The Long-Awaited One

On that Nativity night we see the Mother clothed in peace and silence soars to the highest pinnacle.

There is no house here. There is no crib. There is no helper. It is a dark night. All is quiet. The night that He was born is full of movement: the time to give birth arrives, the Mother gives birth, wraps the newborn in swaddling clothes, lays Him in a manger. Angelic music breaks through the night silence. The angel tells the shepherds that the long-awaited One has arrived, and gives them the password to identify Him. The shepherds reply, “Let’s go quickly.”

They arrive at the grotto; find Mary, and Joseph and the Child asleep in His manger. Undoubtedly, they offer them something to eat or some humble gift. They tell them what they had seen and heard that night. Those who heard were amazed...

While such excitement was unfolding, what did the Mother do? What did she say? “Mary saw all these things and kept pondering them in her heart.” (Luke 2: 19) Indescribable tenderness, in the midst of unbridled happiness. And all this, in silence.

From the book “The Silence of Mary” by Father Ignacio Larrañaga