Today is the feast day of the Immaculate Conception; the day we celebrate that Mary was conceived without original sin – a claim that no other human being can make.
It’s also the day of my last final! Woohoo! Freedom! Ahem…sorry…just had to get that out of my system. Anyway…
As I was reflecting on my faith life over this past term, I realized that I can’t say that I’ve done such a good job at being a disciple of Christ. In fact I should just as well say that I’ve done a crummy job all together.
Maybe you’re in the same boat as me. School gets busy. Work gets busy. Life gets busy and we have forgotten to pray. We forget about God. I tell myself the same thing every term: “This term will be different. I won’t let my busyness get in the way of my relationship with God.” But somehow, it always does. I make excuses for why I’m too tired, or too busy to put God at the center of my day.
I can’t be the only one who struggles with this, right? There’s gotta be a hundred other people who feel the same as me. On the other hand…there must be at least one person who has overcome that temptation whom we can use as an example to look up to.
How about…Mary! Yeah! She’s so perfect that God saw her holy enough to use her as the vessel to bring Christ into the world. What would Mary say to us, if we asked her how to grow stronger in our love for Jesus. I think she would say the same thing she said to the angel.
“Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word.” Luke 1:38
Such a simple, yet profound statement. Mary is ready for action. “I am ready to do God’s will.” Brothers and sisters, I am in the same boat as you, but we can’t keep making excuses for ourselves. We need to accept our responsibility as Christians: to make Christ our first priority. He is at the center of our lives and we are ready to do his will. Our day should revolve around him, and responding to his call.
Our day must be a conversation with God. We must be steadfast in prayer.
New term’s resolution #1: pray a rosary once a day.
We can ask Mary to show us the way to her son. By praying a rosary, we are meditating on the life of Christ. What a great way to grow closer to Christ.
New term’s resolution #2: go to confession. Regularly.
We should be eager to be found free from sin and without blemish. If Jesus came back today, would I be ready for him to see me, just as I am. I would hope so, but maybe I’m not. Maybe it’s time to go to confession and be made clean again.
New term’s resolution #3: go to daily mass.
If you work a typical 9-5 job, you might have a hard time finding a mass that fits your schedule, as do I. Even if we find the time to go to mass in the middle of the week, we’ll feel so much better for it. We’ll have the Eucharist to strengthen us for the week, and the word of God to guide our paths. We’ll be taking one step closer to filling our lives with Christ.
So…are you ready to take the Mary challenge? Are you ready to do God’s will? Are you ready to put God at the center of your life, instead of the time left over?
Yes. You are.