Our Lady in this Time for Prayer

Prayer is needed in these difficult days. The darkness and cold we feel are not merely physical realities related to the time of year and weather conditions. People have forgotten the Lord and they do not have time for God. Prayer can change all of this ... but we have not yet welcomed the Word of God and answered this call to prayer.

Homeless, the Word made flesh travels this world now as He did while in his Mother's womb. Crowded out of the lives of those He loves and having the doors of their hearts shut on Him, there is no room for Him to stay. He would be conceived in the minds of those to whom He has drawn close and born in their actions, but His own would not receive Him. He has no where to lay His head.

Our Lady is just as much part of this story now as she ever was. For she tirelessly journeys forward determine that Her Son shall come into the world anew. She is not discouraged by rejection, but has confidence in the goodness of every heart she meets. She is not afraid to accept whatever space we give her Son, no matter how lowly ... for she sees it as a gift from the Father above. Even the most humble stable in our hearts will suffice for her - for she already knows manger in which her Son. might be safely kept.

Thus, the Mother of the Lord comes to us in the dark cold of these heartless times. She is not discouraged by our failures but she hopes in us instead. She who gave her "fiat" to the angel understands the greatness of the human vocation.

She knows the courage that a prayerful life demands of us. She also knows the joy of trusting in what the Lord has said. She knows that this humble trust can change our lives and the world. Most of all, she longs for us to know the presence of Her Son as she knows Him, and with maternal solicitude she prays for us.