By Anthony Jayaraj csc –
Readings: Mic 5: 1- 4; Mt 1:1-16, 18-23
Today the church honors and celebrates the birthday of Mother Mary. What I admire in Mother Mary is the way she responded positively to the invitation of the angel of God. It must have been challenging because she had to make a choice on a daily basis and be faithful to it. It means that she was committed to her call without knowing what the future would hold for her and her son.
She is indeed a valiant woman who is an example par excellence for faithfulness to her vocation. Such was her faith that she could overcome every negativity, criticism, temptation, hurt, humiliation, and pain in bearing and birthing Jesus in an uncertain and foreign land. In her faithfulness, she eventually found the meaning and significance of her life.
As I am a seminarian, aspiring to become a religious priest, she teaches me to be committed and faithful to the life that I have chosen. That means I need to make a choice every day to be committed to it. I do not know what future holds for me, which place I will be in or what kind of ministry I will be assigned to.
However, she inspires me to go ahead in this journey with commitment and faith. I believe that if I am faithful to the life I have chosen to live, I will be able to share the life of Jesus with others. Perhaps one day, I too will find the meaning and significance of my own life.
