In the department of odd statistics that I track, it probably comes as no surprise that I travel about three times more as a pastor of three parishes than I did as the vicar of one. In an effort to make the most of my time on the road, I have taken to getting in more car rosaries, as well as burning through podcasts and audiobooks. There is almost no limit to great Catholic content out there, and even with all the time in the car, I feel like I am always behind on formation opportunities on the go.

One of the podcasts that I frequently listen to is Fr. Riccardo’s “You Were Born for This,” which deals with parish revitalization. In almost every episode he spotlights an important truth that dovetails with this week’s Gospel: God chose you to live in this particular time and place, and He gives you everything you need in order to work out your salvation, as well as accompany others on that path. In addition to useful conversation and guidance on parish matters, this consoling fact about our purpose and mission has helped me in an occasional struggle of mine. That is,
I have sometimes struggled to grasp the justice of the call to holiness when viewed through the lens of the Blessed Mother’s unique and singular graces.
 
I have long had a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother, so hopefully this doesn’t scandalize anyone, but there have been times where I have wondered why it’s fair to expect me to be holy if I don’t have all the same graces and advantages as Mary. Today, in preparation for Christmas, we hear the story of Mary receiving the news of the Incarnation, and how she has been chosen for this unique and singular task in the economy of salvation. Perhaps it would be easier for me to be a great Saint if I had been preserved from original sin or been visited by an angel with great tidings. But to give in to this temptation misses the point entirely. God asked Mary, in the fullness of time, to bear His Son so that He could destroy sin and death.
To prepare her for this, He gave her every grace she could possibly need.

God is not asking me, or you for that matter, to bear the Savior of the World. He is asking us to grow in holiness through our vocations and to draw others closer to Jesus Christ. In the exact same way that He gave Mary the necessary
superabundance of grace for the task at hand, so He does for you and me. He knew the challenges Mary would face, and He prepared her for them. He knows your challenges as well as mine. He knew we would live in an age of secularization. He knew that we would live through a pandemic. He knew what our struggles would be based on our temperaments, family history, wounds, and any number of other factors, and because He knew, He gave us everything we would ever need in order to reach Heaven. When we view life through this lens, we see our struggles and challenges in a new light. We call them struggles because they inhibit us in this life, but supernaturally, they are crosses,
because they are sources of suffering through which we gain salvation.
 
Know of my prayers for you as this Advent season draws to a close. I hope it has been a time of preparation and great consolation. But even if you don’t feel as though it was time well spent, trust that you can still make straight the way of the Lord and prepare your heart to rejoice completely at the coming of Our Savior.
 
Prayers always, and Merry Christmas,
Fr. McC