Mary, Mother of God
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
Written by Megan Ourso
Merry Christmas! (Yes, still.)
During this season, I got to watch my all-time favorite movie: White Christmas. When I was little, I used to request this movie from Thanksgiving all the way until Easter (God bless my mama). It still delights me as much as it did back then.
One of the songs featured in the movie is “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” by Irving Berlin. Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney croon this duet together by a firepit in a cozy ski lodge. The main message of this song is turning to gratitude in the moments of life’s anxieties, “and you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings.”
The word blessing means “God’s favor.” I do not know about you, but I sometimes struggle to see a blessing as it is happening, especially in the moments of anxiety, grief, or feeling overwhelmed. Often, it is after the fact that I can recognize a blessing for what it is and not only how the Lord provided in that moment, but in many others as well. I will start thinking about one particular instance of blessing and grace, and soon that leads to other blessings, one right after another until I am left standing in awe of God and how much He cares.
He cares about me. He cares about you. Even when we do not feel worth it. Simple truths that we tend to overcomplicate, huh?
We are human. We choose so many things that are not God or of God. We fall victim to the concupiscence (the tendency to sin) inherited from our first parents at the Fall. And we are very aware of it. We do not feel worthy of approaching the Babe we see in the manger, but that is where God’s mercy and blessing are on full display!
The Babe in the manger is already about salvation’s work, and through that little Body we have a God that we can hold, that we can touch, that we can embrace.
That is His blessing.
God knew we were a mess. He still knows it. But that mess brings Him all the closer to us in the Person of Jesus Christ. He could turn away in self-protection, in wrath, in disgust, but He does not remove Himself from our presence.
There is His mercy.
He runs to us to be the strength we could never have on our own. He runs to us to be the comfort we desperately need. He runs to us to be the fire in our hearts when our flames burn dimly. He runs down from Heaven to be the Savior we need.
There is His mercy. What a blessing!
May Mary, whose Solemnity we celebrate today, show us how her Son’s “face shines upon us” in delight, and may she pray for us to have the grace to know a blessing when we see it.
When has the Lord’s mercy come through for you recently? How has He blessed you this Advent and Christmas season?
Megan Ourso works as an appraiser in southeast Louisiana. She has always been fascinated by stories and is an avid reader and writer. Her camera roll is full of pictures of her “nephew squad,” her cat Beanie, all things cozy, and way too many screenshots.
Pray with today’s psalm.