Expectation of Our Lady
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Quo PrimumExpectation of Our Lady
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Quo PrimumEXPECTATION OF OUR LADY-December 18
"She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his nanefesus
save his people from their sins-" St. Matthew, 1:21. 1 for he shall
Several years ago a touching story came out Of Joplin, Missouri. Living there at the time was a
married woman by the name Of Zoe Tucker Peterson. She was thirty-two years old and for twelve
years had been bedfast with arthritis. Her husband a childhood sweetheart, was a laborer. One day she
announced to him 'that she was going to have a baby. She was Ost happy and cheerful about it, as we
can see from her following words: m
"All my adult life I have had a rendezvous with death. Now I have a rendezvous with life. My
baby will live and will be loved. The doctors have told me that I have a 50-50 chance. I am happy
because never before have I had that much of a chance."
On her thirty-second birthday this woman was to exchange her life for the life of another. Happy
and cheerfully expectant , she went to the hospital to await the arrival of her child. Zoe had no fear of
death because she had lived so near to it for so many years She gave birth to a son who weighed four
and a half Pounds. But-a f e*w hours after the birth of her child the mother passed away, without ever
seeing on this earth the tiny son upon whom she had bestowed the greatest gift
gift of life. that anyone can give, the
In the heart of this martyr mother we see some of the sentiments that
must have been in the heart of the Blessed Virgin as she awaited the birth
of her Son, Jesus. During these days before Christmas Mother Church
centers many of her thoughts on Mary, and on December 18 we celebrate
the feast of the Expectation o ur Lady, no doubt with the idea of direct-
ing us to think of the heart an emotions of Mary during that period.
The time of expectation is a trying time, a tender, delicate time, a time when mother must make
many sacrifices, when mother must put up with many discomforts. But for Mary it was full of deep
thoughts about the Almighty God and the role and part she was playing in the redemption of the
world. Like that young mother from Joplin, Missouri, Mary too had deep in her heart a spirit of
sacrifice. Courageously she looked forward to the sorrows and trials that would be hers as the Mother
of the Redeemer. Happily she waited for God's good time when her Child would be born. There are
some sentiments Mary had at this time upon which we would like to center our thoughts as we
approach the feast of the Expectation:
1. Before the birth of Christ Mary had shown her spirit of charity by visiting her cousin
Elizabeth. Likewise she had shown her spirit of self-denial and of humility. Foremost in her heart was
the thought: "I am the Mother of God."
How happy and also how humble that thought must have made her. It must have made her pray
with sincerity and deep dependence upon the help of the Almighty. She was exalted above all
mankind, she was chosen from all the women of all time to give a human nature to the Son of God.
Far from making her proud and haughty, this fact made her profoundly humble.
It made her adore and praise the decree of the Divinity that gave her this wonderful grace. Again
and again Mary must have repeated the words of her song: "He that is mighty hath done great things
to me." St. Luke, 1:49.
Uppermost in her desires was the wish to imitate the self-abasement of Him whom she carried.
2. She had another thought:
"I am the Mother of the Redeemer, the Mother of Him for whom the world has been praying and
longing since the beginning of human history, the Mother of Him who will give Himself for the
salvation of mankind. That Redeemer, that Messias, that Promised One I am carrying within me."
Her heart was full of love for the Son who would give Himself to save all.
3. Though Mary realized her great privileges and honors, she kept repeating the touching words:
"Behold the handmaid of the Lord."
In this spirit of subjection to the designs of the Almighty Mary passed this tender time of waiting
for the birth of the Redeemer.
4. In these sentiments of Mary's heart during the time of her Expectation we find a model for our
emotions with regard to Holy Communion. When we receive our Lord He becomes present within us.
Then we too are carrying Christ within us. It is a high and happy honor, that also makes us humbly
grateful, as it did Mary.
5. Another thought suggests itself with regard to the Expectation of Our Lady, namely, the
attention and kindness of St. Joseph toward Mary during this delicate time. Here St. Joseph is a
perfect model for all husbands whose wives are awaiting the moment of delivery. He is a model for
our attitude and our consideration toward all who are expecting the arrival of a child.
We emphasize this in a day when expectant mothers are often made the butt of criticism and even
ridicule. How trying that must be to an expectant mother. And how utterly pagan and pitiless such
criticism is.
Such mothers might look to Mary who for a time was an object of criticism and suspicion. With
the help of her devoted spouse she weathered all these storms.
just as you and I, had we been living in those days before the birth of Jesus, would have done
anything to help Our Blessed Mother, to make her days and hours more comfortable, so today, in
honor of Mary, we should show other mothers the consideration and helpfulness we might have
shown to Mary. If we do it in that spirit, Mary will reward us.
May the feast of the Expectation remind us of these sentiments of Our Lady. Make her your
model for your attitude toward all motherhood. Amen.