All tagged mary

Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We remember the story of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, and seeking a room where there was none available. We recall how Jesus was born there, wrapped in swaddling cloth like a newborn lamb being prepared for sacrifice, and placed in a manger. Then we go to the pasture and listen with the shepherds as they are told of this miracle child, but how do we pray today? Do we pray in His name for the simple things we desire, or like Mary whose soul was known to pray fervently in the Holy Spirit as she anticipated His coming?

Tomorrow we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but today my mind is on the exhaustion of Mary. Full with child, and bearing the punishment of Eve, she has travelled a long way by foot and donkey to arrive in Bethlehem... she is exhausted, but tomorrow that will all come to an end with the final pains of childbirth and the cry of God’s own Son. Was that first utterance of Christ a prayer, and did Mary join Him in it?