Eucharistic Motherhood: Silent Night

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Silent Night

It is already getting dark here--I sat alone in the rain and just let it pour. I felt the poverty of spirit all around me. We have no lights, no decorations, a sorry excuse for a tree. We have few presents, late Christmas cards, and lots of sorrow.
But as I sat in the rain, I felt relief.
What is tonight about? What are we celebrating?
We are celebrating a God who comes in the darkness.
We are celebrating a God who comes into poverty of body and spirit.
We are celebrating a God who comes in the midst of sin--the sin of emperors, governors, business folk, friends, and family.
We are celebrating a God who comes--humble, defenseless, poor, meek, and innocent.
He comes to us, only then to be poorly understood, falsely accused, and put to death. His life seemed like a failure. His relationships mostly failed. His mission, by all appearances, failed. Then he was put to death by his enemies--they seemed to have the final word.
Tonight is about saying "Yes" to this God, this God who became Man, who became vulnerable and weak and poor.
It is about saying "Yes" to this God who knows how to be alone, to be abandoned, to be treated unjustly.
It is about finding one's life, one's hope, one's friendship, one's consolation, one's joy in this God-Man.
It is about this God-Man being enough. He is enough for a person's happiness. He is enough to repair one's heart, to heal one's heart, to fill one's heart.
A good life is not outward success. It is not money. It is not having a glowing ego that the world adores. It is not about the expression of our talents. It is not about having the perfect family and friends.
A good life is a life given over and made afresh by this God-Man, Jesus.
A good life is a having a heart born anew like the babe we celebrate tonight.
I look forward to "Christ's Mass" (Christmas) tonight--offered in the lonely darkness.
May He come, may I see Him afresh, may I see who He is in richer, more profound, less distorted way. May He be born in my heart again tonight, and may His Spirit SHINE with JOY. Joy, yes, to the WORLD.

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About Me

Born in Texas, raised in NYC, I earned my Ph.D. in philosophy and married a gorgeous theology student who rides a motorcycle and looks like James Dean. We now have six kids, are based in Irving near the University of Dallas where my husband teaches theology and where I sometimes teach philosophy. We currently live in the Castelli Romani, just outside of Rome, Italy. In addition to teaching some semesters and raising our 6 wonderful children, I am studying theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. Passionate about the vocation of motherhood, I founded a Catholic mother's ministry, Mighty Is Her Call. Our retreats and blog can be explored here: https://mightyishercall.com.

My book, Motherhood: An Extraordinary Vocation was released August 2021.

What's Special about Motherhood?

Motherhood is patterned on the life of Christ, particularly the Eucharist, in a way that no other vocation is. Some mothers shed blood for their children in childbirth--just as Christ shed his blood for us, a gift we celebrate in the Eucharist. Some mothers nourish children with their own bodies--just as Christ nourishes us with his body in the Eucharist. Mothers give themselves up in countless ways for their children--just as Christ gave himself up for us: "This is my body, given up for you." Every aspect of our day, from feeding our children, to cleaning up their messes, to disciplining them, to listening attentively to them, to hugging them, to laughing with them, to cherishing them, reflects the ways Christ gives himself to us. Motherhood is a role fashioned in the image of Christ, more so than perhaps any other vocation. It is singularly close to and reflective of the Heart of Christ.