A Special Lesson from Our Lady to Start the Week and the New Year Off Right
With Christmas falling on a Sunday this year, guess what? Right, so does New Year's Day! So here we are, with Sunday the first day of 2017, looking to start our week and our New Year off right. This year may prove extraordinary for us in the U.S. with a new President about to take the Oath of Office. We'll see.
While the extraordinary naturally draws our interest and attention, the fact is the ordinary generally rules our daily lives. Even at this time of year when some of us entertain various New Year's "resolutions," experience teaches us that most of these fall by the wayside within weeks if not days of making them. We bring this up not to discourage our ambitions to improve our lives or even accomplish great things. Keep at it. In the midst of your efforts, though, don't overlook the great opportunities to be found in the ordinary thoughts, words, and actions of everyday life. No matter our natural physical or intellectual endowments, our particular talents and skills in business, or the current state of our spiritual lives, each and every one of us receives a special "gift" from our Father in Heaven: the ordinary. To help us understand this gift better, and encourage us all as we begin the New Year, we can turn to the example of Our Blessed Mother. I found this wonderful description of "Our Lady's Ordinary Life of Extraordinary Love" penned by Father A.E. Breen in 1908:
With best wishes for a holy and healthy 2017.
Meanwhile, let's not forget that it's the 8th Day of Christmas. Yes, the 12 Days of Christmas continue and in keeping with the spirit, here's one of my favorite renditions of the classic "Silent Night," sung by the great Vienna Choir boys in the original German. Lovely.
While the extraordinary naturally draws our interest and attention, the fact is the ordinary generally rules our daily lives. Even at this time of year when some of us entertain various New Year's "resolutions," experience teaches us that most of these fall by the wayside within weeks if not days of making them. We bring this up not to discourage our ambitions to improve our lives or even accomplish great things. Keep at it. In the midst of your efforts, though, don't overlook the great opportunities to be found in the ordinary thoughts, words, and actions of everyday life. No matter our natural physical or intellectual endowments, our particular talents and skills in business, or the current state of our spiritual lives, each and every one of us receives a special "gift" from our Father in Heaven: the ordinary. To help us understand this gift better, and encourage us all as we begin the New Year, we can turn to the example of Our Blessed Mother. I found this wonderful description of "Our Lady's Ordinary Life of Extraordinary Love" penned by Father A.E. Breen in 1908:
“There is a wondrous naturalness and simplicity in St. Luke’s account of the Annunciation. We are actually transported to the scene, and made to witness the event itself. The angel first dispels Mary’s fears by announcing to her that she is acceptable to God. The phrase ‘thou hast found grace,’ is a pure Hebraism. It is a common expression in the Old Testament to express the goodwill and favor of one agent towards another. Of itself it would not manifest any singular prerogative of Mary over any other one with whom God was pleased; but, in fact, we know that it does express a degree of the divine love never given to any other creature. And yet what had Mary done to merit such love? God’s love for Mary was not mere caprice. To be sure, God’s preventing grace, and his co-operating grace, had been given in large measure to her, but she had not been an inert agent, dragged to her height of perfection, without contributing anything thereto. And yet her life was uneventful; she had not impressed her age. The great world was quite oblivious of her. There is one great truth illustrated by Mary’s life – that one does not need to startle the world by great deeds to please God. God judges not as man. The things that the world prizes are set at naught by God. One upward soaring of Mary’s soul to her Creator availed more in this appreciation than all the great deeds chronicled in the records of men. There is a practical lesson in Mary’s life for all. Most lives must be commonplace and uneventful. Sometimes, instead of making use of present opportunities in the uneventful life that is our portion, we sigh for a broader sphere of action in which to serve God. No doubt God sometimes calls chosen souls to a broader field, but these are isolated cases. The great mass of humanity must labor and strive in the ordinary, uneventful spheres of human life. Mary’s life teaches us that the highest sanctity can be achieved in the lowest, meanest walk of life. The devils can do great deeds; we cannot equal them. God cares not for such. There is a path to heaven from the lowest, dingiest place where human life drags out its brief span from eternity to eternity. God asks not of man brilliant, dazzling achievements; he asks what Mary gave him, the love of a pure heart; this everyone can give. Sanctity consists in doing the little deeds well – and in loving God.”I've read this several times already. Perhaps you might. It's worth it. May I suggest that 2017 will prove to be an extraordinary year for all of us, even those of us who lead the most ordinary of lives.
With best wishes for a holy and healthy 2017.
Meanwhile, let's not forget that it's the 8th Day of Christmas. Yes, the 12 Days of Christmas continue and in keeping with the spirit, here's one of my favorite renditions of the classic "Silent Night," sung by the great Vienna Choir boys in the original German. Lovely.
Happy New Year!
Comments