I never thought I would receive a lesson in Catholic apologetics from my severe, non-religious German florist, but this morning it happened. My children and I had made our way through the freezing foggy morning to her shop in search of a beeswax baby Jesus. My plan was to hollow out the white Christ candle we have in the middle of our Advent wreath and place a baby Jesus inside a little cave at the base of the thick white candle. The candle would represent Mary's pure body, and we had to do the craft today because my four year old is all jazzed up about the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
We easily located a baby in a manger amidst a nativity scene like the one above. Nonetheless, the plans for our craft came to a screeching halt when those little Viv hands excitedly placed the little baby in a manger on the counter top for us to pay. The florist looked up at me and matter-of-factly explained, "de baby does not go alone." That is all she said. Viv was crushed, but I had an epiphany moment.
On this, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the florist had reminded me what a blessing it is to be a part of the Roman Catholic family. As Protestant Christians around the world are accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, we Catholics are (additionally) blessed with remembrance of the centrality of his Holy Mother, his dutiful earthly father and the whole communion of Saints. It is so sad when a feisty Protestant asks me "why do you worship Mary?" Of course that is not the case, and we simply offer our dearest intentions to her for her powerful prayers to her Son. I believe that the Reformation reinvigorated all shades of Christianity, but how sad that some of the broken away Christian faiths felt the need to discard a bunch of Jesus' family. If only they could hear our florist explain, in no uncertain terms, that "de baby does not come alone."
6 comments:
AWOL, great reflection on this Feast Day! I also love the idea that "Mary does not come alone"; rather, wherever she goes, she bears Jesus. She carried Jesus in her womb and when she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, "the infant lept in her womb" - the mere presence of Mary bearing Jesus brought forth great joy, and it is still thus today. This is why we honor Mary, because she points us towards Jesus!
Nice site and great effort.
I just love your thoughts in this post, AWOL! Perfect for such a beautiful feast day where we honor Our Blessed Mother. Your words rang true in my head today while attending (surviving) Mass alone with all three boys. :)
AWOL, thanks for the great post. What a gift Jesus gave us on the cross when He gave us his Mother! As a convert, I'm only starting to scratch the surface of the beautiful relationship with Her. I love the naturalness of calling on a Mother as I go through a day.
And AWOL, good for you for hoofing it through the foggy cold to get a beeswax Jesus this morning to perfect your Advent wreath. We did coffee and donuts after Mass--almost as admirable. Thanks for reminding me to get the Advent wreath together. My kids got to the pink candle while I was unpacking other Christmas decor and it's gone missing sure enough. This Sunday's pink, right?
Great Post AWOL! Love the German woman's advice. He does not come alone. As a convert to the Catholic faith, Marian Devotion was totally new to me. I began to pray the Rosary after a friend pointed out that Jesus performed his first miracle at the request of his mother. He began his public ministry at the Wedding Feast of Cana--because his mother asked him. She is a very powerful intercessor and an essential part of my faith.
AWOL..late chiming in, but this post has been on my mind all week as I'm still decorating for Christmas since we were out of town. Much food for prayer here...
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