Most overrated: Christmas, December 25. Most underrated: 9 months earlier, Annunciation, March 25.
Christmas is rich in sentiment, nostalgia, custom, tradition, gift giving, song, fun, friendship and family affection. It is brutal for the lonely, the mentally ill, the broken hearted. It is not the time when God became incarnate. That happened 9 months previous, when this unique person, the God-Man, was conceived in the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit.
My favorite holydays are the bookends of Jesus' life on earth: his conception and Pentecost, when he sent the Holy Spirit, the conclusion of his mission on earth. Between those definitive points, we have: birth, baptism/desert/public appearance, passion/death, Resurrection, 40 days of appearances, and ascension. If I had to rate them: 1. Annunciation. 2. Pentecost. 3. Resurrection. 4. Passion/death. 5. Baptism/Public. 6. Appearances. 7. Birth.
How much difference between Jesus, or any one of us, at one week old and at one week before birth? Very, very little. Same little creature. There is a change in place. The change is accidental, geographical, extrinsic. How much change pre- and post- conception? Absolute! From nothing into something. Creatio ex nihilo.
I will be 79 years old on my birthday, Aug. 20, 2026. I was born Aug. 20, 1947. But that date is not as important as 9 months previous, Nov. 20, 1946 or so, when I came into being out of nothing.
Mary's Yes, her Fiat, in response to the angel Gabriel was the SINGULAR greatest human decision, act, encounter, event. ALL of created being...the entirety of human history...was transformed in that one word: FIAT. Be it done to me according to your will.
When Mary said Yes, Jesus was conceived. Man and God were wed. They became "one flesh." God would not incarnate himself without consent. Mary was free. She represented the entire human race in our freedom, as did Adam and Eve in their primal decision, their assent to Lucifer, their betrayal of our heavenly Father.
When Mary said Yes, the deal was done. The covenant was consummated. The rest is history. Mary loved Jesus, and came to be loved by him...for the next 9 months, then the next 30 years, then the next 3 years, then the days from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning, than the next 40 days, then the next 10 days, and then afterwards in the companionship of John and the Church, and then assumed into heaven forever.
We, the Church, the entire human race, are drawn into that communion in love between the Trinity and the virgin.
The Solitude of St. Joseph
Six days ago we celebrated the feast of St. Joseph. Consider his role in this drama. He is exterior to it. He has no direct role of intimacy in the conception of Jesus. He is adjacent. He is solitary. He is alone with God. He receives his own annunciation from the angel and is, like his spouse, obedient. His is a supporting role. He never says a word in Scripture. We know he was a carpenter. We know he cared for his family, tenderly. We know he did as directed from heaven. We know he died happily in the presence of Jesus and Mary. We know nothing about his friends or coworkers. We know nothing of his family, except that he was from the line of David. He is silent, invisible, anonymous, humble, protective, chaste. He is the quintessential man.
He is certainly the second holiest person who ever lived. He is second only to Mary who is in a category of her own: not God, but the most sanctified of creatures. He is also in a category of his own: not due to virtue or heroism or effort or will power. But because he lived in the intimate, chaste influence of Mary and Jesus.
Who is third holiest? I go with John the Beloved Apostle who was so close to Jesus, even at the foot of the cross, and then close to Mary for many years.
Conclusion
How do we become holy?
Follow the example of Joseph and John. Stay close to Jesus and Mary. Open our hearts to their influence. That doesn't seem to be so hard!
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