal to Joseph was not accompanied by fanfare, but one still wonders if Herod knew about her. He certainly would have been the eyes of the enemy.
She lived a life from an early age of pure devotion to God, praying many hours a day, and dedicating her life to Him in such an unprecedented way, which now Christian monastics all over the world try to emulate. According to "The Life of the Virgin Mary, The Theotokos"* her schedule was as follows: From morning until 9:00 am she prayed. From 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, she occupied herself with weaving. She, like St. John the Baptist was attended to by angels, who fed her once a day sometime after 3:00 pm. She studied the Law of God and contemplated them deeply. The Archangel Gabriel and perhaps Archangel Michael were her teachers. Perhaps it is important to understand that it wasn't the appearance of the angel Gabriel that unsettled her, but what he told her. Because having pledged herself to the life of a virgin, how could she who did not know a man, become with child? Of course, we all know how that conversation continued.
During her time in the Holy of Holies, praying, we are told she was aware of the tumultuous events occurring around her, and because of this dedicated her life to God, praying for the souls of all those around her. She prayed for the redemption of their souls, for salvation from the human condition of bondage to the passions. She prayed for all of humankind. I imagine she prayed even for Herod. Her life, foreshadowed the life of Christians working out their salvation in the Church.
This life--the life of redemption, of reclaiming the soul for Christ, of unceasing prayer, a life of working and praying, is the life many of us struggle to emulate. Very few can follow it as strictly as she did, but the Church exhorts us to. She was created for a purpose, and this is why we celebrate her conception, her birth and her entry into the temple because she was an instrument used for God's plan of being Incarnated. His promise to come to earth and save mankind would finally be realized. But no one expected the manger, the poverty, the manner in which the Redeemer of Mankind would come amongst us. Maybe she herself was waiting for a Splendid King, after all, it was God who promised to return. And it was with this expectation that she dedicated her life to that of virginal prayer as someone awaiting a king from a far-off land in order that she could be in service to Him when He arrived, to present herself as a worthy vessel and vassal.
And so imagine her surprise, when the Archangel Gabriel informed her that she would give birth as a virgin.
Her life shows us that an ordered life of prayer paves the path to holiness and being an instrument of God's plan of redemption. The cycle of holidays of the Church attests to this, we enter into its rhythms and teachings with the abilities that we have to participate in this life, hoping to being more able to participate more fully. In doing so, we humbly acknowledge our weakness, so that in that weakness, God can become our strength, the rock upon which our healing is effected.
For those of us from broken homes, it takes a lot to humble ourselves, in fact to be humbled, and to accept what we may consider as an unfair roll of the dice regarding the circumstances of our life. But once the acknowledgment is made and we accept the conditions of our life we will be able to understand that no matter how bad and dysfunctional our beginning was, by accepting Christ and the sacramental life, we have the potential for eternal life that will never end, and that life will always be blessed.
This is why we celebrate the life of the Virgin Mary. All around her was dysfunction and the headlong passionate thrust for the pride of life, the lust of the eyes and of the flesh; and yet she clung to a life of prayer.
She lived during the most consequential times on earth, and she became a most consequential figure in the history of mankind because she lived a life of prayer. So much to learn from this.
The time of Christmas is a time of Celebration of the Birth of Christ, our Lord and our Redeemer, but it is also a time of Being Grateful for those people who assented to participate in the salvation of mankind and who demonstrated at the same time how important it is that each one of us participates similarly in working out our salvation.
Blessed Nativity of Christ to each and every one of you.
The Life of the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, Holy Apostles Convent, Buena Vista 1989
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