The glory of the Lord is upon us! Rejoice!
There are five separate sets of readings for both the fourth
Sunday of Advent this year combined with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In the gospels for this Sunday in Advent and
Mass at dawn on Christmas, we find powerful images of Mary, of pastures and
shepherds, flocks and angels, and of course the Christ child.
In an Ignatian contemplation I prayed on Luke 2: 15-20, I
was moved by the shepherds, picturing myself as one of them on that holy
night. I could feel the cool wind of the
evening blowing across my face. I saw
the angels surrounding me, the other shepherds, and the sheep. I could hear the rustle of the silence of the
meadow interspersed with the sheep bleating.
I could feel their wiry wooly coats as I comforted them. I could taste the grass and dust blowing
around through the field.
And in my contemplation, surrounding myself with all the
feelings that come through my senses, I too experienced the arrival of the
angels. My fellow shepherds were excited
to see the baby and so was I. But then
the head shepherd said to me “Hey, we’re going down to see the baby. But someone has to stay behind and take care
of the sheep – you’re the one, Sue!” At
first I was disappointed but then I curled up with those sheep surrounding me
while the others went to the manger.
Now I was really stuck and struck with this imagery. I couldn’t get beyond the “someone has to
stay behind”. After the disappointment
left me, I did this job dutifully and I was able to reflect on that duty and
hold it in my heart. Sometimes we don’t
get to “see” things and we must have faith – faith in the glory of God and in
all the wonderful things God has brought to us.
In a similar way, in both of the Gospel readings, Mary reflects
and has faith. In Luke 1, we see Mary
saying “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.” And in Luke 2, Mary “kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.” Mary’s
a good role model for me in my contemplation but also for all of us. By Mary’s example, how are we called to be
both shepherds keeping the sheep and people of faith that take time to believe
without seeing and to listen to the Holy Spirit call us by name?
St. Ignatius teaches us in the first principle and
foundation, that we must love, reverence and serve God. Mary provides the perfect example of this for
us and we too, like the shepherds with our flocks (if you will – our families,
our friends, our colleagues, the strangers we meet), are called to love,
reverence, and serve God on this most holy of days.
The glory of the Lord is upon us! Rejoice!
Sue Chawszczewski, Ph.D.
Director of Campus Ministry
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