I was brought up in a non-believing household, but one which nevertheless- like all homes- held a number of prejudices, which I am heir to today. One was the place of the Virgin Mary, these prejudices, absorbed without any thought, together with early experience of church, led to a faith where she was whitewashed from the picture. I still struggle to give her her rightful place in my (limited) understanding of what it means to be a Christian.
I note that last Tuesday is marked as 'the birthday of Our Lady'. Not a major Marian feast, perhaps-I don't know, but it caused me to think a little about her place in God's economy. In a sense all she did in the first instance, was to say 'yes' to God, unaware of all the consequences. From that flowed unimaginable good.
And that is the pattern marked out subsequently for every Christian soul. An impetus of the Holy Spirit, and a willingness to say 'yes' marks the beginning of a journey from which comes unimaginable good for the salvation of the world. I hope and pray for that I may cultivate that same spirit as was found in her.
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