Isaiah 9:1-7; Psalm 112(113):1-8; Luke 1:26-38
We are truly blessed today with the feast of Our Lady, Mother and Queen.
A very real mother - Mary was young, and her firstborn an exceptional child, she must have felt the responsibility heavily. And to be in the situation of telling her fiancé that she was pregnant and to fully trust him that he would not disown her - she must have been an exceptional woman. In her womb she nurtured a king forever, of the line of David, a priest forever, of the line of Melchizedek.Son of God, and Son of Man. And always, as perhaps only a mother can fully relate to, her child, grown within her womb, and delivered by her, suckled and cherished by her. The combination of heavenly glories and raw human nature in this one time, place and person only happened because Mary said "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said be done to me."
There have been a thousand songs and a thousand paintings aiming to depict this one moment. Each will have their own favourites - find one of yours and spend time looking at or listening to it this day. Here are mine:
