‘Mary, Did You Know?’

By Lisa Bright, 29 December 2019
Image: Juan Carlos Leva/Pexels.

 

The Feast of the Holy Family always fascinates me as I ponder my own little family.

I often think about Mary and Joseph and wonder if they had moments where they would think, “We haven’t a clue what we are doing!”

“Mary, did you know?” is a favourite song in our house during the Christmas season. Some of the lyrics are:

“Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters? …
Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand? …
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?”

Like, no pressure or anything right? I think of myself in Mary’s shoes. Could I have been that faithful and trusting, especially at such a young age? And watching Jesus grow up! My goodness! I stress every time my children are out of my sight for a few seconds not knowing where they are. Imagine knowing you are raising the Son of God!

One of the Gospel readings for this feast has the line, “Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.”

I would think that Mary and Joseph, as faithful and loving parents also had a lot to do with Jesus growing in maturity and wisdom. As I hear this line, I insert the names of my own children, as we all can. “Meanwhile {insert child’s name} grew to maturity and was filled with wisdom and God’s favour was with them.”

We all have our own roles to play in the lives of our children as they grow in life and faith. I am committed to ensuring my children know the gifts of the Spirit and that my role, as their mother, is to nurture and help them use those gifts in our crazy and amazing world. I hope that they know that God’s love is with them always and that this alone has the strength to carry them through anything.

On today’s feast, let us pray that we can look to the Holy Family as role models for our own families – a family who shared love and faith – with God and with each other.

Lisa Bright is the Project Officer for the Pastoral Planning Office, Diocese of Parramatta and is a mother to three children.

You can watch a version of “Mary, did you know” by Pentatonix at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifCWN5pJGIE

 

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