Christmas Day | Heart

“BUT MARY TREASURED ALL OF THESE WORDS AND PONDERED THEM IN HER HEART.”

LUKE 2:19

Mary listened as the shepherd shared all they had been told about her infant, and treasured and pondered them in her heart. No doubt, as Jesus grew, Mary would return to the shepherds’ proclamation and that of Gabriel’s before them. When raising the Son of God got complicated and painful, when Jesus went missing as an adolescent or began to get in trouble with the authorities, Mary must have pondered in her heart all the more, mulling over treasured words to reassure her of her son’s well-being despite all the danger his mission engendered.

Like Mary, some of our lives’ twists and turns, divine messages and earthly suffering, bring forth an ongoing conversation between us and the God whom we long to trust. When we attempt to hear and heed God’s call and faithfully go, we need God’s treasured words in order to remain steadfast.

Through it all, God’s call persists. God’s words, once spoken to us, cannot be unheard. Once written on our hearts, may we treasure them, ponder them, return to them and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, act on them. Glory to God in the highest!

FOR REFLECTION

• When have you heard God's voice? How was it communicated to you? How did you discern that it was God speaking?

• When you think of God's call to you, what comes to mind? What word of the Lord to you do you treasure? Ponder in your heart?

• Have you had times in your life of faith when you questioned God's providence? What words of God sustained you during that time?

God of angels and shepherds, you speak to us in a multitude of ways, always seeking us out to inhabit your work and ways. We cannot fathom your glorious mysteries! Help us treasure up your words and ponder in our hearts the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, come to earth this Christmas Day. Amen.