El Greco, the Blessed Virgin Mary
A new year, for most people, implies resolutions and an
attempt to improve one’s life. Yet as a Catholic text I saw this morning said,
the beginning of a civic year (the Church’s year, don’t forget, starts with
Advent) stands in the sign of the Mother of Christ. It may be useful – and, in
a way, a relief – to remember her reaction to the unexpected visit of an
archangel: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it unto me according to thy
word.” Instead of specific resolutions, with their known limited half-life, we
might think of making these words, and this thought, our own for 2018: a year
to be spent in the silence of listening, whatever the world’s noise around us.
No comments:
Post a Comment